Hey all.

Some of you have raised concerns about me Nerfing Shirou. Let me assure you that is NOT the case, as even without unleashing Archer's Arm, he can easily trace B-Rank Noble Phantasms as needed. However, 'Breaking' a Phantasm without it blowing up in his face, as is the case with Crane Wing Three Realms, or Tracing a Phantasm above B-Rank, requires the use of Archer's Arm.

So yeah, provided the Noble Phantasm is below B+ rank, Shirou can pull it out and go to town till he's blue in the face or drops dead from prana exhaustion. But for anything higher than B? That requires the use of the arm, and while he isn't in as immediate danger of being devoured thanks to his time spent in DxD world, for the time being, Archer's Arm is still stronger than him, and their Inner World's are still incompatible.

That being said, let's see how things go from here.


False-Life 3: Battle Nuns.

"Good Morning, Sona." Tsubaki greeted, the tall vice-president falling in step with her King as they made their way to school, inclining her head briefly in greeting whenever one of their fellow students called out a greeting.

"Morning, Tsubaki." Sona returned, the Sitri heiress glancing up from her book to acknowledge her Queen, before promptly returning to her page "Has there been any word on the matter we discussed?"

"Sadly, no." Tsubaki admitted, inclining her head in apology "Other than his medical records, birth certificate and transfer details, I haven't been able to uncover anything about Emiya Shirou's background that may waylay our suspicions."

"I see." Sona mused, her expression calm, though Tsubaki could tell from experience that her King was troubled by the revelation.

Ever since Rias had confirmed that Emiya-kun was the source of the magical energy that had been detected around campus, both parties had done their best to determine his origins. Regardless of his allegiances or personality, having a Magician running around campus was a security risk. The fact that said magician had gone out of his way to indenture himself with the Staff and Student body made it all the more necessary to determine whether or not he meant them ill.

However, despite their best efforts, neither the Gremory nor Sitri information networks had been able to drum up anything on the teen other than basic information that could be easily doctored with the right connections. To make things even harder, he seemed to instinctively know whenever one of them was nearby, which meant Rias' preferred method of cornering her targets with her charm and beauty had been effectively neutralized due to Emiya's strange aversion for her and her peerage.

'But if that's the case, why doesn't he avoid the council and myself?' she wondered, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to piece together the enigma 'It's clear he knows or at least suspects what we are, yet why go out of his way to avoid the Gremorys but not us?'

Did he not view her peerage as a threat? Admittedly, putting aside their mutual status as siblings to the current Satans, Rias' own reputation as the 'Crimson Haired Ruin Princess' far outstripped her own, but other than their physique there wasn't much difference between the Gremory and Sitri heiresses. Indeed, when it came to strategy and tactics, Sona was Rias' superior, having personally selected each member of her peerage to complement one another, whereas Rias had, almost literally in some cases, been handed her members on a silver platter.

'In hindsight, I should probably have made a move to corner the Red Emperor Dragon sooner…' she muttered, though part of her shuddered at the idea of admitting Hyoudou Issei into the Student Council. Saji was bad enough, but despite his flaws her pawn at the very least knew better than to act on his desires, whereas Sona had little doubt Rias had to abuse said desires just to keep Issei in line.

Still, worrying oneself sick over minutiae solved nothing at this juncture. At the end of the day, while Emiya Shirou was a Magician, he was still a student at Kuoh Academy, which meant that so long as he followed the rules and avoided causing trouble Sona was prepared to cut him some slack.

Well, that and the fact he'd pretty much won the entire council over with his cooking. Rias still flushed as scarlet as her hair whenever Sona brought up the 'Devil's Food Cake' incident.

"Sona…" Tsubaki called out, her calm tone belying a sudden sharpness, the air around her queen thickening as she subtly braced herself for combat "Over there."

Sona glanced up, the book in her hands snapping shut as she followed her Queen's gaze, her eyes narrowing not at the shady looking figures clad in church robes loitering by the school gate, but the object wrapped in bandages one of them bore on her back, the Holy Energies coming off it causing her skin to shiver despite the distance between them.

'A Holy Sword…' she muttered, struggling to maintain her mask of calm as she met the gaze of the Church's Agents without fear 'Just what on earth is going on around here?'


A world of iron dust and forge smoke...

Crawling like ants beneath his skin, his flesh, violated by foreign steel, burned as it fought not to reject, but to incorporate, the steel that was similar yet inherently different to its own.

His body is made of swords…

Again he stood upon the Hill of Swords, gazing upon the endless twilight of his borrowed dream, his body perforated with the blades of his enemies.

His blood is of iron and his heart of glass…

The sound of metalwork filled the air, the giant gears that filled the sky obscured by smog and iron dust as they endlessly added to his arsenal.

He survived through countless battles…

A field of corpses, cut down by his hands, a tree whose branches were laden with cadavers. Young and old, Man, Woman and child, all he had cut down in the name of peace.

Never once retreating…

Now his neck filled the noose, the spears of those he fought to protect perforating his flesh as their leaders looked on imperiously.

Never once being understood.

A ring of light, a promise of aide, a foolishly accepted offer that led to further bloodshed, his bloodied blades wielded against his will in the name of peace.

He was always alone…

He knelt atop the Hill of Swords, atop the corpses of his enemies, atop the corpses of his allies, surrounded on all side by the pinnacle of weaponry, the blades of Heroes and Villains alike.

Intoxicated with victory on a Hill of Swords

Alone he knelt, forever alone, forever denied the rest he deserved, forever denied the right to choose whether to take or save a life.

Thus, his life has no meaning.

Another battle, another call to duty. Against his will he climbs to his feet, his soul screaming at his body to halt as his once precious blades appeared in his hands.

His body was certainly made out of swords.

Shirou awoke with a yell, the Faker's ochre eyes wide with alarm as he reached out as if to hold someone back, only to blink, the ever-distant image of the Red-Clad Counter-Guardian's back vanishing from his sight, replaced with the image of his room in Azazel's mansion.

'When…?' he began, wondering how on earth he'd gotten to his room, only to grimace at the sharp, burning pain in his left side, his right hand coming up to grip his left shoulder tightly as he closed his eyes. 'Go back…' he muttered, visualizing a 'wall' of sorts between the circuits which bout Archer's arm to his body, a purely mental exercise he'd been taught to help differentiate between his and the Red Knight's memories 'Go back…'

There was some resistance, naturally, the Prana of the arm warring against his will as it fought to invade his circuits, but eventually he managed to separate them, the barrier Rin had taught him holding for the moment, allowing only the barest trickle of invasive Prana through.

'It's been a while since I had to fight to force it back…' he muttered, grimacing as he opened his eyes, regarding the wrapped limb as if it were an animal on a leash 'Guess I've been pushing myself too hard…'

Whatever else could be said about Kotomine Kirei, the man's skills as both a Priest and a Magus had been the real deal, allowing him to pull off a feat that, by all rights, bordered on Miraculous when he, in direct opposition to Natural Providence, successfully transplanted the arm of a Heroic Spirit onto a Human.

By all rights, the arm should have disappeared back into the ether when Archer faded away. It was testament to Kirei's skills that the man had been able to graft the limb onto Shirou's Magic Circuits, allowing it to remain in this world by using his own Prana as a source of power.

Shirou honestly didn't know what Archer had been thinking when he'd proposed the operation, but as it stood the arm, or Artificial Phantasm as he'd come to regard it, was both his Ultimate Weapon and Instrument of his Destruction in one.

On the one hand, it passively fed him Archer's memories, history and, more importantly, his Battle Experience and knowledge of Projection Magecraft. On the other, putting aside their shared origins, there was a stark difference between the Magus Emiya Shirou and the Counter Guardian summoned as the Archer of the 5th Heaven's Feel.

Archer had regretted sticking to his ideals after being betrayed by them and in turn being forced to betray them after becoming a Counter Guardian, whereas Shirou willingly cast aside those ideals to protect those important to him, only for the world to spit upon his actions as if punishing him for daring to be selfish after so long.

In the end, they were two entirely different people, and as a result their inner worlds, the very basis of their Magecraft, clashed and tore one another apart in a bid for dominance, as no matter how similar they were in life, a Human Being could not compare to a Heroic Spirit, to the point that even tapping into the abilities of the Artificial Phantasm for a second ran the risk of Shirou being swallowed whole by the 'Flow' of Archer's power.

It was for this reason that Kotomine had given him the Shroud of Martin, a conceptual weapon that allowed them to partially 'seal off' the remains of Archer's Circuits within the Artificial Phantasm. While far from a perfect solution, as even without employing Magecraft Prana continuously flowed through the body, forcing Shirou to subconsciously erect a barrier between his Circuit's and Archers to keep them from activating, it did lessen the strain on him to the point he could live an ordinary life.

On the upside, even with the effect reduced, the passive boost to Shirou's abilities allowed him to easily surpass those of a normal human. On the downside, the resulting initial feedback from moving the arm for an extended period of time with the circuit active was akin to being cut and stabbed by his own body.

During his initial controlled experiment, wherein he partially undid the bindings to test his limits, the sheer agony had been so intense he honestly couldn't recall what he'd been doing when he came to, save that he'd narrowly escaped death atop a Hill of Swords. It had been the first time in ten years he'd truly feared for his life as he had during the night he'd wandered through the Fuyuki fire. Even being hunted down by Lancer, staring down Berserker or struggling against Gilgamesh hadn't scared him to the point he actually feared for his life.

There had even been times he'd considered cutting the damn thing off, but without it he wouldn't have been able to stand beside Rin and Ilya when they'd gone to confront Zouken and Sakura. That, and a part of him had wanted to live up to the idea Kotomine proposed: That if he honed his skills to the point they matched Archer's, he'd be able to make the Arm his own without having to rely on the Shroud to seal it.

As someone whose life had been built upon borrowed, flawed ideals, the idea of moving beyond relying on Archer's skills, to take what the Counter Guardian had developed and make it his own, was something Shirou found wholly appealing. While there hadn't truly been time to experiment prior to setting out to destroy the grail, since awakening and regaining his strength, the Faker had used his free time to carefully build upon what little he'd garnered from Archer's Knowledge on Projection Magecraft.

Despite his growth, however, he still couldn't trace A-Rank Noble Phantasms without relying on the power of the Artificial Phantasm, nor could he 'Break' a Phaantasm without running the risk of it exploding in his face. Still, the fact he was merely bedridden after using the Crane Wing was proof enough that he was far closer to mastering the Arm than he ever would have been back home, a fact he attributed partially to the over-abundance of Prana and the lack of interference from Gaia.

Thanks to these, he was able to increase the amount of time he was able to interact with the limb, essentially allowing him to treat Archer's memories as 'Cheat Notes', which combined with the reduced costs for Tracing made it much easier to progress with his chosen Magecraft than before. That being said, while he could Trace anything up to Rank-B, the only weapons he felt comfortable weilding in battle were Kanshou and Bakuya, the married twin blades that, while Noble Phantasms, lacked a true 'owner', allowing Archer, and Shirou by proxy, to incorporate them into their personal style with relative ease.

'At the very least I know using Crane Wing won't kill me.' he mused, smirking wryly as he rolled out of bed, grimacing at the feel of the sweat-stained sheets, making a mental note to change them as he made for the shower, only to pause at the sight of the sunset outside.

'Damn…missed an entire day…' he muttered, irritation warring with resignation as he grabbed a towel and made for the bathroom, hoping that Azazel didn't forget to call in to explain his absence, as he didn't feel like getting into an argument with Sona, who would no doubt blame it on his part-time job 'Hope I didn't miss anything at school…'


Kuoh Academy Occult Research Club Room...

The normally jovial air of the Occult Research Club was decidedly tense that afternoon, as the members of Rias Gremory's Peerage assembled for the meeting between their King and two envoys from the Church. That representatives of the Church would seek audience with a Devil was strange enough, that said envoys were in possession of Holy Swords had Rias on guard.

It was instinctual; the mere presence of a Holy Sword was repugnant to Devils, a stark reminder of the bitter enmity between them and Heaven, an enmity which had never truly vanished even during the centuries of cease fire since the last Great War.

It was rather disconcerting for Issei, the Pawn torn between his desire to protect Rias and his fellow Peerage members and his discomfort that one of the Holy Sword wielders was none other than Shidou Irina, his childhood friend who, as it turned out, had actually been a girl all this time.

'Since when did my life become a harem anime?' he wondered, not that he was complaining mind you, hell, if it weren't for the fact doing so would result in Divine Punishment, he'd be thanking God every day for putting him in this situation. It was simply rather disconcerting to find out the guy you'd basically run around naked with was a cute girl who ran around killing Devils on a mission from God.

Though then again, considering the stink eye her partner, Xenovia, was sending their way, it probably wasn't that far-fetched at all. From the moment he'd encountered her during his reunion with Irina last night, the blue-haired girl had given off this oppressive aura, as if she were just barely restraining herself from drawing the massive blade she was carrying and lobbing off Issei's head. As such, Issei felt that Rias' concerns were more than justified, and shared her belief that the sooner they found out what the pair wanted, the sooner they could see the back of them.

"As you know," Irina spoke up after introductions were made "The Church has claimed possession of six of the seven Excalibur Swords, entrusting two to each of the three Main Branches of Christianity."

"Two at the Catholic Church Headquarters in the Vatican; two with the Protestants; and two with the Eastern Orthodox Church, correct?" Rias inquired, earning a nod of confirmation from Irina even as Issei wondered were the Seventh Excalibur could be, the idea of something like that running around unchecked troubling him on an instinctual level.

"Right." Irina continued, her expression as bright as ever, though her words carried an undertone of seriousness as she pressed on "However, not too long ago, Fallen Angels assaulted the branches and made off with an Excalibur from each."

It went without saying that Issei wasn't the only one alarmed by that revelation, though it probably hit a lot closer to home with him, given how he'd become a Devil in the first place. He could still recall the smile on Raynare's face as the Fallen asked him to die, stabbing him in the heart with a spear of light and leaving him to rot like so much roadkill. Even after he'd gotten revenge, even after Rias had used her Power of Destruction to wipe the Fallen from the face of the earth, the pain she'd inflicted on him, and Asia, had left scars that had never truly healed properly, and probably never would.

After all, you never truly forgot your first love, and while it had turned out to have all been an act on Raynare's part, Issei had honestly loved her despite the brief time they were together.

As a result, he'd come to regard the Fallen Angels with more trepidation than their brethren, who to date hadn't really done anything other than administer Divine Retribution whenever he, or any Devil really, made the mistake of praising God or offering prayers in his name. As such, learning the Fallen were in possession of three Excalibur-class Holy Swords came as something of a shock.

"These are from the ones we have left." Xenovia revealed, holding up her wrapped, cross-like weapon for emphasis, Issei shivering at the presence of the Holy Aura he could sense beneath the bandages "I have been entrusted with Excalibur Destruction by the Vatican."

"And mine's Excalibur Mimicry." Irina chirped, smiling cheerfully as she shrugged her cloak aside, giving Issei a brief glimpse of her left breast before gesturing to what appeared to be a lace ribbon wrapped around her exposed held up her arm to reveal a simple ribbon wrapped around her bicep "Thankfully it can assume any shape the user needs, so unlike Xenovia's the Protestant Church HQ didn't have to bribe anyone so I could get it past customs."

"Irina…" Xenovia muttered, the Catholic representative glaring at Issei's childhood friend pointedly, her eye twitching for some unfathomable reason "There was no reason to tell them that."

"Oh come on Xenovia." Irina reprimanded with a pout "Even if they are Devils, given the situation, isn't it better that we extend some trust towards one another?" she winked at the Gremory Peerage, though Issei somehow knew it was meant for him in particular "Besides, I'm not so weak that knowing my Sword's ability will give them an advantage."

"I see…" Rias mused, a deceptively calm smile adorning her features as she regarded the pair before her calculatingly "Well then, having heard all that, I can only assume from your desire to speak with me that there's something your superiors need." She smiled at Xenovia's frown "So tell me how we can be of service to you?"

"Our request…" Xenovia began, only to frown and shake her head briefly "No. Our order is that you do not involve yourselves at all." She matched Rias' glare with one of her own "I'll keep things simple: The coming battle is between the Fallen and the Church. As such, we would appreciate it if you Devils didn't get interfere."

'Are they insane?!' Issei gulped, shivering in anticipation as Rias' power spiked for a split-second, the perverted Pawn stepping closer to a nervous Asia as Koneko clenched her fists and Akeno began to smile in that sexily dangerous way that promised pain and pleasure in equal amount.

"That sounds like an accusation." Rias noted, her tone cordial, yet carrying an undertone of challenge as she continued to match glares with Xenovia "Are you afraid that we Devils will side with the Fallen Angels to keep you from retrieving the stolen Excaliburs?"

"Headquarters did mention it as a possibility, yes." Xenovia admitted fearlessly, Issei's respect for the woman's guts increasing even as he questioned her sanity "After all, you Devils despise Holy Swords. Wouldn't it make more sense for your interests to coincide with those of the Fallen Angels?"

'She's fucked…' Issei muttered, resisting the urge to offer a prayer for the, admittedly hot, Holy Sword user, knowing from experience that only Rias' restraint was keeping his King from reducing everything in front of her to nothing with her Power of Destruction.

"That is why our Superiors formally ask that you stay out of our affairs." Xenovia continued, either heedless or unconcerned by the impending Dead End sitting two feet in front of her "Even if you are the Lucifer's younger sister, should we discover that you have sided with the Grigori, we have been given strict orders to cut you down."

For a moment, Rias actually looked like she was about to unleash hell, literally and figuratively, on Xenovia for her rudeness, but the mention of her elder brother, Sirzechs Lucifer of the Four Great Satans, calmed her somewhat. "I see, the Higher-Ups must be desperate if they went so far as to inform you of my relation to a Satan." she smiled coyly at Xenovia's scowl "However, since it's clear you neglected to do your research beyond that, I'll make this simple for you: There is no chance in Hell that I, or any member of my Peerage, would ever tarnish the name of House Gremory or that of the Satan Lucifer by siding with the Fallen Angels."

"I see." Xenovia noted, actually seeming amused by Rias' words for some reason "Just hearing that is good enough for me. To tell the truth, Instructions from Headquarters aside, I never truly believed that the Lucifer's younger sibling would be so stupid as to ally herself with the Grigori."

"Your faith is humbling." Rias shot back, clearly enjoying herself now that they had reached something of an understanding "However, having said that, you must understand I won't offer aide to your side either."

"Naturally." Xenovia acknowledged "Truth be told we're satisfied with you simply agreeing to not involve yourself at all. Even if it did improve our odds, our superiors would prefer to avoid any potential fall-out that may arise from the Lucifer's sister siding with the Church." she glanced at Irina, the two of them rising to their feet as one "Thank you for your time, we'll see ourselves out."

"Won't you have some tea before you go?" Rias asked, gesturing to Akeno, who moved to prepare the snacks only to pause as Xenovia shook her head, much to Irina's disappointment.

"No thanks, I'm not here to make friends with Devils." The Catholic countered, ignoring the looks being sent her way as she turned on her heel, only to pause as her eyes met a concerned Asia's "I see…when I saw you in Hyoudou Issei's home I thought it may be you…" she turned to face the confused Bishop "Tell me, are you the Witch, Asia Argento?"

Asia flinched as if struck across the face, the former 'Holy Maiden' lowering her eyes in shame even as Issei bristled, his left fist clenching in preparation to summon his Sacred Gear.

"Oh my God it is you!" Irina exclaimed, seemingly unaware of the shift in atmosphere "I'd heard you were banished because you could heal Fallen-Angels and Devils, but this is the first I've heard of you becoming a Devil yourself."

While Irina's tone implied she didn't mean anything by her words, that didn't lessen the effect they had on Asia, who couldn't even muster the strength to look them in the face.

"To think that someone once revered as a Saint could fall low enough to even consider becoming a Devil…" Xenovia muttered, the disgust in her tone like another slap in the face to Asia "Tell me, do you still believe in God, Asia Argento?"

"Don't be silly Xenovia." Irina chuckled, waving a hand dismissively, heedless of Asia's increasing discomfort "She's a Devil right? There's no way she'd still believe in God if she fell that far."

"No." Xenovia countered, her eyes never leaving Asia's trembling form "There are those whom despite betraying the teachings, remain somewhat pious, as if to punish themselves for their sins."

"Really?" Irina wondered, blinking at the revelation, as if the idea of a Devil experiencing guilt was something new to her "Is that true, Asia-san? You still believe in God even after becoming a devil?"

"…It's true." Asia admitted, her voice soft, lined with unshed tears "I've never been able to just let it go…I believed in God my whole life…even when…"

She trailed off, unable to give word to the suffering she'd endured at the hands of the Church, who branded her a witch, and the Fallen, who took her in only to kill her for her Sacred Gear.

"Is that so?" Xenovia noted, her gaze hardening as she turned to face the Bishop, holy sword in hand, though she hadn't removed the wrappings yet "In that case, you should allow us to cut you down this instant in the name of God. As it stands, even if you have sinned, God will extend his hand in forgiveness."

"CUT THE SHIT!" Issei snarled, surprising even Rias, who froze in the middle of rising from her seat, the Pawn stepping between Asia and Xenovia, his teeth clenched to the point of cracking as he dared the Catholic to take a single step closer "You assholes were the ones who put her on a pedestal as a Saint in the first place, but then you have the balls to brand her a 'Witch' for using her Sacred Gear to heal someone in need and cast her out into the world alone? Where the hell do you get off?!"

"A Genuine Saint can survive on the love of God alone." Xenovia shot back, matching the Devil glare for glare "For her to desire anything other than his blessings simply meant she was never fit to be a Saint."

"You're saying that if Asia had truly loved God, then nothing would have happened to her?" Issei shot back hotly, pissed as all hell at her declaration "Funny, I don't recall God's so-called love doing his SON any good."

"Issei-san!" Asia gasped, a sentiment shared by Irina while Xenovia's eyes widened in outrage at the blasphemy the Devil had just voiced, her fingers tightening around the hilt of her sword almost instinctively "You shouldn't-!"

"God didn't do Jack Shit to save Asia, one of the kindest, most innocent people in the world, when the Fallen Angels tried to steal her Sacred Gear." Issei persisted, too high on vitriol and righteous anger to care what he was saying "If you assholes even THINK of harming a hair on her head after she finally got to live the life she wanted, I'll spend the rest of my life making you regret it!"

"Tough words from a low-class devil." Xenovia muttered, her eyes narrowing at the challenge in the Pawn's words "Should I take that as a declaration of war against the entire Church?"

"Even if it isn't, I'll take you all on." A familiar voice called out, Issei's eyes widening as he spied Kiba leaning against the wall, his damnably handsome features set in a fierce scowl as he glared at Xenovia's Holy Sword with murder in his eyes.

"Who are you?" Xenovia demanded, her own eyes narrowing at the animosity she sensed from the Knight, even Irina's perpetual good cheer vanishing in the fact of such open hostility.

"I suppose you could call me your Sempai." Kiba mused, the smile on his lips belying the cold look in his eyes as he glared not at the nun, but her sword "Though truth be told, I was apparently considered a failure."

"I see…" Xenovia muttered, her expression unreadable as she glanced between Kiba and Issei "It seems you've been lax in disciplining your servants, Rias Gremory. I hope you don't mind if I teach them a little lesson in manners?"

"Just take it outside." Rias sighed, holding the bridge of her nose as if fighting back a headache "Also, I'm sure I don't need to remind you of what will happen if you harm them permanently."

"Oh rest assured, we won't need to go all out." Xenovia replied confidently, her tone mocking as she smirked "They'd better come at us with intent to kill, however, otherwise this won't last long."


One Epic Beatdown later...

And in truth, it hadn't. Even going full throttle, neither Issei nor Kiba had managed to land a decisive blow on either Holy Sword Wielder, though Issei blamed his loss solely on Koneko's interference.

'Seriously, what the fuck Koneko-chan?' he muttered, glaring at the white haired Rook even as she levelled a deadpan glare of her own right back at him 'It wasn't as if I purposefully destroyed your clothes earlier. If you hadn't warned Irina, she never would have known my dress break was coming!'

Not that the sight of his childhood friend in her battle outfit lacked a certain appeal mind you. For the battle garb of a Holy Sword wielder, the scandalously tight black outfit left very little to the imagination. Well, to the normal imagination that is. Issei's was currently working overtime as he recorded every detail to memory.

"I suggest the next time we cross swords, you endeavour to keep your cool, Sempai." Xenovia warned as she walked away from Kiba's prone form, ignoring the look of hatred the Knight was levelling at her back as she knelt to pick up her cloak "I trust you're satisfied, Rias Gremory?"

"Yes, I'm grateful for your diligence in ensuring they suffered no permanent injury." Rias returned as Xenovia replaced her cloak "Just out of curiosity, were you able to determine the name of the Fallen who stole the Excaliburs?"

"We have confirmation that the culprit is a leader of the Grigori Faction." Xenovia replied, her tone grim "More accurately, the culprit has been conformed to have been Kokabiel, the Fallen Star of Heaven."

"Kokabiel…?" Rias exclaimed, even Kiba looking alarmed by the revelation from his prone position on the grass "Wait, don't tell me knowing that, the Church only sent the two of you? Are you trying to die?"

"We will do all that is necessary to keep the Excaliburs out of the hands of the Fallen." Xenovia shot back, her expression cold in the face of the Devils' concern "Even if it means throwing our lives away."

"We understand the dangers all too well, Gremory-san." Irina assured them with a wan smile "There's already been a casualty: a priest from the Orthodox Church who came to scout ahead was murdered last night."

"I know the man you're talking about." Kiba grit out as he struggled to his knees, teeth clenched from the pain of his wound "He was killed by Freed Sellzen…wielding an Excalibur in the shape of a Kris."

"Freed Sellzen…" Xenovia muttered, her expression turning grim even as Issei and Asia voiced their alarm at the lunatic's name "And Excalibur Rapidly…that complicates matters somewhat."

"Maybe not as much as you think." Kiba countered, smirking mockingly at the pair "I don't particularly care if you believe me, but during my fight with Freed, a third party joined in and destroyed the Excalibur."

"What?!" Irina gasped, the Protestant Battle Nun gaping at the Knight in alarm whereas Xenovia chose to instead march forward, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him to his feet despite the protests of the Devils.

"Who was it?" the blue-haired Battle Nun demanded, pressing the wrapped edge of Destruction against the blonde's throat, clearly in no mood for games "Where did they go? Answer me!"

"I honestly couldn't say." Kiba replied, grimacing even as he glared defiantly into Xenovia's eyes "I'd already been cut by the Holy Sword by that point. If whoever it was hadn't jumped in, Freed would've cut my head off." He ignored Rias' look of alarm "All I know is that he fought with twin Chinese swords that took the shape of angel wings when he destroyed the Excalibur."

"Angel Wings…a Sacred Gear user?" Irina wondered even as Xenovia scowled "Whoever he is, he can't be affiliated with the Vatican or Protestants if he uses Eastern Blades…did you notice anything else about him?"

"Nothing," Kiba countered "as I said, I'd already been cut by Freed's Holy Sword, so just keeping my eyes open was tough enough. Last I saw he was gathering the Excalibur shards after Freed ran away."

"So there's a third party involved in all this." Xenovia muttered, her expression dark as she released her grip on Kiba's collar, glaring down at the Knight as he glared up at her "I thank you for the information, Sempai, but from now on kindly see to it that you don't involve yourself any further in our affairs. Let's go, Irina."

"Ah, right!" Irina stammered, pausing only to offer Issei a farewell and a promise to 'judge him' later before hurrying to follow her partner wherever it was they were going, leaving the Devils of the Gremory group to tend to their own.


And that's chapter 3.

Sorry for those expecting a more action-packed chapter, but with Shirou recovering there's not a lot changed. Kiba & Issei still get curb-stomped by the Battle Nuns, though now they've got one less Excalibur to worry about.

Also, just to clarify things up: Mimic is able to change it's shape to suit it's wielder, so Irina's comment about 'Eastern blades' not being used by the Protestant Church doesn't apply to her Excalibur. If she wanted, she could easily turn it into a Zweihander or pole-arm, the Katana is simply her choice of preference, most likely due to being of Japanese descent.