Sacred Magic; Wizards and Dragons
Chapter 10
Author's Notes: After working on my other stories for a while, I decided to come back to this one. It's been a while but hey, better late than never. While the Rating Game between Rias and Riser won't happen, it doesn't mean that the pompous peacock won't try anything. I'm not spoiling anything, but there's bound to have a few testosterone filled moments lol XD Even as mature as Harry usually is, he's bound to make a few stupid moves sometimes. I'll likely advance Rias and Harry's relationship a bit too, since it's kind of stalling but hey, every relationship is different from one to another.
We'll also start the Stolen Excalibur Swords Arc for a bit of action. There's bound to have many differences since I don't want to copy/paste Canon and the truckload of other authors out there. There's also the shovel speech incoming from Zeoticus and maybe some tomfoolery from Sirzechs lol XD. Well, let's go see the stats now. We have 335 Reviews, 1 954 Followers, 1 723 Favourites, another record shattering 42 C2 Communities! And last but not least, 209 512 Views! Wow! Just…wow! I can't find anything else to say except thank you very much for your continued support. Now, let's get this show started!
Additional notes: I would like to give a very big thank you to John Wolfe for the inspiration for Loki's Symbol. The Symbol is described in his story called Bits and Bobs in the 17thchapter. I apologize to not have given him his due credit earlier. To be honest, I had entirely forgotten to give credit where it was due until he updated with a follow up chapter on the same subject. Also like I said in "The Heir of the Western Lands", I apologize in advance for botching Freed's character. Vulgarity and obscenity are very hard for me to write. Also I wanted to give kudos to my friend Sakurademonalchemistfor the idea of using Midol in a humorous context.
Last edit: June 2, 2017.
Recently there has been a major change into Rias' living accommodations. Harry had finally managed to "convince" her to move in with him. Well, more precisely, he simply bribed Akeno to occupy Rias for a few hours with two tickets for a full day package to a renowned Spa in Kyoto and then took advantage of Rias' absence to shrink all her possessions, clothes, Mangas, video games (How in the name of the Allfather could she possess so many of the damn things?!) and toiletries included. He then put them into a multi compartment Wizarding trunk to finally portkey it once done directly into his guest bedroom.
While it had been the much needed push for the redhead to accept the new status quo between them, she decided to get back at him for his initiative by hogging the sole bathroom at all hours of the day! More than once he had to apparate away to do his ablutions elsewhere since she categorically refused to come out or to share some space. And a tentative of forced removal so he could have his turn was met with a Marble of Destruction that he had to quickly cover in Dragon fire to contain it; or else it would have damaged the apartment. Harry could even live with his new bride's toiletries all over the place. (And was it somewhat freaky to find a bottle of Midol of all things stashed between his razor and shaving cream when he decided to shave before his shower?)
But he put his foot down when she tried to convince him to allow her father's contacts to turn their modest flat into a multi story mansion. But Rias was tenacious and wasn't willing to back down even if the fact of being denied something was new, refreshing and also somewhat trilling. On one hand, she was glad that her man was strong willed enough to have his own definite ideas and opinions but on the other hand, she was a bit upset that he was not already wrapped around her little finger yet. She would just have to put more efforts into testing his willpower it seems.
"I said No, Rias. I won't shut down the Wards or key the members of the construction crew into them either. Not even for your lovely eyes."
"But, but, but, Harry! The workers commissioned by my father to remodel our flat can't even get on the propriety to do their jobs if the protections aren't turned off! I would have done it myself, but I just don't know how to reconfigure Wards made by Human magic. You never showed Akeno or me how it worked."
She finished with an exaggerated pout and crossing her arms under her bust, making it seems bigger by purpose. If he wouldn't do it for her eyes, maybe Harry would do it for her tits instead? He was often looking down her cleavage when they were just the three of them together. Not that she minded of course. She liked the attention that Harry gave her.
Harry, after rolling his eyes with found exasperation at Rias' antics and at hearing Akeno giggle while watching them arguing from her seat near him on the couch like it was one of those in vogue reality shows, fired back
"I really don't see what the problem is here, Luv'. If I showed you how to play with the Wards, our flat wouldn't stay what it is; it likely would become your new base of operations for all I know. I like the other members of your Peerage just fine, but this is our home. I want a place where the three of us can have our privacy. I don't want the others over every day at every hour of the day and night. So we really don't need an entire mansion of space anyway. It's only the three of us here and it will stay like that at least until we finish High School.
If you need more space in your room for all your stuff, I can easily cast a few undetectable expansion charms or get you a trunk that's bigger on the inside for storage next time I go to the magical district in Tokyo but that's it. You'll just need to call your father and tell him to cancel the job, because I'm not letting anybody mess with my place. Well, my place…In fact it's not even mine since I pay a monthly rent to the owner. So no, they will not be allowed in to replace the flat with a mansion or a villa. If we really need more space, I'll see about renting a bigger flat for us in a few months when the lease will be expired. "
Then the devious redheaded minx with turquoise eyes simply decided to up the ante since she wasn't about to back down anytime soon. The young man had had too many victories recently for her tastes and she wanted to balance things up a bit. The fact that her husband wasn't actually the owner of the homely little flat they inhabited and was actually paying rent to somebody else had little to no importance in Rias' mind. The deed for the building could easily be bought out and then the flat could then be remodelled to her tastes and Akeno's.
Still wearing her school uniform since School had just let out for the day about an hour ago, she sashayed up to him; her blue-green eyes became seductive, all the while taking her sweet time unbuttoning her shirt and then her corset, exposing to her flatmates' now quite hungry eyes her light pink coloured lacy bra once she was done.
Then with a hypnotic sway of her very shapely hips, (You really should take a moment of your time to sincerely thank that Bael blood, since it was because of that heritage coming from her mother's side that Rias was this curvy at such a young age.), she literally strutted up to him and then straddled his lap all the while putting her slender arms around his broad shoulders. That action had for consequence of giving both of her flatmates a prime view of her magnificent and very drool worthy cleavage.
She let out a sound that was seemingly a mix of faint surprise and amused chuckle when she felt him seize her by the hips all of the sudden. Rias just loved the effect she could have on him when she put her mind into it! Akeno was right! His responses to their seduction manoeuvres were so very entertaining! It greatly appealed to her feminine pride to see him like that because of her. The previous sound turned out into a deep moan of pleasure though when she felt his lips run across her pulse point, but she soon forced herself to put her mind back into the game. She was a Pureblood Devil and the Gremory Clan Heiress on top of that. So when she played, it was for the win!
To get Harry's entire attention, she purposely grinded her core against his crotch, biting discreetly the interior of her cheek to not moan out loud at the feeling she received from her bold actions. When his callused hands moved from her hips to grab her voluptuous ass in a very possessive manner getting another moan from her throat in passing, she then enacted the next step of her plan when she was sure she had all of his attention.
"H-a-r-r-y-kun…"
She purposely dragged out his first name with a very seductive purr in her voice all the while letting a few fingers play devilishly in the messy hair of her husband
"We need a bigger place to live in now that we're married H-a-r-r-y-kun…We can't go on a Honeymoon yet because of High school and my Devil duties, but surely you could let me have that as a wedding gift hmm?"
When she had no answer except the feeling of his lips now kissing the beginning of her breasts, Rias decided it was now time to up the ante a bit more. How had she upped the previously mentioned ante? By grinding her core a few more times against his now quite evident for her due to her seating choice, erection and her turquoise eyes flashed with victorious glee at hearing him groan out loud. She did stop to make sure he wouldn't lose total control of his mental faculties and self control though. Rias knew very well that she was currently playing with fire, but sometime you had to take risks in order to win.
Harry would either fold to her demands in exchange for a bit more (She knew he would never pressure her to give him more than she was feeling ready for. And she was very grateful for his consideration even if her reticence to go "all the way" was fading very fast these last few days.) or he could also simply decide to throw her on her back further away on the couch or on another piece of furniture, strip her naked and then claim her virginity right here in the living room. If she had to be honest, if only to herself, Rias felt that either choice would be a win in her book.
"Think about it seriously Koi…with more room, you could see Akeno and me prancing around here entirely naked for longer lapses of time…Maybe we could even establish a "mandatory naked day" so you could get much more eyefuls? Hahnnn! On my! You seem to be very eager for this idea! You really know what you want, don't you Koi?"
She finished with a surprised and somewhat seductive smile on her face once the unexpected moan of pleasure escaping her throat had passed. During her attempts to convince him to side with her point of view, Harry had kept dropping small but wet kisses all over her exposed cleavage. And with judicious use of his magic since his hands were still firmly attached to her buttocks all the while kneading it with great enthusiasm, he had managed to entirely remove her blouse and corset, slip the left strap of her bra down her arm and then free her left breast from the bra cup. Once his goal was reached, he didn't lose any more time before sucking her hardened nipple in his mouth and sometimes nipping it between his teeth.
On the right side of the newly married couple, Akeno was observing her two flatmates' making-out with great interest all the while resisting, for the moment, the temptation to start masturbating. What had started as an attempt by Rias to seduce their shared boyfriend/husband to obtain what she wished was now a very heavy make-out session currently going all the way to Second Base; with high possibility of going even further. Akeno had to admit that while the flat was homey, it was a bit cramped for the three of them.
But she knew from experience that Harry wouldn't change his mind so easily. Rias would have her work cut out for her. Or they could just all move-in with her at her Shrine. In exchange for more space they would have to sacrifice their morning quickies in the shower during the school days though. She would keep that option under wraps for now, Akeno was quite found of starting the day with some morning sex. She wasn't quite ready to give up such a pleasant activity unless there was no longer way to avoid it. Even if she felt that Harry was over cautious by refusing to finish in her even with her repeated assurances of being under a long lasting Devil made contraception spell. Her man couldn't very well comfortably use a condom in the shower after all.
But her father-in-law and also his uncles had figuratively and sometimes even literally beaten the habit of always taking precaution into his thick skull, so Akeno let him have his quirk. He was fine with her S&M traits so long as he wasn't the victim when she was feeling sadistic, so she could return the favour. What she didn't know yet, was that this quasi obsession about birth control was also partly from the result of his past relationship with his first serious girlfriend. But to obtain more knowledge on this subject, Akeno or Rias would have to ask the right questions since Harry wouldn't volunteer the information even if he wouldn't hide it.
Now back to Harry and Rias whom were currently making-out on the couch, the young man's lips were everywhere at once and the redhead was losing fast what little will she had to stop his advances since she was now half naked; what with her bra having just now joined her blouse and corset on the ground. Her gaze was now clouded with much desire and lust as she kept grinding herself against him, clearly enjoying the feeling of his hard-on against her still clothed core.
But Akeno's attention was taken away from the delightful show her flatmates were unknowingly providing her when she heard the phone ringing. Letting the two others continue without a watcher for the time being since the sound of ringing didn't even make them stop, she walked to the base where the cordless phone was on and answered politely even if she was rather annoyed to be taken away from her show since it was way better than any sitcoms or soap operas
"Hai? You have joined the Potter Residence. This is Himejima speaking. How may I help you?"
The black haired and violet eyed young woman then listened attentively to what it was said on the other end and then answered
"Ah. I am sorry Sitri-san, but could it wait a few hours? They are rather… preoccupied at the moment."
Better not tell too much. It wasn't really politically correct to say on the phone that her boyfriend seemed to be in the mood to have sex with her King and said King also appeared to be well started on the path of debauchery too. There was a long speech coming from Sona's end of the phone line and Akeno frowned heavily before saying
"Ah, okay. It's alright. Yes, I understand Sitri-san. We'll be right there. Just give us a few minutes to get ready. Good bye."
After hanging up, she then turned back to her flatmates and remarked that Harry had now switched breasts while his fingers were now slowly but surely making their way into Rias' now exposed pale pink and lacy panties since her skirt had been pushed higher on her thighs. Feeling bad for having to break the moment but needing to, Akeno said after clapping loudly in her hands a couple of time to grab their attention
"Okay, sorry to bother you but you have to break it up guys! We have an important situation that just came up."
Rias let out a very disappointed moan and an irritated rumbling bestial growl escaped from Harry's throat, showing his predator's tendencies passed to him by Albion. It seems that awakening a sentient Sacred Gear when you were a toddler could lead to weird consequences such as this…"mutation" for lack of a better term. Seriously, their beloved was supposed to be half Phenex, but his powers and some of his behaviour patterns were closer to those of a Dragon than anything else! When they had both all their attention on Akeno, she said with a serious frown on her pretty face
"We have to go back to school. Sitri-san called just now. Two members of the Church, Exorcists to be more precise, are in town and are requesting an audience to our earliest convenience. Since Kuoh town is technically under both Gremory and Sitri jurisdiction, Rias is also needed. They should be waiting in our Club room by the time we arrive."
Well, talk about a mood killer. Harry began to fix his ruffled t-shirt and jeans and also tried to will his erection away by thinking about many unsexy things such as his Uncle Sirius' face when he was hangover once he removed himself from under Rias. The young lady in question was scowling openly but was perfectly silent. But you could see that she was in need of a clean pair of panties since there was a visible wet spot near her flower. Their male companion though, could be heard mumbling under his breath. It was something about threats of retribution by warfare ass pranks, the Dire Misfortune Curse, having his younger sisters cast a Mega magic spell with the Wunschpunsch and other random threats, all the while switching between English and the Old Norse tongue.
Rias blinked with some moderate surprise at that last one, before remembering that Harry, his father and younger sisters were in fact Legacies of the Norse Trickster God Loki. It explained many things she had been pondering in the recent past really, what with the Norse God in question being part of his descendants' lives. Many of their beloved's pranks were used as offerings to the God in question. Needless to say, Harry's divine uncle was quite proud of him.
When everyone was ready to go, the girls disappeared in their Magic Circle while Harry twisted upon his heel and disapparated with a loud sound of air displacement after taking time to use his Occlumency exercises to centre him so to avoid splinching. Normally he would have side-along apparated the girls with him or maybe created a Portkey, but since the Exorcists had asked an audience with the local ruling Devils, they had to look the part. Since Apparition was quicker than the Magic Circle, the Jeans clad young man was the first to arrive.
Once he let himself in the Club room itself, he saw that Issei and Asia were already here and seated. The ex-nun holding the Red Dragon Emperor's left arm between her still developing bosom all the while staring at the two Exorcists with some apprehension since they seemed to have recognized her for her former "Holy Maiden" title and reputation. Not only was she now a reincarnated Devil, technically an enemy of the Church even after being excommunicated beforehand for a stupid reason, but Asia was no longer a maiden so to speak since she had willingly given her virginity to her beloved Issei. Asia was still a bit shy, but no longer in the privacy of Issei's and her bedroom. Hell, they had had sex just last night.
They likely would have antagonized her if they thought they could have gotten away with it, but Issei's glare was enough to dissuade them. The brown haired boy's training was going very well and the results so far were speaking for themselves, what with his now toned musculature and his new menacing presence when he truly meant business. Oh he was still a raging pervert, but he had finally learned to tone it down somewhat while in public and/or during the school hours. He was as bad as before in private though. But some progress was always better than nothing at all. So the Occult Research Club would take what they could.
Issei had also accidentally discovered how to channel his lust as the source for his power. The last one had very good results since he had always possess an unhealthy amount of it since entering puberty; Issei was showing massive improvement with his Sacred Gear. Ddraig had even told him the other day that he was on the verge to achieve Balance Breaker! He was now on a totally new level than from the one he was at the beginning of his new life.
Asia had little to no hesitation to let her boyfriend touch her a bit in public if it means that he could concentrate better on his schoolwork. It worked very well since his school average had skyrocketed since she had devised, after a Girl talk session with Buchou, Koneko-chan and Akeno-sempai, a Reward program with sexy perks for good grades and diligent study. Issei was also now self conscious enough to keep it to light gropes in non erogenous zones in public, except her butt.
Further proof was seen to everyone since yesterday had marked the two months anniversary of the last time he was caught peeping. It was a whole new record for Ise. The remaining two third of what has been the Perverted Trio still haven't changed for the better though. While Issei was still hanging with both Motohama and Matsuda a few times a week when he had the time in between taking care of his girlfriend and his Devil duties, it was clear that their friendship wouldn't likely last beyond their High school graduation since the other two simply refused to change their ways or just grow up in general.
When the Potter heir entered the Club Room, both Exorcists turned into their seats to look at him while he took the chance to examine them. Both were young women in their late teens. One had long chestnut coloured hair styled in twin ponytails and with violet eyes, while the other one was taller, with chin-length blue hair with a green fringe on the right side and dark yellow eyes. It may have been muted due to the suppression bands, but Harry could feel the presence of their Holy swords.
His hybrid nature served him rather well in this case; Holy Swords, the Light/HolyElement and other Holy artifacts had no special effects on him due to his magical human blood. But due to his Devil blood, he still could feel their presence. Not from far away mind you, but in a room like this one, it was rather hard not to feel them.
However, due to being the wielder of Divine Dividing, which was a Dragon type Sacred Gear, Harry was by default very susceptible to anything specially designed to deal with and/or damage Dragons. Yes, even Arithmancy modified Stunners specially re-engineered to bypass the innate magical resistance the legendary magical creature was known for in the Wizarding World. That was one of his mom's most used inventions. Right behind the very bane of the Marauders, the Bits buster Hex.
She created the Dragon stunner Charm with the idea of being able to stop him when needed without hurting him during his training when he was younger and had less control over his then explosive temper and powers. Nodding his head to the two Exorcists but not acknowledging them any further since they had basically cock blocked him earlier, he asked Issei and Asia on a cordial tone of voice
"Hey guys! Have you seen the others? Rias and Akeno should be there shortly since they left just before me."
It was Issei who answered him
"Asia-chan and I called them on their cell phones while Kaichou was phoning at your appartment earlier. Koneko-chan should be here any minute now but Kiba will be running late since he got summoned for an early assignment. And Gasper, well good luck trying to make him come out of his room before midnight without bribing him with Blood pops and previously planned "men bonding" (Aka pranking raids in the Student council room or more recently in the Staff lounge.) expeditions."
He was about to say more, but the blue haired Exorcist interrupted rather bluntly the conversation with the brown haired boy by pointing an index towards Harry
"Who are you? No scratch that, in fact what are you exactly? You don't feel like a Devil but you also don't feel like a regular Human either or like any other Supernatural creatures I've met before. What is your business here? Answer me quickly Heathen, before I decide to smite you in the name of the Lord Almighty!"
She finished by putting a callused hand on the handle of her still wrapped up Holy Sword.
Harry blinked with some surprise at the sudden interrogation, her threat to him and at her accent. From someone who was native from Italy if he was not mistaken, she was very fluent in Japanese and had little accent. Then his next thought was:
"Wow, she's pretty rude. She surely must have failed her diplomacy course at the Exorcists' Training center."
He wasn't feeling much inclined to answer Xenovia's questions to be honest. Not only was she very rude while she was currently a guest inside Devil territory, but on top of that those two had basically cock blocked him and given him blue balls with the bad timing of their unexpected arrival! It was seriously not cool! Deciding to be blunt and not bother with being civil as some sort of petty payback, he told the blue haired young woman
"Wow, rude much? I'm in no way obligated to answer any of your questions. But I guess I can introduce myself since it won't hurt. My name is Harry Potter, Kuoh Academy's very own Marauder and Prankster extraordinaire! As for your threat to "smite" me, you would have to be able to touch me first, which I have serious doubts that you could. You see, I am quite adept at dodging and escaping when needed. Now for my next trick…you'll have to wait since it seems that the girls will be here in a few seconds! "
His little intro was also used as a successful misdirection, since Harry took advantage of the Blue haired chick's attention now going to the arriving Heiresses to discreetly change with the help of his magic her bra and panties that she was currently wearing into a set themed with Powerpuff Girls' characters. He had to force himself to not smirk and snicker in amusement, lest he spoiled his hastily planned revenge prank.
Then he made a mental note to look up for an Enchantment or a Ward in their library at his parents' house to try to nullify the effect of the God of the Bible's name on his Devil friends, since the brown haired Exorcist couldn't stop praising Him one way or another every minute. If he didn't know better, he would swear that that Irina chick lusted after Yahweh. He forcefully veered his mind from the subject though, before the said mind goes straight to the gutters. He really did not wish to be stuck with the disturbing images his perverted mind would cook up. Damn Devil enhanced hormones…
Harry then said nothing else, claiming a seat on the comfy double sofa bed he had bought during one of their little trips out of town. He was now completely ignoring the Exorcists, much to the blue haired one's ire since his answers were far from satisfying. He was currently focusing on the now glowing sigil in the centre of the room and also absently wondering if Vetrbrandr was making any progress into taking a human form. The next time he had enough time for himself, he would go see the Norse dragon. Maybe he could also bring the girls with him so he could see them both frolic naked in the ocean? It was food for very pleasant thoughts.
Harry couldn't in good conscience bring his familiar away from his nest in his true form. Even with his rather pacific nature, a dragon of the size of the Bewilderbeast seen in a city, even one of the sizes of Kuoh town, would cause much chaos and a plethora of problems he could frankly do without. Even as brazen as he was, Harry would never willingly break the Statute of Secrecy. That was one law he would never flaunt. He really didn't fancy a term into an ICW detention facility for his troubles. Soon enough Rias accompanied by Akeno and lastly by Koneko, were now seated.
Well, Akeno was in fact standing faithfully behind and at the right shoulder of her Kingwho sat behind her desk like the dutiful and ever vigilantQueenshe was, with her hands joined at the front. Coincidentally the pose had the advantage to do marvelous things to her breasts, which became a focus for the Wizard's gaze. His girlfriend's sizable assets were much more interesting than a pair of Exorcists, that was a given.
Soon after, Sona and her Peerage also filed in the Club Room. He had to restrain himself to not bust a gut right here at what he saw, since it seemed that Saji had been caught in a forgotten trap of his. The other boy's hair, which was once a nice blond colour, was now a flashy and garish shade of green. In a fit of sheer boredom one day, Harry had brought a magically armed paint bomb at school and booby trapped a random locker. He had not cared to remember if it was currently in use or empty. Genshirou had been caught during a locker's inspection that had ran a bit late, thus hadn't the time to wash his hair since they were due to meet the envoys from the Church.
The boy in question was now giving Harry the evil eye. He knew that Potter was the culprit, but he and the rest of the Student council had no reasonable proof, thus couldn't confront him and punish him for it. Not that Harry cared all that much about the School rules and detentions in the first place… And to be honest, the White Dragon Emperor had completely forgotten about that particular prank since it has been set up before Akeno and he started dating. Then he felt another more competent glare add itself on the inefficient one sent to him by Saji.
It seems that Sona hadn't really appreciated his latest prank on her person either. He was starting to lack original ideas on the fly since having two girlfriends to take care of really cut into the time he used to plan for his next stunts; Harry had just gone with the old classic "kick me!" sign. Not that any students had been brave enough to do so, but it had led to many snickers, snorts and giggles under their breaths when they felt they could get away with it.
Sona's fearsome reputation was rather well merited to be honest. Harry simply didn't care about her reputation or her role into the school, period. In his mind, she needed to lighten up and remove that massive stick up her admittedly nice looking ass. From the stories he heard from his father, mother and uncles, Sona would have likely gotten along greatly with Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration Professor, Minerva McGonagall. They were two no-nonsense persons and disciplinarian to booth. Well on the surface anyway.
He had taken advantage of the fact that Sona was busy scolding a few younger students who were seen running in the corridors to glue the sign on her back. His only answer to her glare was a trademark Marauder smile. Sometimes classics were really the best. But soon enough the meeting got underway. At first, Harry thought it was boring. It was about the theft of some holy artifacts by some hotshot Fallen Angel with the goal to piss off Angels and Devils alike. But soon, things were explained. The sword of promised victory, Excalibur, was broken and reforged in seven new swords, each containing only a part of the original blade's abilities. Then a new random thought entered his mind.
"Does any of higher- ups of the Three Factions knows about the Heaven's Feel Tournament and did they read the reports saying that King Arthur was actually summoned during the last one?"
Harry had tried to learn Magecraft when he was a bit younger. But even if he had a nice quantity of Magic Circuits of good quality, if what Zelretch had said was true, he absolutely sucked at it. He could obtain similar results of some Magecraft spells he saw with his Wizardry, but he could do absolutely nothing really worthwhile with pure Magecraft no matter what he tried. Shaking his head to chase those rogue thoughts away, he concentrated once more on the debriefing. This time there was some good info to gleam.
Agents in service of Grigori's Cadre Kokabiel had managed to steal three Excalibur swords on his orders from the Vatican, the Protestant Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church where the swords were previously housed. The trail left by the agents had led to Kuoh Town, thus the Exorcists came to ask the Devils governing the town for permission to look for the missing Holy swords here and also to ask them to not interfere.
It was unclear what Kokabiel's end game exactly was. But one thing was certain, it would be nothing good. On their end, the Exorcists had for mission to bring back the missing Excalibur swords to the Vatican or failing that, to destroy them so they could not be used against them. They also had been strictly ordered to do nothing that could threaten the current Peace Treaty/Ceasefire between their Factions. Hence the two Exorcists' request for the ruling Devils to not meddle into the affairs of the Church.
It was on the tail end of the debriefing that Yuuto entered the Club room via Magic Circle.
"Pardon my lateness; I had an early request that ran a bit late…"
It was what he said the second he was materialized.
But the Knight froze to a standstill when his acute senses felt the presence of two Holy Swords. And not any run of the mill Holy Swords given to promising Exorcists, those he could have ignored with a bit of force of will, but the fragments of Excalibur itself simply couldn't and wouldn't be ignored! Yuuto Kiba was the only survivor of a barbaric experiment led by the now excommunicated ex-Archbishop Valper Galilei, acutely nicknamed the Genocide Archbishop.
The Holy Sword Project had left deep emotional scars inside the young man. Said scars which had started to heal with the passing of time had just been brutally reopened. While Rias rescued him from the brink of death, during his convalescence he had developed a quite understandable but quasi irrational hatred of Holy Swords and Excalibur particularly.
His eyes had became dilated, his skin now flushed with sheer anger and he was now shaking with a boatload of negative emotions! His Devil power was now rising to the point that everyone in the room could feel it and by his stance, he was about to attack. Rias, knowing of his past but cursing herself mentally for not having prevented such a brutal meeting, commanded him with a stern voice that brooked absolutely no argument
"Yuuto, stand down! Now! That's an order!"
The blond haired Knight shot his King a silent look a betrayal mixed with unfathomable rage. It looked like he was about to disobey the command, but when the Crimson Ruin Princess flared her considerable power accompanied by the Priestess of Thunder's for good measure, he finally saw reason. He then let his own considerable Devil power vanishes before taking a seat as far from the Exorcists as possible. Yuuto was no fool; the president and vice-president of the Occult Research Club were much stronger than him individually. But with their strength combined, he would be forcefully subdued before he could even think of doing anything worthwhile. Coincidently, getting as far from the visiting members of the Church made him sit on the seat near Harry.
Concerned for his best male friend/sparring partner, Potter asked Kiba lowly as to not disturb the others who were presently talking
"Do you think you need a Calming Draught Yuuto? Or maybe I can portkey you to my parents' house to play with my sisters for a bit so you can clear your mind?"
Two weeks ago, the whole Occult Research Club had being invited for supper by Lily. The evening had been very nice and everyone had a great time. Harry had even pounced on his dad and they had wrestled a good while around the living room since the older man had wanted to break out the much dreaded baby pictures! Seeing the girls cast once again a Mega Magic spell with the Wunschpunsch had been the highlight of the evening. Yuuto had also been a big hit with Azalea and Leilany. Not for his Bishounen look for a change, but for his Sacred Gear's abilities to create any demonic sword he could imagine. But if he put his mind into it, he could also create inoffensive blades even if it was somewhat more difficult.
While the girls liked to play "House" once in a while or with their Barbie dolls and other random toys, they also really liked to play fight with toy swords. Sirius had a real talent for storytelling and had told them tall tales of swashbuckling, epic sword fights and other tales of pirates, knights and many more. Hence was the source of their new desire of becoming Adventurers when they grew up. Unfortunately, their toy swords had been melted accidentally by Kunou when she launched an orb of Kitsune-bi at the toy swords for an improvised version of a supernatural Baseball game.
Since both parties were at fault this time, Kunou knew she wasn't supposed to use Fox fire without the presence of her mother or her tutor; and Leilany and Azalea were also supposed to know that playing Baseball or any other sport in the living room was forbidden, Yasaka, James and Lily had collectively decided that Kunou would reimburse the toys she broke with her own pocket money. But as punishment, the Potter girls would not be allowed to play with them for a good long while once the new ones would be bought.
Ever helpful, the wielder of Sword Birth had created for them rapiers similar to the ones used by the fictional character Zorro, but with blunt edges. Needless to say, Kiba had gained two new fans, but this time they were not after his hide for a Date. It was rather refreshing to be honest. Afterwards, they had constantly badgered him to make new toy swords for them to play with since when they were not in Kiba's hands, the swords had a very limited shelf life, much to the amusement of everybody present.
Before Yuuto could answer Harry, Xenovia suddenly shot up very quickly from her seat, to the point where it was sent loudly clattering to the ground, surprising everybody present. Quick as lightning, she removed the wrappings from her Holy Sword, took an attack stance and said out loud since she had heard Magical terms being spoken about
"Exodus 22:18! Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live! I shall smite you in the name of God by this Holy sword, Wizard! Atone for your sins in Hell you heathenish Magic user!"
Since she had declared out loud a direct Verse from the Bible, even if it was from another version than the original, all the full Devils present be they pureblooded or reincarnated, were seized by an intense and excruciating pain. Harry had the dubious chance of being immune due to the fact that he was born a hybrid. The pain would have been somewhat tolerable for the others if it was only the verse spoken out loud, but adding the name of The Almighty in the same sentence had put them in a state which they could not do anything until their "Inner Darkness" for lack of a better term, purged the Holy Energy from their systems.
With the added fact that Irina was too shocked to reason with her hot headed teammate, thus unable to stop her, Xenovia charged toward the green eyed young man with the firm intention of removing his head from his shoulders after removing the bindings on her Excalibur sword.
Harry cursed out loud. Murphy's Law had struck again! The Norns must hate him, which was the only reason that made any sense right now!
"Fuck!"
He had thought that the Church had stopped all attempts to exterminate his kind centuries ago! What the hell was wrong with this chick? It seems that some remnants of those against Magic users had survived and proliferated in smaller, out of the way and/or isolated churches. His first reflex was to send a stunning spell at the girl but she batted it away like it was nothing with the flat of her blade. Taking the slowly recovering Yuuto with him, he apparated away just as the blade of her Excalibur was sailing for his neck but not before he received a long but thin cut on his right cheek for his troubles.
He reappeared in a kneeling position just behind Rias' desk, propping his male friend against the wall before calling his Spear from an emerald green Magic Circle with the gold colored reverse letter "N"with a vertical line in the middle, which was in the centre of the said Circle. It was the symbol of his Divine Patron after all. Now things wouldn't be the same. While he could have apparated away to safety quite easily even with a passenger, Harry was not the kind of man who allowed threats against his person to run free and unchecked.
Harry had to give her some credit though; Xenovia was rather quick on her feet. But this time, he was prepared for her. With a grunt of exertion, he blocked her next swing, not at all bothered by her War Cry. But it seems that she was quite shocked that his weapon had endured the clash with her own. So that fragment of Excalibur was one geared toward sheer destructive potential perhaps? He wasn't really sure to be honest; he never did much research into Holy Swords since he was a spear user and not a swordsman. Maybe it was something similar to Rias' power? Tch, as if the Dwarves of Nidavellir would allow a Holy sword to destroy one of their creations that easily! The nerve!
They had a lofty reputation to uphold after all! Taking advantage of her surprise, Harry used one of his feet to destabilize her fighting stance before disengaging. Before she could pursue him, he apparated once more at close range only to reappear behind her and then put his ringed hand between her shoulder blades.
With a quick
"Stupefy!"
Xenovia slumped into unconsciousness after being hit point blank by the red beam of magical energy. Rather mad for the unprovoked attempt on his life, he made no movement to stop her from hitting the floor face first. Since a simple Stunner wouldn't hold more than a few hours, Harry also added a Full Body bind to the mix just in case. Only the fact that an outright hostile act on a member of the Church in Rias and Sona' territory could have negative consequences for them due to the possible breach in the Armistice between the Three Factions made him act that nice. Usually an outright and unprovoked assault like that would have been met with at least debilitating force if not downright lethal.
Still in Battle mode, Harry was quick to switch targets towards Irina, but she just lifted both her hands into the air in clear surrender before babbling
"Stop stop stop! It's all a misunderstanding! I swear! Please hear me out! We're not here to fight you! Xenovia just tends to be overzealous and act before thinking things through! She takes the writings of the Bible as the absolute Code of conduct to follow and not just as a book detailing our Religion's history! The Church and the Wizarding World are supposed to be at peace! They still were when we left Vatican City a few days ago!"
She finished with a tone of panic in her voice.
They were supposed to simply obtain permission to hunt down the missing Excalibur swords in known Devil territory, not try to smite an innocent young man for being born with magic! Irina could easily feel the difference between Magicals whom were labelled "Dark" and "Light" for lack of better terms. And this young man didn't felt "Dark" at all. There was no reason to try to smite him! Yes, the Bible did have a verse against Witches, but it was thousands of years ago when many magical enclaves' citizens went to try to subjugate the non-magical population to try to recruit a labour force or a Slave Caste. Things had greatly changed since back then.
Dismissing his spear once reassured that he wouldn't be attacked and letting a now recovered Akeno fuss over his minor wound, he reluctantly kept his peace. As much as he wished to get rid of the Exorcists by booting them out of town as fast as possible, it was not his decision to make. It was Sona's and Rias'. It was why he also resisted his impulse to charm Excalibur Destruction into a Portkey with an active volcano as the destination. He was still on the fence about either sending the sword alone or with its wielder. While Akeno was using a bit of healing magic on their boy toy's wound, Rias said with a cold voice
"I do not like the fact that your teammate attacked my contracted ally without just reason Shidou-san. Yes, he's a Wizard and not a Magician. So what? That fact changes absolutely nothing in the long run. Would your teammate have tried to smite him if he had been a Magus from Clock Tower or a Magician belonging to one of those various Associations? Don't bother to answer, it was a rhetorical question. As it is, I do not think that we can allow your colleague and you free reign in our territory."
Irina was about to protest, but Sona continued where Rias left off with her usual stern tone
"We realize that Kokabiel is trying to stir trouble and that the Church wish to regain their propriety. But since it appears that Quarta-san is unable to accept the presence of a Human magic user among our midst, we won't tempt Fate by letting her roam around without supervision. Thus we will investigate this matter together. You can accept our help or you and your companion will be asked to leave our territory as soon as possible. Take it or leave it."
She finished crisply.
Sona hadn't enjoyed being subjected to the horrible pain caused by the Bible's verse being declared out loud and only compounded by uttering the name of the Almighty. And while her and Harry weren't getting along very well, she didn't wish him ill for all that. He was annoying, true, but not to the point for wishing his demise. She was in fact rather grateful that he was making Rias and Akeno so happy. Now, if she could find herself a man to her tastes, she would be settled in that department…
She also had to tip her invisible hat to him since he had found quite a few possible solutions that no one had thought about for Rias to escape her contract with Riser Phenex. While Rias and she were best friends admittedly with a fierce but friendly rivalry, as the Heiress to House Sitri, Sona had been forced to stay neutral, even if she had felt very bad for not being able to support her childhood friend trough the crisis, in what had been considered a House Gremory and House Phenex only, matter.
What little help she could offer, she had given. Per example, the slip for a false field trip so Lord Gremory could give his signature. It hadn't helped that her older sister had ordered her to not meddle into those matters. And when Serafall Leviathan gave a serious order, the one who received it had better do as ordered if he/she knew what was good for him/her.
In the end, Irina had to take the Devils' deal. But there was a problem; she had spent all their allowed money on a painting of a supposed Saint only to realize hours later that she had been hoodwinked. Now because of her naivety, they didn't have any money left for lodgings and food. In fact, they were kind of screwed.
Harry was zoning in and out of the conversation by now, but hearing about Irina's bad financial decision made him snort. Kiba, in between trying to glare the Exorcists and their Excalibur blades to oblivion, also snorted with morbid amusement. The Church just had to send an airhead one and an impulsive one as Operatives for a mission of this calibre. Either the higher-ups wanted to get rid of those two in a suicidal mission or the Exorcists' division were so understaffed it wasn't even funny anymore. Or maybe there was another angle they just weren't seeing, who knew really?
When Harry saw Rias' sweet smile toward him he told her point blank
"Hell. No. I'm not letting them crash in our flat. Get that idea out of your mind right now Rias Gremory. First, it can feel already crowded with just the three of us, so adding two more won't help things. Second, I really don't feel that charitable. In fact, I'm feeling downright selfish, especially after Miss Stab happy over there tried to smite me for no good reason. And I'm not paying them hotel rooms from my own pocket either. Use your own funds if it's what you want Luv' or have them send their bills to the Vatican or to the Archangel Michael via Zelretch Express or make them sleep in your old room here for all I care. It's my turn to shop for groceries anyway, so I really need all my cash."
Rias sighed almost inaudibly. There goes her plan of having the Exorcists indebted towards them, all the while keeping a closer eye on them without it being too suspicious. Harry was always so serious about money matters; which was usually a good thing. He was mostly respecting his budget but sometimes he would spoil Akeno and her a bit. Well, she had her video games and manga addictions, so she knew about budgeting. But back to her now failed plan, Harry really lacked political acumens. He just wasn't looking enough at the big picture or weighting the many possibilities in a situation before making a decision.
In the end, it was Sona who decided to take charge of the two Exorcists since nobody from Rias' Peerage were offering their help. Issei would have likely invited Irina for old times' sake, but the brown haired young woman refused to be separated from her teammate. The Sitri Heiress booked them into a middle class Hotel downtown while organizing her Peerage with a schedule to serve as escorts/chaperones.
It was safer this way for everyone involved. The more distance there was between the Excalibur swords and Yuuto Kiba, the better it was for both the Knight and the Exorcists in question. Taking charge of their guests had also the good side effect of keeping the two visitors out of Harry's way. She knew the modus operandi of the young man by now, and he would want to get even for the unprovoked assault on his person sooner or later. Revenge was a dish best served cold after all.
Having their guests residing in a public place also dramatically reduced the chances of him getting his payback by warfare ass pranks. Well more than what he already did to Xenovia. Sona had to admit, if only in the privacy of her mind, hearing about that her pain in the neck of a classmate had spelled the blue haired Exorcist's underwear with pictures of some American cartoon for young children's characters in retribution for basically cock blocking him was truly hilarious. Also this escort and protection job would give some much needed exercise to her Peerage and also for her. Running the Student council was supposed to be a front, but somehow they had fallen too deep into their cover, even she, the Sitri Heiress.
Since she was accompanied by her own Queen, Tsubaki Shinra while walking in the corridors toward their Council room, Sona could give her some instructions.
"Tsubaki, make sure that everyone know to be on the straight and narrow. I don't want to make a bad impression on the members of the Church and loose the chance to potentially form some connections. I want those with a shift for the escort detail to be as professional as possible. Don't forget to rotate everybody after an eight hours shift. Also do keep Saji on a very short leash. I don't want him to pick a fight with Rias' Pawn for something stupid like a Date with Argento-sanor worse, provoking Potter for no good reason.
The last thing I want is giving Potter a good reason to sow merry hell in my domain in retaliation from some slight. If you have to, use the carrot and stick approach but I want him to be on his very best behaviour. Hell, if he doesn't let his ego get away from him, tell him I'll even pay for a wild week-end with a couple of Hookers! "
Tsubaki was a young bespectacled woman with long straight black hair that extended all the way down to her knees with split bangs and heterochromic eyes, with a violet left eye and a light brown right eye. In addition to wearing the Kuoh Academy girls' school uniform, she also wore blue, semi-rimmed glasses with square lenses. Like Sona, Tsubaki had a serious personality and was also rarely seen smiling. She also cared deeply for her teammates and was very loyal to her King. She was also a very skilled naginata user. After hearing her King's commands, she only said
"Hai Kaichou. I'll see it done. But if I may be so bold, why are you tolerating Potter's antics so much? Anybody else would have been suspended for a few weeks, at the very least, for all the stunts he pulled by now."
Sona then gave her a straight answer
"Potter is very good at covering his tracks and his "pranks" are usually after hours, so my School given authority is no longer valid. We know it's him, but we don't have any proof. I can't very well punish him officially for something we can't put on a report. The magical authorities are really cracking down on anything that could leak the existence of the Supernatural world to the normal Humans. Lord Gremory has a hard time trying to stop them from meddling with the Academy. So anything that can put our cover at risk is something that the Ministry of Magic can use to make our current lives more difficult.
It's now to the point that the Youkais can't even leave their hidden enclaves without putting on their human disguises or else they are put under arrest for endangering the International Statute of Secrecy! They are also currently looking for any good reason to expel any member of the Three Factions from Japan's shores. Let's not give them enough rope to hang us with, metaphorically speaking."
Tsubaki had to give it to her King; those were excellent reasons even if she was tired of cleaning after Potter's immature antics. After asking and receiving permission, the long haired Queentook leave of her mistress to go marshal her comrades for their jobs.
A few days later, the search for the stolen Excalibur swords wasn't advancing much. While Xenovia and Irina had great fighting capacities as observed in a spar between them to keep their skills sharp, between both of them there was a certain lack of logic. They would look at random places, trying to see if the swords were hidden somewhere. I mean, what kind of loony Fallen Angel would hide priceless Holy Swords at an Antique dealer specialising in pre-World War II merchandise?
(In Britain, in Devonshire, Luna Lovegood sneezed.)
Then Irina went off on a rant because she found out that Issei had had in his possession a French version of the game "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past", for the Super Nintendo. She was incensed to learn that the Master Sword's name was translated to Excalibur in the game.
She should have sent a complaint to the European branch of the Nintendo Company, not lecture Issei for the better part of an hour when he didn't even possess the game anymore! And each time he tried to slip away discreetly, she would start to pray! Her act of praying would have for result of hurting every Devil nearby. It seemed that Irina and Issei had been good friends before she moved out, but had thought that she was a boy. Before Ise discovered the joys of Oppais, he was very dedicated to his Video games.
Tsubaki really hoped that the Exorcists would quickly find what they were looking for and leave, because dealing repeatedly with both an impulsive devout and an airhead with a sexual attraction to the Almighty was eroding even her legendary patience!
She then said to herself under her breath
"I think I preferred dealing with the fallout of Potter's pranks than with those two. His pranks are entertaining at least, well, when you're not the poor sucker who is the victim or the one who has to clean in the aftermath…"
Things then started to go pear shaped when Tsubasa Yura, one of Sona's Rooks and she were on duty the evening of the fifth day of the Exorcists' stay. Xenovia had finally relented and accepted her teammate's suggestion to go take a look at the abandoned church in town. It was on their way there that they were met by a most unwelcome figure. Freed Sellzen was back and it was not with good news, since the Stray Exorcist was currently wielding one of the Excalibur swords that the Church wanted back.
As it was typical of the vulgar and psychopathic stray Exorcist, he started to spout very disturbing things
"Oh ho! What's this? Pussy hour? Are you guys trying to find a place for some forbidden girl on girl action? I mean two Nuns and two Devils together! Epic! I'd really like to give you a hand or rather a dick to play with, but the boss is already breathing on the back of my neck as it is. So! Hand me your Excalibur swords bitches and I'll kill you all real quick. Maybe I'll fuck your still warm bodies though before cutting you all in pieces."
He finished by licking the flat of his blade, before vanishing like he was never here in the first place.
Tsubaki and Irina jumped away backward while Xenovia and Yura dodged to the left. Letting the Exorcists fight, the naginata user called on her magic to cast a barrier to mask the fight from the regular folk's eyes. The downside of casting the type of barrier that could be hold by only one person was that the caster could not move very far away from the casting point, thus Tsubaki was vulnerable and unable to fight. So right now, both Xenovia and Irina were engaging Freed while Tsubasa was standing guard in front of her Queen. Things were getting dicey…