Chapter 21
The morning light filtered through the curtains of my bedroom. I stirred slowly, the haze of sleep lifting to the sensation of radiating warmth and the intoxicating, and by now familiar, scent of roses and honey.
I was spooning against Rias' back, my chest pressed to her smooth skin, one arm draped possessively over her waist. Her body radiated intense heat, her crimson hair was messy, its silky strands stark against the white pillows. As I shifted, my lower body brushed against the back of her thighs, and a low, rhythmic hum vibrated through her.
"Awake already?" Rias whispered, her voice thick with the huskiness of sleep. She reached back, her fingers tangling in my hair as she guided my head down to the crook of her neck.
I didn't answer with words. Instead, I pressed a lingering kiss to her shoulder blade, my hand sliding up from her waist to cup the heavy, soft underside of her breast. I felt her nipple harden instantly against my palm, a reaction that made my own pulse quicken.
Rias moaned lightly, humming along as I continued to cup her breast, enjoying the feeling of my fingers sinking into the impossibly soft flesh.
"I don't want to get out of this bed yet," she murmured, one of her hands resting on my own and the other sliding towards her hips. "And I think you don't either."
With languid slowness that belied her own excitement, she slightly parted her thighs, reaching out with her hand and guiding my member in between her legs. Rias pressed her thighs tightly together, creating a firm, velvet-soft channel. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she reached down, her warm fingers wrapping around my length, and adjusted my position between her thighs, nestling my member against the very entrance of her heat but not inside.
"Stay right there," she breathed, her voice a command wrapped in a plea.
She began to move her hips in a slow, agonisingly perfect rhythm, sliding me back and forth against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs and the incredible heat of her flower. The friction was incredible—the contrast of her smooth, silky skin and the mounting heat of our contact sent sparks through my vision.
I groaned, burying my face into her hair, my hands tightening their grip on her as I tried to maintain the rhythm. Every time I slid forward, I brushed against her pearl, eliciting a sharp, hitching gasp from the devil heiress.
"Rias... you're killing me," I rasped, my muscles tensing.
"Then die a happy death," she teased, her breath coming in short, jagged bursts. She squeezed her thighs tighter, increasing the pressure, driving her hips up against mine.
The friction reached a fever pitch. I watched her face—the way her head leaned back to the crook of my neck, the flush spreading across her chest, and the way her lips parted in a silent exhale of pleasure. It was too much. With a final, forceful surge against the silk of her thighs, I let out a choked sound, my body shuddering as I found my release.
Rias followed a second later; her inner muscles twitching in a phantom rhythm against me as she rode the wave of her own climax, her eyes squeezed shut, lost in pleasure.
For a long time, the only sound in the room was our synchronised, heavy breathing. I eventually untensed my muscles, pulling her into my arms. Rias turned and tucked her head under my chin, her skin still slick and glowing.
"Good morning," she whispered against my chest, a pleased smile tugging at her lips.
/Break
After that very enjoyable experience, we once again met up with the rest of the peerage in the ORC clubroom. When Kiba came, he was greeted with supporting smiles; Koneko even hugged him, saying she did not wish to lose him. Considering the way she usually avoided showing her emotions, Kiba was quite moved by it, hugging the girl back and promising that he was not going anywhere.
In the end, he seemed to take my advice and shared his past and the demons that haunted him with everyone in the room. Some knew more than others, but we all vowed to help Kiba, in whatever capacity we could.
Once we had all calmed down from the emotional rollercoaster, we finally had the chance to address the interruption from the previous day.
"Rias, I think we should try to look into the swords if they are truly in Kuoh," I said, speaking to Rias but addressing the whole group.
"I did promise not to meddle with the exorcist's investigation," said Rias.
"Then we go to them, explain the situation, and offer our help," I replied.
Rias hummed slightly. "It would not be bad to have a full picture of what is happening here," said Rias, thinking about the proposal. Finally, she looked to Kiba. "Yuuto, you are the one who has history with those swords, no matter how sordid. What do you think?"
"…I think that we should look for them ourselves, even if just to make sure they do not remain in the hands of the Fallen. Who knows, we may even make a deal with the exorcists."
Rias smirked. "Devils making deals with the Church – I like the sound of that just on principle," said Rias, pleased by the irony of that statement. "Alright, find the exorcists and try to make some sort of deal with them, but take Kairos and Koneko with you; I don't want you to roam alone in Kuoh right now." She looked around the room. "That goes for all of you as well. I think it would be good if we remained cautious. Akeno, please always have Asia in your sights; we don't need any nasty surprises right now."
We all gave our agreement. Rias and the rest would go to classes, but the three of us would go and look for the exorcists. No school for me today, no sir.
Winning.
/Break
One would think that finding the two exorcists would be easy, but Kuoh was actually quite a large town. Checking the abandoned church, we could tell that they were there at some point, perhaps spent a night even, but there was no sight of them right now.
Walking around the town, Kiba and I were discussing where to look next; Koneko walked alongside us, snacking on a chocolate treat.
"Maybe we could check the mall?" I asked, looking at Kiba.
"What would they be doing in a—"
We suddenly stopped, staring dumbly at the sight before us.
"Please give blessings to the lost lamb—"
"Please give charity to us on behalf of the father in heaven!"
Xenovia and Irina were currently in their white attires, praying on the side of the road. I exchanged glances with my two friends. They haven't seen us yet, so we continued to observe.
"How can this be? I thought Japan was supposed to be a civilised nation, Irina. This is why I don't like countries where we have no coreligionists."
"Don't be like that, Xenovia. We lost all the money we had. So we have to rely on charity from these heretics, or else we can't get food, you know? Aaah, we can't even buy a single loaf of bread!"
"Hmph. It all happened because you bought that fake-looking painting," said Xenovia, pointing to a very clearly fake painting behind them. How did these two ever survive?
"What are you saying? This painting has the drawing of someone who looks like a saint! That's what the person in the exhibition said as well!"
"Then do you know who the person in the drawing is? I certainly don't."
I took a better look at the painting; it wasn't terrible, but it looked like the author was more used to painting manga or something. The supposed saint's eyes even had that glint in the eye, like an anime character.
"Maybe… Saint… Peter?"
"Don't mess around. Saint Peter wouldn't look like this."
"No, he must have looked like this! I'm sure about it!"
"Is this my trial from God? What have I done to deserve this?" lamented Xenovia.
As funny as this conversation was, it was probably best to step in; we spent the last few hours looking for them, and I was honestly getting tired of this.
"Blessings of Satan be upon you, good Christians," I said as we approached. Smirking at the irritated look on the exorcists' faces. Koneko shot me a look, but I couldn't care.
Serves them right for talking shit to Asia.
"What do you want, devils?"
"Well, we were just passing by and couldn't help but notice your little… performance," I said, indicating their begging bowl with a pitiful amount of money. I was almost tempted to add some bills to it but decided against it; we did actually want to make a deal with them.
"You have seen us; now be gone with you."
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
The audible rumble of their stomachs told quite a different story, and Koneko quirked one of her white eyebrows at them.
"We can take care of our own sustenance; we do not require charity from devils."
"You have money?" Asked Kiba, glancing at the bowl they used for begging.
…
"We will get more."
"How?" I asked, honestly curious.
No answer came from Xenovia. After a moment, Irina smiled brightly and said, "We can put on a show with our swords!"
"Right, good idea, Irina," said Xenovia, nodding to the brown-haired girl.
"You hear that? We will cut fruit with our swords and make plenty of money to get food."
Apparently that part of that particular idea was not so great because Xenovia looked at Irina with something close to exasperation. Perhaps it was because they did not have any fruit, but who knows? These two brilliant minds were surely above such things.
"We take you to food… come," said Koneko, already turning and walking away. Kiba and I share a look and start following her. I did not have to look back to know the two exorcists did likewise.
/Break
The two exorcists devoured several portions as they were brought before them; you would think that they hadn't eaten since yesterday by the way they were wolfing down the food.
On second thought, perhaps that is actually the case.
Once they were finished with inhaling the food, we could finally get to the business of them selling their souls to the devil. Or, as I liked to call it, making a deal.
"Uh, that was quite delicious. God, please give your blessing to these good devils."
As soon as Irina finished her sentence, I felt a piercing pain inside my head, wincing; Kiba and Koneko did so as well.
If I wasn't sure that Irina was just dumb, I would say this was her revenge for my earlier joke, and from the way Xenovia smirked, she thought the same.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I did it without thinking," said Irina, looking honestly apologetic.
Before any of us could speak, Xenovia beat us to it. "So, why did you come to us?"
"We wish to make a deal with you," said Kiba, and I felt comfortable letting him speak; he was a big reason we were here in the first place. "We will help you in your task; in return, you will let us destroy the swords. This way they are kept from the Fallen, and you would be successful in your mission," finished the Knight.
The exorcists sitting opposite of us had two different reactions. Irina looked almost horrified, but it was Xenovia that I gave my attention to; she looked like she was seriously considering the idea.
Interesting.
"Perhaps that could work, but we cannot let you destroy them all; we can agree on one of the Excaliburs," said Xenovia after a while. "We will, of course, have to make sure your involvement remains secret; our superiors might not be pleased with us if they find out we worked with the devils."
"Are you sure, Xenovia? They are still devils," said Irina, looking at her comrade carefully.
"Irina. To tell you the truth, it would already be difficult enough to retrieve the three Excaliburs and to battle Kokabiel with only the two of us."
"I know that. But...!"
"If the retrieval of the Holy Swords was not possible, one of our objectives was to ensure they do not remain in possession of the Fallen; better they be destroyed than remain in their hands. Even if we use the last resort, there's only a 30 percent chance that we will succeed in our mission and return home safely."
I really wondered what kind of math she was doing. Undeterred, Irina continued to try and reason with Xenovia.
"Even so, we thought that the success rate was high enough to come here prepared to put our lives on the line," insisted Irina.
"Yeah. The higher-ups also told us to come here regardless of the threat a Fallen like Kokabiel represents. It's almost self-sacrifice."
"And isn't that what we, the followers, desire for?"
"I changed my mind. My beliefs are flexible. So I can act in the best way."
My eyebrows rose a bit; this was getting more and more interesting by the minute.
"You! I have been thinking about it for a long time, but your faith is a bit weird!"
"I won't deny it. But I think that it's our duty to accomplish our mission and return safely. I'm going to live and continue fighting for God. Am I wrong?"
"…You are not wrong. But..."
"That's why we won't ask for help from the Devils. Instead we ask for help from a dragon. The higher-ups didn't tell us not to borrow the strength of a dragon."
Yeah, the smarts weren't what the Church picked their exorcists for.
Finishing their little back and forth, Xenovia turned back to us, looking me in the eyes. "I've never thought I would get to meet the Red Dragon Emperor, least of all in Japan. You may be a devil now, but you are also a dragon, no?"
Xenovia's question to me was interesting, as it was relying on quite a few assumptions and a very flexible presentation of the truth. Before I could give my answer, the blue-haired exorcist continued speaking.
"There are tales about the power of your Longinus, like all of them, it is said it can kill even gods; with it, we could surely destroy an Excalibur. God created Sacred Gears; there must be a reason you are here now, at this very moment.
Irina still looked irritated and was clearly not done dissuading her comrade. "Xenovia, while they didn't specify if we could get help from a dragon, you are stretching the truth… this all sounds absurd. Your belief is certainly weird!"
"Weird is fine with me; I am willing to put my faith in that of a dragon."
For that, Irina had no reply, and when Xenovia saw no more complaints from her fellow exorcist, she nodded and turned back to us.
"So then, devils, do we have a deal?"
I looked to Kiba; it was his call. He wanted the swords destroyed.
"One sword," said Kiba, his determined gaze fixed on Xenovia.
"One sword," agreed the exorcist.
Well, I guess we were going to go hunting for Holy Swords.
/Break
Hunting for Holy Swords in Kuoh was much less of an adventure than it might sound like. Since Kuoh was quite big, it was not easy to just go through the town and look for anything suspicious; similarly, whoever had the Holy Swords hid themselves quite well. Moreover, the Church had sent priests and exorcists to look already, except they all turned up dead, right here in Kuoh.
The most troubling thing was that they did this while Rias and Sona had no idea it was even happening.
Excaliburs in Kuoh, church investigators, and whoever perpetrated the robberies were all active within the town, and we didn't know. To say that was troubling would be an understatement.
After we made the deal with the exorcists, we informed Rias and Sona Sitri, the other devil master of Kuoh. We agreed that Kiba, Koneko and I would be the ones to handle this, as we were the most well-rounded, especially when working as a team. Rias, Akeno and Asia would be able to support us if it came to any larger fight, and Sona herself was making enquiries around Kuoh. She and Rias agreed that casting a wider net might be more useful, so she handled information gathering with her own peerage, while we worked with the exorcists directly.
Xenovia and Irina provided monastic outfits, scored with magical runes to hide our power and make us seem like ordinary humans. The plan was to act as bait, with the two exorcists shadowing us from afar, hoping to draw out whoever was killing the priests. It was likely that they would have more information on the Holy Swords themselves.
That's how we spent the last four days, just wandering around Kuoh dressed up as priests, hoping someone would take the bait. We even had fake crosses and all that.
Just as I was about to suggest we stop it for today, I felt the hairs on the back of my hand stand up. A familiar feeling passing through me. Although I faced an Excalibur only once, having clashed my own blade with it, I recognised the feeling instantly.
"Do you feel that?" I asked, looking at the two devils beside me.
"Danger," said Koneko.
"It's a Holy Sword; I can feel it," said Kiba, already making a small flick with his wrist, sending a magical message to Xenovia and Irina, though doubtless they would have felt the Holy Swords too, familiar with their power as they were.
"Well, well, well, what is this? Lost priests with holy protection on them?"
As soon as the voice said that, we looked up. I instantly drew Ancalagon, already pushing my power into the sword, lighting up the golden runes along the blade.
I brought the blade into a guard just in the nick of time, blocking the strike. There was no mistaking the feeling of the sword; it was another Excalibur. The white hair and the deranged grin were also unmistakable; it was that madman Freed.
In the short moment our swords connected, I locked my eyes with the crazed priest, and I saw a flash of recognition passing through his eyes. However, before he could say anything, Freed was already moving, leaping backwards to avoid Kiba's demonic sword that slashed at him from the side.
Landing on the ground, Freed regarded us with his crazy eyes, his grin wider than usual.
"Isn't this a surprise? Must be a reward for my faithful service, to send some shitty devils into my path," said Freed, cackling.
Discarding the priest robes, we fanned out slightly, creating a crescent around Freed, dividing his attention.
"Not really chatty, are you? And it's such a beautiful night. You really have no words for an old friend? We had such fun together last time. What about it, Mr. Knight? Do you fancy another go? I have to warn you, I picked up some pretty cool toys since last time," grinned Freed.
Kiba's eyes were fixed on the sword, the hatred he radiated palpable, but there was something else as well. I could see resolve in his eyes; he did not rise to Freed's insane babble.
Looking at us, the knight decided on our approach. "Koneko, hang in behind us. Kairos and I shall fight Freed; look for opportunity, and we will keep him busy," said Kiba, leaving the fact that Xenovia and Irina were surely on their way unsaid. Fred didn't need to hear that.
Once again, we were facing an Excalibur, and while it might be possible to destroy it during the battle, there was no need; we just needed to disarm Freed and extracted information from him. Destroying the sword could be done later, after the battle.
"My oh my, are you perhaps ignoring me? Who do you think you shitty devils think you are? Mr. Sword is here and Mr. Dragon I have seen too, but the short stack is new."
Ignoring Freed, I made a mental note to ask someone if the Dun Möch equivalent was a thing; the idea to unbalance your opponent during a swordfight by taunting them seemed sound, but I was interested if there was an actual way to do it.
Something for later; now was the time to keep my full attention on the stray exorcist and the dangerous blade he carried.
Quickly summoning my Longinus, I send out two quick Crimson Slashes at Freed. Having given in to Rias' needling, I have named the technique I was using with the blade, but I categorically refused to shout it out when I did it.
By adjusting the power output I pushed into the blade, instead of a larger magical attack, I sent out two smaller ones. One directly at Freed, and another just to his left. As I planned, this forced him to dodge to his right, straight into a charging Kiba.
"BOOST"
With augmented speed, I attack Freed from his side, just as he and Kiba were exchanging blows.
The way Freed used Excalibur was similar to Xenovia and Irina; he was not drawing fully on its power. Perhaps his acquisition of the blade was also recent. Despite that, Freed's experience compared to the two other exorcists was showing; he was slightly faster and more skilled with a blade.
Deflecting my own strike, he struck Kiba's sword right in the middle of the blade. The way he struck it, directly in the middle and in a certain way, he was aiming for the weapon specifically, not Kiba himself.
This proved to be true when Kiba's blade shattered. The Knight jumped back slightly, increasing the distance between himself and Freed. I used Freed's overextension to quickly slash at his side, only for him to swivel around and deflect my strike. He was, however, not fast enough, as I left a small gash on his thigh.
"BOOST"
Backing away myself, I looked at Kiba; the Knight already had another sword created, this time adding one more for a dual wield.
"Shitty devils," cursed Freed, holding his hand to his thigh. When he lifted the hand, it came out bloody, although the gash was shallow and nothing too dangerous for him.
"Duck."
Koneko's voice interrupted any further curses Free might have for us, and we both quickly stepped to the side, revealing Koneko holding a tree trunk in her hands, the large tree in the smaller devil's grasp comical.
"Catch," said Koneko, hurling the tree towards Freed, who scrambled to dodge.
Kiba and I rushed at Freed following the Rook's unexpected throw. Exchanging blows with the former exorcist once more. But something was different; Freed's sword manifested a faint corona of holy power around the Excalibur, and Freed's speed increased exponentially, enabling him to keep up with both of us at the same time.
"BOOST"
The third boost should be enough; even though nowadays I could handle much more, I still liked the three-boost combo, as it was just the right amount of power to be impactful and not too much to be wasteful.
"How do you like my Excalibur?" said Freed. "She is a beauty, isn't she?"
Instead of replying, I put my hand on Kiba's shoulder.
"TRANSFER"
I could have used that boost myself and attacked Freed, but there was a larger picture at play; while Freed was dangerous with his Excalibur and has so far stood his ground against us, we could have taken him without too much trouble, at least that's what I felt.
Transferring power to Kiba was important for the Knight to battle with his own demons; I thought it would be best if he were the one to defeat Freed; perhaps it would offer some form of closure for him.
The Gremory Knight's power now increased exponentially, a corona of energy emanating from him, flattening the grass underneath him with the sheer pressure of built-up power.
Kiba grinned a grim smile and unleashed his Sacred Gear to its fullest, the power I transferred to him empowering his ability to create demonic swords.
"Sword Birth!"
Blades sprouted from the ground like grass after a morning rain, each different, each holding a unique magical property, and all of them of different shapes and sizes.
Now it was Freed who had to furiously defend, cutting the blades as they appeared beneath or beside him, cursing all the while.
"What the fuck is this? Some circus trick? Shitty rotten devils!"
Freed anger was not really helping him; but he continued to deflect, block or destroy the incoming blades, his Excalibur still burning with slight white and blue power, radiating holy light.
When Kiba's power ran out, the priest stood there, alive, but definitely not unscathed. Small cuts littered his body, and he was leaning on the Excalibur, panting heavily.
Did Kiba hold back because we needed to capture Freed? Or was this just the power of Excalibur? It was hard to say, to be honest.
Before we could attack Freed again and hopefully take him prisoner, another voice entered the conversation; it was older and deeper.
"Interesting, I did not think I would see Sword Birth again during my lifetime, an interesting Sacred Gear, but its last wielder died some time ago," said the newcomer, an older man dressed in priests' clothing.
"What are you doing here, old man Valper?" Asked Freed, with the older man coming from behind him, standing opposite of us.
"…Valper Galilei!" Kiba's glare was full of hatred and surprise.
"Indeed, that would be me."
Unperturbed, Valper walked towards Freed, clearly uninterested or unafraid of us. I tightened my grip on Ancalagon, remembering what Kiba told me about this man and what he was responsible for.
"Freed, what seems to be the matter, my boy? Are you not able to handle some devils? You possess the power of the Excalibur; they should not be an obstacle."
"It's the fucking Dragon guy; he empowered the Sword bitch over there. It ain't so easy."
"It's only difficult because you are not using the blade properly. Honestly, such power is wasted on you, Freed. If you are going to use it, use it properly, like I taught you to."
"Yeah, yeah. Gather the holy power from the element in my body and channel it to the sword. It just isn't so easy, old man."
Well, it looked like I was correct. Freed was underutilising the sword. That made it even more dangerous; in the hands of someone skilled, I could see how it was supposed to be able to take on high-class devils in power.
Freed's eyes scrunched, and he channelled more power into the sword, and the light around Excalibur grew brighter.
I wasn't content to let him power up, and with a quick channelling of my own power, I brought down Ancalagon, unleashing a Crimson Slash towards the duo.
The compressed line of red energy peeled from my sword and surged towards Freed and Valper, but it impacted on the silver and blue barrier of magic.
When the barrier was lowered after the magic of my attack dissipated, Valper was holding a device in his hand. It looked like a small rod and was still glowing with a similar light to that of the barrier.
"Thanks for the save, old man. Now it looks like I'm ready for round two, yahoo!"
Freed's crazed shout was interrupted by two new arrivals; it looked like Xenovia and Irina finally managed to get here.
"Freed Sellzen and Valper Galilei, we should have known that only heretics such as yourself could be behind this," said Xenovia, brandishing her Excalibur Destruction.
"Xenovia is right; prepare to be cut, you two, in the name of God, amen," added Irina.
"Ha! Don't bring that shitty guy into this; fuck him and all his followers!" said Freed, twirling his Excalibur, now shining brightly. It looked like Freed managed to connect properly with the Holy Sword.
Before he could continue, Valper's calm voice cut through. "Freed, they are too many, and with another two Excaliburs as well, let us depart.
"Fuck it, perhaps you are right; we need to report this to the boss anyway," said Freed, clearly not happy, but perhaps not yet insane enough for him to not recognise his odds. "Alrighty, you shitty devils and churchgoers, see you around, suckers!"
Before anyone could do anything, Freed took out a small ball of light from somewhere on his person and, with another wild exclamation, threw it to the ground.
A blinding explosion of light made me close my eyes; a slight stinging in my retinas told me that there was perhaps some sort of light magic involved.
When the light receded, Freed and Valper were gone.
"We are going after them, Irina."
"Okay!"
With a nod at each other, the two exorcists started racing in the direction I could feel Excalibur beginning to disappear to.
"Xenovia, Irina, wait!" I called out to them, but they were already gone.
I looked at Kiba, who looked like he was waging a battle with himself, as if he wanted to also pursue the retreating Freed and Valper. Before he could do that, I turned to him.
"Yuuto, we cannot pursue; there's no telling where they are going to. There might be more people wielding blades like that; we know they stole more than one."
"All the more reason to go after them," insisted Kiba.
"Our goal was to find the Holy Sword or the people responsible; we did that," I said, trying to calm the Knight.
"What if they disappear and we cannot find them again? You would have them get away? After being within arm's reach?"
He wasn't thinking clearly, but telling him that would not help.
"I would have us be cautious; those blades are responsible for much death. I would not have us add another needlessly," I said and thought about my next words carefully, examining what we knew so far. "We now know that Freed has one of the Blades; that power signature is unmistakable. Moreover, it's similar to Xenovia's and Irina's swords. Let's go back to Rias and Sona. We can regroup with the exorcists, and perhaps we can use their sword to pinpoint the signature of the others. We know Freed doesn't have a way to conceal the blade's energy like Xenovia, for example. We can track that."
"Sempai is correct; residual energy will linger, especially after he unleashed the sword properly. Don't risk your life, sempai," said Koneko, addressing Kiba.
With a heavy sigh, Kiba nodded.
I turned to Koneko. "Can you contact those two fools? Call them back; chasing after Freed is dangerous. Kokabiel is most likely the boss he referred to; he might even be in Kuoh."
The white-haired girl nodded, taking out her phone, already calling the number the exorcists had given us prior.
I gave Kiba a pat on the shoulder. We should return to Rias; we needed to decide our next steps from there.
/Break
"Any word yet?"
Koneko shook her head and answered Rias' question. "No, I cannot reach them."
Rias bit on her thumb and started walking around the apartment. I looked at Akeno, but the only reply I got was a shake of her head.
The exorcists were gone. After they chased after Freed and Valper, we were not able to contact them. It has been a few hours since then, and there was still no word. Aside from calling their phone number that they have given us, we tried scrying magic to locate them, but we were unable to pinpoint their location thus far.
Both Rias' and Sona's peerages were on alert. Sona had already gathered her people, and they were currently somewhere in Kuoh, casting scrying wards for any danger. According to Akeno, without another Excalibur that would enable us to establish a synaptic connection to its power signature, we could not locate the other swords in the town.
When we came back and shared the news, Akeno confirmed we may be able to track an Excalibur by using another one, but only if we acted fast. Koneko was correct that when Freed properly channelled Excalibur's power, it left a residue; such a trace could be tracked. Except we didn't have the other Excalibur.
Therefore, our best option was to look for the two exorcists. Besides Sona's scrying, Rias sent out the familiars to also look for them, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Suddenly, I felt enormous pressure from outside. Everyone around me also stood up in alarm; they must have felt it too.
We approached the window of the apartment to see what was happening outside.
Beneath the window was Freed, the deranged exorcist waving at us with his ever-present disturbing grin, but it was not him that we all looked to.
A young man with black hair and a dark robe was hovering above the ground. What drew my eyes to him was the 10 black wings jutting from his back.
"This is our first time meeting, daughter of the house of Gremory. Your crimson hair is beautiful. The familiarity… it makes me want to vomit," said the Fallen.
"Kokabiel of the Grigori. You seem to know who I am; you must then know who my brother is. Are you here perhaps to discuss politics? If that is the case, I will have to disappoint you; you would be better off speaking to my brother directly."
"I come bearing gifts," said Kokabiel, his tone almost jovial.
Suddenly, Kokabiel threw a bloody and bruised Irina to the ground, gesturing to her.
"Two of them came poking where they shouldn't have, so I return her to you, as one of the owners of this town. I must confess, the other slipped my grasp, but you will have to make do with this one. I'm sure an exorcist from the church entering a devil's lair is ground for offence. I would not be surprised if you took her head for it, young Gremory."
Kokabiel had a smirk on his face the whole time, taking amusement from this whole situation.
"As for talking to your brother, well… I thought that perhaps any future conversation between us would be more fruitful if I first raped his little sister. Then he would get my meaning more clearly, and we could all get on with our business; I'm sure you understand."
I could feel my blood boil, but a hand on my shoulder from Kiba gave me pause. I nodded to him and let Rias speak with the Fallen Cadre, this was not the time for rash action.
"…What do you want, Kokabiel?" asked Rias, her tone exasperated, but it held an underlying edge.
The Fallen leader grinned an ugly smile.
"Many things, little Gremory. Most of them are too vast for you to comprehend, but I shall make do with a massacre to start with. I hear it's good for one's constitution. Aside from that, perhaps after that your brother will be kind enough to show his ugly face around here; who knows, the whims of a Satan are so hard to predict…"
"You are talking about war, Kokabiel," said Rias, her brows furrowed.
"Am I? Oh deary me. I expected Michael to react when I stole the Excaliburs, but he sent me fodder from the Church, not even worth my time. So boring of him, but honestly, I should have known better; Michael has always been such a bore. All of them are, really."
He paused, pointing to Irina on the ground.
"So, if Michael won't budge, Lucifer will have to; hence, the massacre. Are you starting to catch my meaning, heiress Gremory?"
Rias shook her head. "…You truly are hoping for a war. For what purpose?"
"Such a witless question from a simple child, I should have expected nothing less. War is its own purpose, you dim-witted child. Azazel and Shemhazai may not be too keen on it, busy as they are with their research and Sacred Gear collecting; it may even be useful. Few of them are worthy of attention," said Kokabiel and pointed towards me. "Look no further than a Boosted Gear you yourself have so masterfully collected."
He then shook his shoulders, his tone of voice still completely jovial, in spite of the words he was speaking.
"Unfortunately, they are few and far between, and most of them are not even worth the effort. In any case, I have a vision, and I will bring it about here, in Kuoh. I will release the concentrated power of four Excaliburs and obliterate this town to ashes, alongside everyone in it."
With a flex of his wings, he straightened in the air and pointed at us.
"So then, Rias Gremory, gather your followers, gather the Leviathan's little sister, and face me. Our battlefield will be the school you sisters of the New Satans are so fond of. I shall be waiting; do not disappoint me."
With that, Kokabiel and Freed vanished in a flicker of light, using the same device that Freed used just a few hours ago to make his escape with Valper, leaving injured Irina on the ground.
Rias stood there for a moment but then closed her eyes and released a sigh. "Asia, please take a look at her; her injuries appear serious," said Rias, turning to all of us.
We all shared a look. Sona would need to be informed, and we needed to hurry to Kuoh Academy.
/Break
Meeting up with Sona Sitri and her peerage, our two groups stood before the entrance to Kuoh Academy. The bright light of the Excaliburs shining from within the school grounds.
"Kokabiel is releasing his power in the school grounds; this will not stay hidden for long," said Sona. "My peerage and I will continue to upkeep that barrier; hopefully we can slow down the growing build-up of power and give you more time.
Rias nodded to the slight dark-haired devil. "Thank you, Sona, we will engage Kokabiel."
"Rias, perhaps it would be best to alert your brother. I would rather it be Satan Lucifer coming here; my sister… well, you know her." The tone in which Sona said this could only be described as hesitant.
"You give Lady Leviathan too little credit, Sona; she may act the way she does, but when it comes to professional matters, she is always serious," replied Rias, smiling slightly.
"Yes, well, be that as it may, I would still feel more comfortable with Lord Sirzechs here."
Before Rias could respond, she was interrupted by the arrival of the two queens, Akeno and Tsubaki. "I have already informed Lord Sirzechs," said Akeno.
Rias raised an eyebrow at her queen. "Without my consent?"
"I'm sorry, Rias, but I couldn't take the risk that some sense of misplaced pride would prevent you from doing otherwise."
Before Rias could say anything further, I stepped in and placed a placating hand on her shoulder. "Rias, Akeno is right; this is important. I know you like to be independent, but this is Kokabiel, the Star of God; better to be safe than sorry."
"Your servants are correct, Rias; take good counsel when it is offered," said Sona, her voice slightly patronising. If I didn't know that she and Rias were good friends, I would consider this much more insulting than it was in actuality.
Rias huffed at Sona's tone. "You are one to talk, asking me to bring my brother here instead of calling on your sister."
Not wanting this to derail matters at hand, I asked the important question. "Do we know when Lord Lucifer will arrive?"
Akeno nodded. "Lord Sirzechs promised reinforcements in one hour."
I shook my head, my thoughts swirling. "This whole situation has become too complicated.
At the questioning looks I received, I tried to order my thoughts correctly and addressed everyone present.
"Think on what Kokabiel said; he wanted to lure Archangel Michael here to fight on devil territory. After he discovered only exorcists were sent, he is seeking to fight you two, the sisters of the New Satans," I said, thinking on my next words. "Kokabiel is after a war, that is plain, but what is much more confusing is the response of everyone involved."
"Azazel is in the town, seemingly just investigating something, but with the permission and awareness of hell," I continued, trying to make logical sense of all this information. "The Heavens knew Kokabiel stole the Excaliburs; perhaps he even leaked it himself, but all they sent are two exorcists, young and inexperienced, with two additional Excaliburs."
"They were bait," said Sona, coming to the same conclusion as I did.
"So were we," added Rias, frowning.
"But set up by whom?" asked Akeno.
"Everybody, I think", I said.
"You mean to say they are all cooperating on this?" asked Rias, bewilderment in her voice.
"Why not? We know Azazel already contacted Hell for permission; what is to say that Heaven did not do likewise? After the exorcists came, we informed Lady Leviathan, did we not?" I replied.
Sona nodded. "Her response was brief; she basically confirmed that it's not a problem and that we should monitor them in Kuoh, but she never explicitly mentioned they had permission to be here."
"But neither did she deny it," added Rias, starting to see the dots I have been connecting.
"Because we didn't ask. Most of these things are on a need-to-know basis usually," said Tsubaki, Sona's Queen.
Sona appeared annoyed; she most likely disliked not being in the know. "Well, it would have been nice to know."
"Apparently, the fact that we needed to know was not known at the time that the now-known need-to-know was known," said Tsubaki, righting her glasses with two fingers.
Sona looked at her queen in slight bewilderment. "Tsubaki, what in the name of… you know what, never mind."
I shook my head again; one last thing I didn't understand. "What doesn't make sense to me is Lord Sirzech's response. Maybe it's because I've not been a devil for long, but couldn't he teleport here at a moment's notice?"
The others shared a look, but it was Rias who answered. "…He could."
Behind her glasses, Sona's eyes became sharper, more focused. "We are being tested."
"Either that, or Kokabiel is being observed," said Akeno.
Rias frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
Motioning, Akeno explained her thoughts. "If Heaven, Hell and the Grigori are cooperating in truth, it may very well be that it is Kokabiel that is their centre of attention; we just happen to be in the middle of it."
"But would your brother really endanger us?" I asked Rias, looking at her questioningly.
"…It may be that he has assurances; what kind, I cannot say, but I cannot imagine my brother knowing I was in deathly danger and not taking action."
…
"What do we do?" Asked Akeno.
Rias shook her head, but a small smile was playing at her lips. "What can we do? We cannot flee; if this is truly some scheme we are not aware of, we must play our intended role. We shall confront Kokabiel and stop him from destroying Kuoh."
"The pressure is increasing," Tsubaki noted, her eyes fixed on a magical barrier currently maintained by the rest of the Sitri peerage hovering in the air. "The power of the swords is reaching a critical threshold. If the barrier fails, the shockwave will level three city blocks before the fire even starts."
Sona gave a nod and motioned for Tsubaki for them to join the others of her peerage in maintaining the barrier, leaving us there, waiting for Rias' word.
I glanced down at my left arm, a warm feeling emanating from it. There was a visceral feeling of anticipation in me, and in Ddraig too; I could sense it.
Partner
YEAH, I KNOW.
I still remember what Kokabiel told Rias, not so long ago. It made my blood boil then, and thinking about it now, my blood screamed at me again. There would be reckoning for this. Kokabiel was strong, but so was I, and I didn't mean to just let this lie. If the Fallen Cadre wanted to start a war, and everyone else was content to observe, then let's give them a show.
Kokabiel owed me a debt of flesh for his words spoken to Rias, and I meant to collect with interest. With a grin, I nodded to the rest of our group, and we entered Kuoh Academy.