Highschool DxD: Sword and Spear

Well here it is, the first one I've had in years. I hope you guys enjoy this and as always please give me your reviews. Btw, this is quite a dialogue heavy chapter.

By the way, this chapter features characters that has appeared in Volume 19, so for those who has only watched the anime/ not caught up with the Light Novels, I am sorry if this contains any spoilers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, I am just doing this for fun.

Life 1: Exorcist

Growing up, I always felt like I had a goal to reach.

A predetermined end for my life.

I grew up with such notions in my life.

You could see that if you ever looked at me and my family. But right now, I don't know where I am going, all I wanted to do is make my family proud, though I guess it doesn't mean anything when I sometimes feel empty. It is weird, my family could find solace in Him and I have met His Angels, I have even met His enemies, the Fallen Angels and the Devils but I couldn't bring myself to seek guidance under His light. Unlike the people here, who fight for the righteous way of God, I fight for my family. If anyone heard my thoughts they wold condemn me of heresy, especially my family. The irony.

I woke up from my dream and got off my bed. As per usual routine, I went up to the sink and mirror in my room and started brushing my teeth. Today was another day of training for me, being an exorcist, I do have days like these. I hear from Griselda-san that my teacher is coming back today, so I can continue my special training under him again. In my free time, I trained by myself the things that he has taught me in order that I stayed sharp.

I took a look in the mirror and see those purple eyes staring back at me. Like my father and sister, I had my family's chestnut brown hair, long and messy enough for it to be normal for boys my age. After doing my usual hygienic routine, I went to put on my usual garments, white shirt and trousers with a grey jacket on top.

My father was a pastor of the Church and even when she was small, my twin sister was a devout Christian. My mother was more likely the reason to that more than anything. From the time I spent growing up in Kuoh city before I became the man you see today, I felt like my life was going in circles. I wonder what other 15 year old boys would do right now. A life outside the church seemed alien to me, but sometimes I feel like is worth exploring one day.

Unlike other people, I was born with something rare within me, a dangerous power, the higher ups at the Vatican told me when I first met them, and kept me under watch just so that I don't go out of control. They told me the need to contain it and in order to do that, they wanted to add a Holy element into my body.

At least they gave me a choice, I ended up taking the Blade Blacksmith. So I became a being with two Sacred Gears, not that unique but it is rare to own two of these. Sacred Gears, also known as God's Artifacts, are items that bestowed upon humans by God of Christianity. Loads of famous people in history carried one. It can be as simple as doubling your power to controlling the shadows. Within the church we already had well known people to wield Sacred Gears, like the Holy Maiden who has the ability to heal people through prayer, and the top exorcist within the Church being able to control the weather.

I heard a knock on my door and went up to open it. I see Iri-nee smiling and waving in her usual upbeat and cheerful personality. For those of you wondering, Iri-nee was a young girl who is about 4 inches shorter than me. With the same purple eyes but have chestnut-brown hair. "Good Morning Ren! Don't you feel blessed on this morning?" she then clasp her hands together. "May the Lord's blessing will keep us safe throughout today. Amen!" She prayed again before she looked to me. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

As always, enthusiastic. I wish I can be like Iri-nee, so carefree and cheerful, sometimes I feel like all the enthusiasm between is made up mainly of her. "Not yet Iri-nee, I was just about to get ready." By the way, her name is Irina Shidou, my older twin sister by about 3 minutes. And as you have heard, my name is Ren.

I noticed the armband around her upper arm, without any warning, it gave off a holy aura. I guess she really did go through the ceremony to wield Excalibur. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked, to confirm my suspicion.

Oh how I giggled at my sister's reaction.

"YES IT IS! Ever the observant one! I am one step closer to Otou-sama! I am now a Holy Sword user, like him and Xenovia-chan!" You could see the sparkle in her eyes. I love my sister, despite her sometimes overwhelming cheery attitude. "The Holy Sword Excalibur Mimic. Are you jealous, little brother?" she stuck her tongue out at me.

I went to grab my sword, which was in its sheath, by my bed before holstering it by my waist. "Not really, to be honest, I like my gear just the way it is, it gives me a lot of option." I smiled back at her. "Shall we go for breakfast?" I asked before we left my room.

"I cannot wait to spar with you and Xenovia again. Did you know that Xenovia has been given an Excalibur too? She is sooo cool! Not only that she gets to wield the Durandal, she also gets to wield one of the seven Excalibur swords too!"

Xenovia was another girl that Iri-nee and I know of. Just as Iri-nee said, Xenovia was also a Holy Sword user. Though the church was split into different sects, they all act under the guidance of the same Lord, and the Vatican was where the important decisions were made. Officially, Iri-nee and I were part of the Protestant Church but as part of our training we were sent to the Vatican to train.

The Church itself holds many different kinds of holy swords, six of the seven Excalibur Swords, Durandal, Ascalon, Galatine, and the Hauteclere. I even heard that in the Orthodox Church there was a swordsman who carried five Demonic Swords. Those who couldn't wield any of these swords, were given swords of lights by the Church in order to exorcise the Devils and Fallen Angels. And then there were people like me, one with a Sacred Gear within themselves or in my case, two.

My eyes caught sight of a girl wearing the clothes as Iri-nee. She had long blue hair down by her waist with the front part of her hair being green. She had yellow eyes, sometimes could be said to be gold, which gave nothing away. On her back, she carried a sword wrapped in a white cloth that should be deemed to be too big for her but for her it was as light as any normal sword. To me, I don't understand why, but I find her really beautiful.

Iri-nee called out to her, "Xenovia-chan!" she ran up to her.

"Irina! Ren! Good morning," she greeted coolly. As per usual of her.

"Nenene. Xenovia-chan! Look I am finally a Holy Sword user like you and Ren!" She said as she showed Xenovia the arm band.

Xenovia smiled in return, "Yes I have heard, congratulations Irina. I look forward to be working with you in the future." she turned to me. "How are you today?" she asked.

"I'm feeling good." I replied back to her. "Were you waiting for us?"

Xenovia nodded, "I was thinking of joining both of you for breakfast and then start our training together."

-x-x-

As we were eating our meal, Xenovia had asked me. "I hear the Cardinal Priest is coming back today. Does this mean you will not be training with us as per usual?"

I gave a shrug, "I assumed so. The Cardinal Priest didn't say anything to me beforehand. Griselda-san had only told me that he would return today and our training routine would continue as before." I explained to her.

"I always find it weird that the Cardinal Priest-sama would train you and not Xenovia though, I had heard that he wielded Durandal before." Iri-nee spoke up. I looked down in guilt. "Would it make more sense to not only train you, but also Xenovia instead of Sister Griselda?"

I am sorry, Iri-nee! Otou-san told me not to tell you anything yet!

The truth is…I have been ordered by the leaders of the church to not tell anyone other than a select few people. Other than the higher ups, Otou-san and Sister Griselda are the only other people who know about my situation. I've been told that this is to prevent any information leaks to the enemies of the church and me being targeted to be used as potential threats to the Church.

"I really don't know. Sometimes I don't understand what he is thinking," I answered Iri-nee with a little lie. Hopefully this will stop her questioning. I am very sorry Iri-nee.

-x-x-

Blades clashed in the courtyard, where training has begun for Iri-nee and Xenovia. I was told that I wasn't allowed to participate in today session but I got to admit, I wasn't fussed. At least I get to see how my sister was doing with her Excalibur. For someone who just attained her Holy Sword, she doesn't seem to have much trouble with it. She had already been taught by Griselda-san and Xenovia on how to channel her newly acquired light energy in her into her weapon.

Right now, the two girls were locking blades, both trying to see who was stronger. Both girls were using an Excalibur Fragment each, both swords were drastically different from one another.

In Iri-nee's hand was a Japanese Katana. Despite it being a Japanese Katana, it had a Holy Aura similar, no even more so than the swords of my Blade Blackmsith. This was Iri-nee's Excalibur, Excalibur Mimic, which allows her to shape the weapon into anything the user desires. In Xenovia's hand was a big two handed sword with an axe-like guard with a 3 pointed end. It was known as Excalibur Destruction.

I saw Xenovia smirked and released her holy will into the weapon. Iri-nee saw this and jumped back, ready for whatever Xenovia was about to do.

"Howl, Excalibur!" Xenovia roared before sending a wave of holy energy at Iri-nee.

Iri-nee dodged the blast and brought her blade up, "I'm not going to be defeated by Xenovia-chan! May God show me the way! Amen!" she swung down, the blade extended before splitting off into three.

Xenovia parried all three blade before jumping to the side. She pressed forward with her charge.

Standing beside me was Sister Griselda-san, who was beautiful woman in her early 30s. Don't let her looks fool you though, Sister Griselda was actually one of the top 5 female exorcist in the church. Even though she held that title, she always had calm and happy look on her.

"I know that it is not fun, but I was told by the Cardinal Priest to do this. He wants you to be at full strength for when you train with him." She told me. Her eyes never strayed from the practice fight before us.

"Its fine, Griselda-san. Though to be honest, it's not like I get a kick out of training. I just feel compelled to train myself." I replied. Iri-nee has a natural talent for this, despite being inexperienced.

With a single up stroke, Xenovia disarmed Iri-nee. Her blade was close to Iri-nee's neck.

"Irina! You need to focus your will into the blade, the blade will respond to the holy energy. Holy swords will get stronger the more you place your holy energy into it." Griselda-san advised. "Begin again!"

The two girls clashed again.

-x-x-

When it was time, namely just before lunch, I arrived at our usual training ground, devoid of any human presence other than me and him. This was important so that no one else could see our training. I see the Cardinal Priest standing there facing the sun with a sword stuck into the ground.

"How have you been, Ren?" I heard the Cardinal Priest ask me.

I smirked back at him. "I've been well, are you sure you wanna start training today? You just got back. Wouldn't want to wear you down." I jokingly said to him. He has known me too well to know that it was a joke.

I could hear him say quietly, "Cheeky child, always trying to get to me." He made a stance with the sword in his hands. "Let us begin."

I responded in kind and readied my weapon. The Sacred Gear that requires me to have special training. There were many times I felt like I was better with the weapon than with my swords, though in truth I've had more training with them. Though it's probably because I've had a better affinity for it than the swords.

Without warning, we began our session together.

-x-x-

I panted heavily as my body dropped to on knee. My weapon dispersed away as I lost the energy to fight. My body was in pain. It should be after going up against the man before me. Vasco Strada, the Vatican's Cardinal Priest. The man said to be the closest to Roland when wielding Durandal. To think he has this much time to train someone like me was a bit unreasonable, being the third highest official in the Church. Though he has decreed that he would take over my training of my original Sacred Gear whilst Griselda-san took over my Holy Sword training.

Vasco Strada was a man who stood tall, well over 200 centimetres. He was muscular for an elderly man said to be in his 80s, and damn well agile. He was dressed in all white with gold accents, to show that he was a high-ranking member of the Church. In his hand was huge broadsword that seemed like a normal sized on a man like him, a replica of Xenovia's Durandal, given to him by the church that has 1/5 of the original's power. I worry to think of what he could do if he still had the original, I have heard stories of him going up against a Cadre-level Fallen Angel of the Grigori in his prime. This man is a monster to say the least.

Though to be said, it's not like he came out unscathed, all over his body, his clothes were ruined. Cuts were made from the sheer aura of my original Sacred Gear. I'd like to think that over the years of training under Vasco-san, I can at least finally hold my own against him even for a little while, even if he wasn't totally serious.

He gave me a smirk. "I see you have been training. I saw a lot of improvement in the weeks I've been away." He commented. "I see that you have found your own style to experiment with. I am guessing Sister Griselda has been teaching you a dual wielding style?"

I smirked back at him as I stood up, "I've been wanting to try and see how if I mix my two Sacred Gears up would do against you. But I guess I am a lot better with my original Sacred Gear, thanks to you." I bowed as part of my thank you.

"My job is to help you control the aura of your weapon. The weapon has begun to listen to you because of your will." he told me. "And as of now, I give you permission to use your spear in battle."

This sudden news surprised me to say the least. This was sudden. Don't get me wrong, I am finally glad that I got the permission to use it, but the fact that the Church were so keen on hiding this part of me.

"What changed your mind?" I asked. No doubt feeling a bit suspicious.

Vasco understood where I was coming, that much I could tell from his face. "With tragedies caused by certain members of the church, and with the fact that more and more people have lost faith in our lord, for the first time in history, we have hit an all-time low on strong followers who protect God's teachings." He move towards me to place and hand on my shoulder. "You are beginning to get a grasp of that spear of yours. It took you a long time, but that spear itself is troublesome in the first place. I gave you permission because right now what we need is quality, not quantity within our ranks."

I can see where he was coming from. With the increase of aetheism, not many people relied on the faith, so our numbers begin to fall heavily. But anyhow, I won't lie I am glad that I don't have to hide my spear around my sister.

"I am grateful. I will use it as a last resort. It's not something I would want my enemies to know about." I told him. Despite my gratefulness, I would still feel weird of using my main weapon in front of other people. "I have my holy swords and its balance breaker. A spear like that is more for a life or death situation."

"I guess you are right." Vasco smiled back.

"So how was your trip? I hear something was going on with the Archbishop Galilei that had to be taken care off. Was there anything wrong?" I asked, it was the reason why he was away for so long and it made me curious.

Vasco-san sighed. I guessed it must be a troublesome experience to even cause a man like him to do that. "Well since you will know soon enough, I might as well tell you. Archbishop Valper Galilei is now excommunicated for committing a heinous crime involving Holy Swords. He had conducted inhumane experiments on children your age in order for them to wield Holy Swords but had failed and massacred the children as a result."

I was surprised at how severe the situation was. "I am guessing no one survived the experiments?" I asked.

Vasco shook his head, "Only one was confirmed to have survived, right now she is under care by our healers, and another went missing, our prayers are with him and hope that he is safe." He noticed the time. "Looks like our time is up. Griselda has a mission for you, she expects you to see her before the sunset."

I nodded before I bowed. "Be well." I was about to leave before I heard Vasco-san's voice.

"Ren, no matter how severe, how inhumane, or how horrible the things you have to go through in the future, promise you hate or discriminate your enemies, always be a man who shows respect no matter what." He pleaded. I was surprised to say the least, to hear the Cardinal Priest ask me that.

"I will try my best, Cardinal Priest," I replied before I left the yard.

-x-x-

"Good evening, Sister." I bowed as I greeted her. I noticed in the room that Xenovia and Iri-nee and a couple of other priests, both were clearly older than the three of us but were still young enough. One had orange hair that stood up and sharp green eyes, whilst the other man had purple wavy hair and yellow eyes. I recognized these two, Andres, the purple haired man is an exorcist who specializes in magic and Romeo is the orange man who like me who holds a Sacred Gear, Staring Blue. I went to sit by Iri-nee before Griselda-san began the meeting.

"So how was your training?" I heard Iri-nee ask me.

I chuckled at the question and replied, "As always he has pushed me to my limit and overwhelmed me. It's a good thing that I had the whole afternoon to heal with the help of our healers."

"Good evening everyone, we have a new mission for the five of you involving Vampire Extermination." Griselda-san began to explain.

"So what do we have here that's worth everyone in this room?" I asked Griselda-san. We were given the files regarding everything to the mission in response.

Griselda cleared her throat, "The Vampire's name is Ferid Welt, a pure blood vampire with a high combat capability, a high-ranking member within Tepes family." A picture of a man with a doll like face appeared on the projector screen. Like you would expect any vampire to have, Ferid is a pale man who could be described as beautiful, even for a man, with blood red eyes like every vampire and light purple hair. "He and a number of his vampire cohorts have been spotted outside their land attacking and abducting humans to be their livestock in an area near Guidonia."

It was then she gave out files in regards to everything related to Ferid Welt. It had almost everything we needed to know about him and his comrades, including: number of vampires, which are close to 7, including Ferid, where he was last seen, where he might be holding up his 'farm', etc.

"Have we gotten anything from our contacts in Romania? We don't want to accidentally start a war with the Vampires by killing a high ranking member of Tepes faction." I heard Andres speak up. I'd have to agree with him, Vampires are a very proud race who keep to themselves. To hear that a pure-blood member, who although is not a noble, was killed by the Chruch, it would certainly cause a stir to say the least, a war as a worse case scenario.

Griselda-san nodded and replied, "We were given word from our sources that Ferid grew disinterested and broke off from their faction. He has been regarded as a traitor to the Tepes Faction and we are given the chance to eliminate him." She stopped, before she called Romeo up, who responded similar to a soldier. "Leading this team will be Romeo, as he had many experiences of hunting Vampires." She said before she began the details of the operation.

-x-x-

We were sent to the changing rooms for everyone to grab their gear. Unlike the usual exorcist uniform, I wore black armoured sleeveless top with white accents, with dark grey trousers and black boots. Placed on my left arm was an armoured white bracer and strapped across my right shoulder was a white shoulder pad. I wore a white hooded cloak. I wore a Rosario on my belt. As exorcist, we have to wear this as part of our uniform to show our allegiance and to protect us from creatures that fear the cross.

Vampire Extermination…If only it was that simple…Vampires, Devils, Fallen Angel, the supernatural in general are beings that are way stronger than humans. That was what always worried me the most before a mission. Will everyone be okay? It wasn't that we haven't been on many Vampire hunting missions, but what gets me worried now was that we were up against a Pure-Blood Vampire. And usually these missions come at a cost.

I walked out of the men's changing room and saw Xenovia and Iri-nee ready in their battle gear. I looked to the men behind us before I saw Romeo ordered, "Let's move out!"

-x-END-x-

I won't lie I feel bad that I gave him the Blade Blacksmith and another Sacred Gear but oh well, its my story. So if you haven't already guessed his original Sacred Gear is a spear of some sort. This is set before the main storyline of DxD and so we wont see Rias and Issei and the lot until later on. I hope you enjoyed this and I wont lie, I know my writing is not that great, so if there are improvements to be recommended please tell me. See you next time!