Occult Research Club – Kuoh Academy Old School Building

The mood was tense as the two groups returned to the clubhouse after the battle at the abandoned church, which was followed by them being forced to flee in the face of overwhelming power.

Seraphim Gabriel, the strongest woman of Heaven, sister of the Leader of the Heavenly Host Michael, favored daughter of the Most Holy. She was a legend, her acts of valor on the battlefields inspiring fear in her enemies and rallying her allies, she was seen as the strongest woman to have fought in the Great War having been able to defeat some of the strongest fighters both sides had thrown at her.

The "Strongest and Most Beautiful Woman of Heaven" indeed.

And not only her peerage, but also Sona's who had come to assist them had made it our alive and unharmed. Growing up she knew she was strong, and though she knew she was outclassed by many older than her, never before had she been so overwhelmed. She might as well have been a small drop in the swirling deep that was Gabriel's power. She had no delusions that they had only escaped because Gabriel let them. The thought that she had let them go only to observe and see who they interacted with in order to kill all the devils in her territory before running them all down like dogs, nagged at the back of her mind. And it absolutely terrified her.

She knew that if Gabriel had wanted to kill them that no one would've known about it until a search party was organized and sent to find them. The worse part of it was that she knew Gabriel had the justification to do just that and get away with it.

Issei had attacked a Church, granted it was abandoned so a case could've been made that it was Fallen Territory, but nevertheless it wasn't part of her territory. What was troubling though was the Exorcist that they had fought, their own teacher Hadrian Potter.

Catching the eye of Sona, they both shivered as a thought passed through their mind, their teacher had been playing with them. The man hadn't even drawn his sword! To Sona who had spoken many times and enjoyed his company his identity completely blindsided her. She looked to see Issei sobbing on the couch quietly crying out for Asia, and blaming himself. They would need to get him to the Healers soon. He hadn't listened to her when she told everyone to close their eyes, being a second too slow he had caught sight of Gabriel's Divine Form and his eyes had been burned.

They heiresses of Gremory and Sitri as well as their peerages had been bested by a single Exorcist. They both knew that even without him calling for Gabriel's aid that they would've been dead as soon as Potter-sensei drew his sword.

That sword though. She couldn't help but feel an ominous vibe when she saw it, as if it desired to be unsheathed to slaughter the enemies that dared stand before its master. The sheer holiness of that weapon made her want to bury herself in the deepest darkest hole she could find in an attempt to escape.

"Kaichou?" Saji began, breaking the tense atmosphere though there was still fear etched on his face. "Who was that back there at the church? The way you and Rias-senpai started quivering in fear, not that I blame you, I've never seen a person who could do that to you."

Sona moved towards the window, brushing the curtain back until she peered out, her eyes darting to and fro making sure that they were all alone. "I think we're going to need tea if we're going to continue this discussion." Akeno said standing up and making her way towards the small kitchen adjacent to their clubroom. Or maybe something stronger. She thought seeing how just about everyone was still shivering from the divine messenger they had run into.

In the time it took for Akeno to return with a tray filled with tea, Rias and Yuuto had managed to drag Issei out of the corner where he had been sobbing to join them in the circle. Once the tea had been passed out Sona cleared her throat, before beginning her tale.

"Starting from the beginning for those newly resurrected and thus do not know our history. The Great War which had lasted for millennia ended roughly three centuries ago. Taking part in the conflict were the Devils, the Fallen Angels, and the Angels. No one is really sure what sparked the conflict but it quickly devolved into a bloody war that ravaged many dimensions and realms."

"In such a conflict it is common for heroes and legendary figures to take center stage. The Four Original Satans for our side, Azazel of the Grigori, God himself, Michael the Archangel and his sister Gabriel were the most prominent figures of the war."

"And that was Gabriel?" Issei asked, ceasing his sobbings.

Both Sona and Rias nodded as Rias continued the explanation for her friend. "Archangel Gabriel, the Strongest and Most Beautiful Woman of Heaven, The Favored Daughter of God. She was one of the First angels created and the only ones stronger than her were God and Michael. During the War she was a force to be reckoned with and in one of the final battles of the war she faced off against the 4 Satans at once before she was forced to retreat from her injuries. As a Seraph she bears 12 wings the maximum ever seen on an angel, but truthfully she deserved more."

"You must understand." Sona interrupted. "It wasn't only her overwhelming power that made her stand above but also her technique. Many of the Angels and Fallen had one tactic and skill, that was to fling their Light Spears en masse as fast as possible hoping to hit their targets. Some with more than one set of wings developed better flight skills, but even then it was nothing to brag about. From the records Gabriel was no different than this until a time when she disappeared off the battlefields, and when she returned her skills rivaled that of her brother's. Her choice of weapon was the spear, and her unparalleled skill the weapon as well as speed that no one could match allowed her to overwhelm entire armies."

"And we survived an encounter with her." Koneko stated.

"We survived only because she wanted us to." Rias said.

"Did you see her expression?" Sona asked. "When she first arrived she was shocked at being summoned, like it had been the last thing that she expected. But then when she caught sight of Potter-sensei she looked incredibly happy."

"I saw, and if her expression was anything to go by I'd say that those two had a long history together." Rias said. "It frightens me that all this time he has been here, and never once did we sense his presence."

Sona nodded, before pointing out. "One of the biggest problems is that he was here before you and I arrived, so technically this would've been his territory."

"But isn't this Buchou's territory?" Issei finally spoke up.

Both High Devils shook their heads. "Territory by unspoken agreement has always belonged to the first one to arrive there."

"Or the most powerful." Sona pointed out. "Something that neither of us can claim to be."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement, painful as it was to admit the truth. "Now that we have painfully been made aware of that fact, logic dictates that we gather all the information on our foe. So with that I'd like to open the floor to anyone who has any information on Potter-sensei."

Hearing no one speak up, Sona sighed, and pushed up her glasses before offering the first piece of information. "Hadrian James Potter. Born in England, traveled extensively as a child. No date of birth. Highly educated. He's been here for the last decade, making his claim to this land superior to our own."

"That sound like information straight from his resume." Rias pointed out. "Does anyone here know anything that wasn't read from a file?"

"He's a good teacher." Tsubaki spoke up. "His class if very challenging but I haven't heard a single person speak ill of him. Rumor has it that he goes so far as to offer private tutoring in an array of subjects."

Rias and Sona sighed, the information they were getting was leading them nowhere. "I've seen him observing the kendo club several times." Issei spoke up.

"I remember that too!" Saji said. "He was pointing out mistakes to the members, before the instructor got fed up with him, and challenged him to a match. He ended up in the hospital with broken ribs."

Rias moved quickly grasping the boy by the shoulders, "Think carefully, what can you tell me about how he fought?"

Saji tried to move back, but she had an iron grip on him. "Well they were both sparring with bokkens, but it looked like it was the first time Potter-sensei had held one. If I had to describe it, it looked like he was uncomfortable with a curved weapon. Anyways the match ended almost as soon as it began; one moment Potter-sensei was on his side the next he was behind the instructor who had fallen to the ground clutching his chest. Potter-sensei then went on to teach the rest of the club as if the fight hadn't happened."

"Hmmm. He did carry a sword with him, so a modicum of skill was expected."

"And it was straight." Koneko quipped. Rias smiled, at the slight crack that Koneko had made.

"Tomoe, Yuuto both of you are knights specializing in swords. What can you tell me about Potter-sensei's fighting abilities?" Sona asked.

Both were quiet for a few moments, as they thought about the man that had played around with them. "He's strong and fast. He easily caught up to my maximum speed, and caught Koneko's attacks as if he were attacked with a feather."

"He also repeatedly corrected us, poking us whenever we showed an opening. He kept score on how many times he could've killed us." Tomoe grimaced.

Yuuto shivered, remembering his tally. "In the 5 minutes or so that I fought him, he tagged me 156 times."

"Lucky you." Tomoe grumbled. "He simply chuckled and told me to go back to basics and come back in 50 years."

"What about his sword?"

"It was definitely a holy weapon, but its aura was…restrained?" Yuuto said.

"So you noticed the chains that were wrapped around it." Rias said. "I wonder which Holy sword it is."

"At this point we need to face facts." Sona said. "Rias if both of us and our peerages ambushed him what do you think our chances are?"

"Non-existent." She replied cynically. "Disregarding his own skills, which we know next to nothing about, he can summon Gabriel in an instant. Should she appear I have no delusions that we would be annihilated in a matter of seconds without the support of either my brother or your sister.