Hey everyone and get ready for this chapter. This chapter will be long, I wanted to get this done sooner but this chapter is worth three chapters put into one so it took three times longer to finish. Plus I had some personal problems, my computer is all messed up, and there were some days I couldn't find the time to write, these past two months have been time-consuming, just last month it was my big sister's birthday and the very next week was her wedding day. But I'm glad I finished this chapter for you guys and I felt bad for making you all wait for so long. This chapter will have everything, plot, fighting, information, revelations, and story progression.

Note: I wanted to get this chapter out before the end of June but I suppose having it at the beginning of July isn't so bad. Hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, High school DxD, High school DxD New, High school DxD Born, High school DxD EX and High school DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.

"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

DRAGON SHOT Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.

[Ddraig] Dragon talking.

Hard Battles And Shocking Revelations

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

CLICK.

Shirou hit the snooze button on his alarm clock. A soft groan escaped his lips as he breathed in before getting up. Next, he sat up and stretched out his arms, letting the tiredness and fatigue from last night fade. As Shirou stretched out his arms over his bedspread, his hand brushed up against the soft pillow on his side…

.

.

.

"…Wait, soft pillow on my side?" Shirou said confused. "I've only got one pillow for my head, what's…"

Shirou paused, suddenly remembering the sensation on his hand and who would be on the side of his bed. Once those thoughts came to him, Shirou got out of bed, removed the blanket and groaned at what he saw.

Laying on the right side of his bed sleeping on her left side was Rias who was still fast asleep and as always, Naked as the day she was born. The unusual sight was that sleeping on the left side of his bed sleeping on her right side was Asia who was also fast asleep and just as Naked as Rias was.

"Huh, Asia as well. That's new." Shirou thought before clapping his hands.

CLAP!

"Alright wake up!" Shirou said loudly.

"Unnn…mmm…" Rias let out a sweet-sounding moan before opening her eyes. Looking at him she smiled and sat up. "Good morning, Shirou." She said before Asia awoke and sat up too.

"You came back." Asia said happily. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I'm good." Shirou said dryly. "Mind explaining why you two are in my bed, and why are you Naked?"

"Well, you didn't come back for a while so we weren't able to determine which on one of us would sleep with you." Rias said. "So we decided we would wait here together until you returned. But you took too long and we ended up falling asleep."

"Even still, I'm glad you're here now." Asia said.

"I guess I was so tired I didn't notice them. So that means I slept sandwiched between both of them." Shirou thought, then suddenly he replayed what they just said and raised a brow.

"Wait, does that mean that you to slept in my bed, together, Naked, just so you could have the chance to sleep with me?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

The way both Rias and Asia answered that so nonchalantly made Shirou wonder.

"What is with these two?"

All the suspense and tension of last night was completely gone.

Asia then gasped. "Goodness, we should go get breakfast ready. It's already late."

"Oh, right!" Rias quickly got off the bed and took the blanket with her, wrapping it around her body like a toga to cover herself. "Thanks again for having us." She said gratefully.

Asia slipped on her sleeping dress before turning to Shirou with a smile. "I hope we can continue this sometime." She said gratefully.

The two girls then walked away and made their way to the door. Once they exited the room Shirou sat back down on his bed.

"I'd better remember to wash that blanket." Shirou sighed. "It's weird though, Rias' has always been an exhibitionist and sometimes sexually, but now she seems really horny, like a school-girl from an H-game, and what's weirder is that Asia is following suit. Seriously what's with those two. It's like they're drawn to me or something."

[That you can blame on me.]

The sudden voice made Shirou look down at his arm and realize his Dragonic partner was communicating with him.

"Ddraig? Didn't think I'd be hearing your voice right now."

Shirou communicated with him telepathically again.

[I came to inform you of something, but first I'll answer your curiosity. You are correct in assuming those women are drawn to you. The reason for that is because you possess the aura of a Dragon.]

"You lost me, what's that mean?"

[Up until now, you've somewhat been able to attract the opposite sex because of either your appearance or your personality. But whatever the reason, it was only on a normal scale. However, now that you've awakened to the power of a Dragon, a Dragon-Emperor at that, their attraction to you will increase all the more. And the stronger that aura becomes the more this will increase.]

"What?! You're telling me that Dragon aura is basically pheromones to attract women?"

[It's true. All my hosts were surrounded by the opposite sex. For all my previous wielders they gained the affection of large amounts of women. The more they mastered my Gear the more woman came.]

Shirou stared at his hand with half-lidded eyes.

"That explains a lot. And let me guess, their solution was to have a Harem."

[Indeed. In fact, I can't remember a single one of my male hosts who didn't have one.]

"Of course you can't. So I guess I don't really have a choice, besides chemical castration."

Shirou scratched his head.

"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled about this nor do I plan on looking for a Harem. But I'll at least get used to the idea."

[That would probably be in your best interest.]

"So what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?"

[The next part is of great importance so pay attention. This is a warning.]

Shirou sensing this seriousness in his voice became interested. "What is it?"

[I've been sensing a strong source of power nearby lately. It's making me anxious and it won't stop bothering me.]

"Someone strong nearby?" Shirou remembered what Freed said. "Do think it's the new boss Freed was talking about?"

[It's possible. But I can't say for sure where it's coming from. To make things worse I'm sensing more than just one, I'm sure I feel two great powers nearby but I can't hone in on where they are exactly.]

Shirou did remember he felt another source of Holy-energy besides Freed last night. He was weighing the possibility that what he was sensing could be one of the sources of power Ddraig was talking about.

[In any case, you should keep your guard up. You never know when the White One will make an appearance.]

"Yeah about that. Who the hell is the 'White One' somehow I doubt that's an actual name."

[The White Dragon Emperor. Also known as the Vanishing Dragon.]

"White Dragon Emperor?" Shirou seemed unsettled by this information. "You never told me there were other Dragon Emperors."

[True. But at the same time, I never told you that the title of Dragon Emperor was something only you possessed.]

"Well, you got me there."

[Do not worry though. There are and always will be only two. We are called the Two Heavenly Dragons, and we've been fighting for centuries now. Those who are born with a Heavenly Dragon within them are destined to fight each other.]

"Another opponent lined up for me huh?"

[Yes.]

"And, is he strong?"

[I would assume so. Whenever the two of our hosts fought in the past, it would always lead to great battles that would bring destruction to everything around them. And more often than not even if one of them won it would have to be at the cost of their own life.]

"Sounds fun, but I'm kind of in the middle of something. Remember I've gotta help Kiba hunt down Excalibur."

[I know. I heard your conversation last night along with the fact that you've entered into an alliance with the Knight.]

"…Oh right, you hear everything I do."

[That's right. I must say though I was surprised. I never expected the earlier parts of your life to be that way.]

Now Shirou was confused.

"Wait, you didn't know? I thought you were inside of me since I was born."

[You misunderstand, while it is true I've been within you from the beginning. I'm only conscious after you reach a certain stage of power. In truth, I only awakened a few months ago, I wasn't aware of anything about you before then.]

"I see."

[Anyway, I've told you everything I intended to tell you. Be sure to take heed.]

And with that Ddraig ended their conversation and the glow on his hand faded.

"Everything he told me; Strong auras nearby, White Dragon Emperor, and build a Harem." Shirou listed. "I should write that down." He then shrugged and stood up. "I'll deal with it later."

"Are you done yet?"

Shirou turned to his right and saw that standing by the door to his room was Mika.

"Mika?"

Mika walked up to him.

"Yeah, I figured you were still up here."

"Really, how'd you know I was in my room?"

"Well, I knew something was up when I woke up in my bed when I know I fell asleep downstairs last night." Mika then grinned. "And I became sure of it when I went downstairs a short while ago and saw Asia and Rias making breakfast, the latter of whom I might add was wearing nothing but the blanket from your bed."

"Seriously?!" Shirou face-palmed. "I guess I was hoping for too much when I assumed she would get dressed first."

"Anyhow, I came up here to see you when I noticed you were looking at your hand with a serious look on your face." Mika continued. "I knew that meant you were talking to the Red Dragon inside your Gear. So I waited until you were done."

Shirou shrugged. "Well, you're right, I was."

"So Brocity, what were you and the big guy talking about?" Mika asked.

"Oh ah, well." Shirou didn't really want to worry her about what Ddraig told him so he just decided to say something he knew would distract her. "He said, Dragon aura attracts the opposite sex and I'm going to have to build a Harem."

"FOR REAL!" Mika said, exploding with excitement as she jumped from where she was standing and flew towards him, glomping on his torso. "That's amazing, a Harem! I've always wanted to hear you say those words!"

"Would you get off me!" Shirou demanded.

"I can't wait, how many girls will you have? 10, 15." Mika's excitement only grew. "One thing's for sure though, I'll be the main girl."

Shirou did a double-take on those words.

"What?"

"Think about it, it only makes sense. I've known you the longest, I'm the strongest and if I do say so myself the best match for you. And I'd be the best at managing your Harem." Mika reasoned.

Shirou had to resist the strong urge to slam his head on the wall.

"Sometimes I wonder where you come up with this stuff."

"Oh come on." Mika brushed off. "If you're going to have a Harem anyway, who would be a better choice?"

"I don't, maybe someone who isn't my SISTER!" Shirou said as if it was obvious.

"Oh Brother, Dearest Naive Brother." Mika shook her head. "You realize it's way too late to be playing that card. First of all, we're Devils now so that argument means nothing now. And second, I'm closer to you than any of the others, including on an intimate level. We've slept in the same bed, we've shared a bath together, and we've kissed on the lips." She reminded him. "I've literally gone further with you than any girl you know. In fact, I'd say I'm already the main girl." She said proudly.

"Do you ever think before talking?!" Shirou snapped. "You're forgetting that everything you just listed was instigated by you, without my consent."

"Ah, but you never actually did anything to stop me, if you recall." Mika shot back. "Meaning your clearly just denying how you really feel."

"This conversation is over," Shirou said feed up as he walked out of his room.

Mika simply smiled feeling victorious. "He still didn't deny it. Looks like I was right."

Meanwhile, at Kuoh Academy, Sona and Tsubaki were walking towards the school together. Sona was reading a small book while her, Tsubaki walked beside her with a stoic look on her face.

However as they almost reached the school gate and stepped on the bridge, Sona stopped, raised her head up from her book and closed it.

Tsubaki also saw what her master saw and stopped when she did.

"President, look." Tsubaki informed her, even Sona could see perfectly well what was in front of them.

Standing on the other side of the bridge were two young girls wearing white cloaks with hoods on. The same girls that currently occupy the Old Church.

The two of them stared at them, as Sona scanned them. She noticed the large Sword-like object that was wrapped up in cloth and saw a small gold seal with a simple edge into it.

"Holy-Sword." Sona muttered.

After school let out and the sun was starting to set before the horizon, Shirou, Asia, and Mika were walking through the hallway of the Old School Building. While walking Asia admired how nice the building looked after being cleaned.

"Wow!" Asia said impressed, looking at how shiny everything was now and the fact that she could even see her reflection on a wooden floor. "Look how shiny the floor is!"

"Yeah, it's good enough to make you wonder why Rias didn't do this ages ago." Shirou muttered.

"I'm confused though. When did this place get redone?" Mika asked.

"We went over it at a meeting, you weren't there." Shirou simply replied.

"Are you gonna tell Asia that the reflection on the floor lets you see up her skirt?" Mika whispered.

Shirou looked bored. "I already saw her completely Naked the moment I woke up today. At this point, I don't give a fuck."

Shirou continued his walk through the building with the Rook and Bishop duo following behind him. Walking up the stairs to the floor that housed their intended destination, they turned down the hallway that would lead them to it. However, Asia stopped and looked over her shoulder which let her see something down the other corridor.

"What's that?"

Shirou and Mika stopped walking and Mika went back. "What's what?"

"That over there?" Asia pointed her finger at the corridor and at the end of it was what she was referring to. A doorway that was locked by chains and police tape with the warning 'Do Not Enter!'.

"Oh that. That's the forbidden door." Shirou answered, unfazed. "It's always been there."

"What's inside?" Asia asked.

"Don't know. Lost interest after a while." Shirou replied.

The three of them turned around and walked towards the clubroom. Entering, they found Rias and Koneko each sitting on the couch. Asia greeted them with a smile.

"They did a good job cleaning the place, didn't they?" Rias asked them, smiling. "Feels like we're getting a fresh start."

Shirou nodded nonchalantly, however, the Delinquent looked around noticing the clubroom was more empty than usual. "Where's Kiba and Akeno?"

"…The Vice-Chief is out on an errand and it looks like Kiba-Sempai decided to just not show up today." Koneko told them while taking a sip of her tea. "…Must be nice."

"I hope he's okay." Asia said.

"He must be looking for Freed." Shirou thought. "Well, at least I know he won't start a fight without me there."

Mika noticed her Brother's change in expression and raised a brow.

"What's he thinking?" She thought suspiciously.

Rias stood up from her seat. "Moving on, Shirou you have a new summons request tonight."

Shirou snatched the flyer with the from Rias annoyed. "Fine, but so help me Rias if this new guy is another freak I swear I'm not doing this anymore."

"I'm telling you this honestly, I have no idea why that keeps happening." Rias assured him.

The look on Shirou's face obviously said he didn't believe her.

A second later the door opened, following Akeno along with, surprising Sona and Tsubaki entering the room.

"Fantastic! Looks like everyone's here." Akeno exclaimed.

"Akeno, why are you late?" Rias asked.

"Well, I brought some guests and was helping them get here," Akeno explained, gesturing for Sona and Tsubaki to step forward.

"Thank you for having us." The Student Council President said.

Shirou looked at them. "Sona? Look whatever it is, I didn't do it, all right? It's a setup."

"Please be at ease, Shirou. I'm not here to accuse you of anything." Sona assured him before looking at Rias. "Rias, I have an urgent matter I must discuss with you at my house, and trust me when I say this; you don't want to talk about what I have to tell you in front of others."

The way she said it had a sense of great importance. Something that brought a serious expression to Rias. "You make it sound like it's a complicated situation."

"It is. Very complicated."

Later on that night, Shirou was off to perform his mandatory contract summons. This one was from a person who was living in the next neighborhood, so rather than teleporting which Shirou still found uncomfortable, he decided to fly there. He could only hope this one was even close to normal, after what he dealt with on a daily basis he was starting to wonder why he even bothered.

However, he also hoped this wouldn't be something too strenuous. After all, he still planned on searching for Freed or the other Holy-Sword users that were somewhere in town. Kiba hadn't done anything yet but Shirou was under no delusion that would last for too long. He needed to make sure Kiba didn't go off on his own. Half of that was because he still considered Kiba to be a weakling compared to himself and the other half was because he knew Kiba can't win while fighting like a berserker.

Last night was proof of that.

After seeing he was at the location of the client, a large apartment building, Shirou descended and walked his way to the entrance. "Let's get this over with." He made his way inside.

Going into the build and riding the elevator to the higher floors, Shirou could tell that living hear must be expensive. After exiting the elevator at that top floor he walked up to the room with the assigned number on the door ad knocked.

"Here's hoping the guy I'm about the meet doesn't ask for something stupid or any of the other shit." Shirou thought while waiting for the door to open.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the door started to open up. It stopped halfway and appearing from the opening was a tall man appearing to be in his twenties with an average build, violet eyes, black hair, golden bangs, and a black goatee. The man wearing a traditional brown kimono and had a peaceful expression on his face.

Once Shirou lead eyes on him he felt a strange chill. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but something was weird about this man, though he didn't feel sinister he definitely wasn't a normal person. And yet something else felt wrong, it was something he knew was both impossible and ridiculous but, Shirou felt a somewhat familiar presence from this man. It was almost like he had met him or at least someone like him before.

But that wasn't possible.

"…Well, he's not hideous." Shirou thought.

"Welcome." The man greeted. "I'm guessing you're the Devil I called for."

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, and about the whole coming from the from door thing. Well, it was a short journey so I flew."

"Well, you might as well come in."

Walking into the darkroom, Shirou looked around at all nice furniture that decorated the place. Sitting down on one of the three sofas, Shirou was still curious about who this man was but decided to wait on it for now. Shirou noticed from this was that he wasn't Japanese, even though he spoke Japanese and wore traditional Japanese clothing. Maybe he was just a fan of the culture. He then saw the man sit down on a sofa himself and brought a bottle of scotch.

The bottle of dark gold liquor was set down on the table in front of them along with two glasses and a bucket of ice.

"Care for a drink?"

Shirou blinked. "Is that scotch?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to have a drinking partner for tonight." The man started to pour some for himself.

"And that's why you summoned me?" Shirou asked still confused.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just…normal." Shirou said after pausing.

The fact that he waited so long to say such a simple word showed just how unexpected this was to him.

"Normal?"

The man didn't seem to get it.

"It's just, ever since I started this crap job everyone who summons we usually turn out to be weirdos or freaks, coming in all shapes and sizes." Shirou explained. "So I guess this is just a surprising change of pace."

"I see."

"But, it's not an unwelcome one." Shirou then started to pour scotch into his own cup. "And as the saying goes 'A man should never drink alone'."

The man had a smile on his face. "Heh, that's a good saying."

CLICK

The two of them clicked their glass cups together before enjoying their drinks.

After a few minutes passed and the two of them kept enjoying both the alcohol and conversation. Shirou forgot about the chill he felt when he saw this man and instead took pleasure in the fact that he was finally doing a pact that he could enjoy. At some point, Shirou reached into his pocket, took out a cigarette and his lighter.

"Oh, you're going to smoke?" The man asked.

"Of course." Shirou answered after lighter his cigarette. "When's a better time to smoke than when drinking booze. After all, it goes perfectly with anything, be it bar snacks, a piece of meat, a meal or even after sex." He breathed out some smoke. "Things are always well when you mix all things in life, good or bad with your drinks."

"Can't say I disagree." The said relaxed.

The man brought out a cigarette from himself and also helped himself to some nicotine.

"Now then, I guess it's time to pay. You want my Soul right?"

"Afraid not."

The way they talked about that so nonchalantly would make someone witnessing wonder if they were serious or not.

"The boss said the whole taking Souls thing was the old form of payment. We don't do that anymore." Shirou explained.

"I see, well I don't have much else for the moment."

"And yet you can afford to live in a place like this." Shirou reminded him.

The man shrugged. "Well, what do you think will suffice?"

Shirou thought for a moment and noticed the bottle of scotch was only half-empty.

"How about this, since I'm in a good mood I'll settle for a light payment." Shirou pointed to the bottle. "How about you give me the rest of that alcohol and we call it a night."

"Heh, that's awfully generous of you." He handed Shirou the bottle. "It's yours."

Once Shirou had the bottle he stood up and got ready to take his leave. "Well, this wasn't boring and that's saying a lot coming from me. See ya later."

After saying his piece, the Silver-haired Devil walked out the door and left the man to his own devices. He got comfortable in his seat and smiled up at the ceiling.

"Maybe sooner than you think."

Within the home of Sona Sitri, Rias and Akeno wore towels to cover their bodies as they walked down a narrow pathway to a large, circular sauna. Once there, the two Devils of the Occult Research Club observed the steamy environment that they were in. Most of the interior was made with marble and concrete, with large colorful crystals circling around the area.

"Haven't been here in a long time." Rias said, before stripping off her towel and revealing her buxom figure, causing her large breasts to bounce a little.

"Really? Did you used to come here a lot?" Akeno asked, letting her towel drop to her feet.

"In the past." Sona said behind them, making the two young women turn towards her. "Rias and I came here together all the time so we could tell each other secrets." The bespectacled young woman took off her towel, revealing her slim yet desirable body. She then handed it to Tsubaki who was behind her and already Naked.

Afterwards, they all sat down on the U-shaped bench that went around the room.

"This sauna was installed for my personal use." Sona told Akeno. Sweat beginning to form on their figures. Dipping and running down their bodies.

"This space is directly connected to Miss President's stronghold." Tsubaki informed her fellow Queen. "Which means if its closed, no one else would be able to get in."

"Well, that explains how you would be able to tell your secrets here." Akeno said. Sweat dripping down from the tips of her nipples.

"All I ever did was complain about getting into trouble with my mom. Silly stuff like that." Rias said humorously with her eyes closed. "And I think Sona only ever complained about her Big Sister."

"Ara Ara." Akeno giggled. "I didn't realize the two of you were so close."

Sona closed her eyes but blushed in embarrassment. "That's all in the past now." Sona responded.

"True." Rias opened her eyes and turned to her friend. "So what are we here to discuss? Something tells me this secret's a good one."

Sona didn't respond for a moment, making sure she knew how to say this. A second later she opened her eyes and said. "This morning two people from the Church contacted me."

This aroused surprise and suspicion from Rias and Akeno, with the latter asked. "Contacted you how?"

"It's been a while since they came to this town." Rias noted. "Did they tell you what they wanted?"

"They did." She told her. "Rias, they said they wanted to speak with you about something urgent."

Rias gasped. "Members of the Church wanted to speak with a Devil?"

Sona didn't respond and took off her fogging glasses.

"What did they want? There's no other reason for them to be here expect to stir up trouble." Rias sighed before saying. "All right then, what did they say?"

"I accepted their request." Sona told her, cleaning her glasses with light blue magic on the tip of her fingers. "I told them where they could find you, so after school tomorrow they'll be paying you a visit."

"What?"

"There's one other thing you should know." Sona slipped her glasses back on.

Tsubaki then took over the explaining. "Not only were these two members of the Church, but they were also carrying Holy-Swords."

This troubled the two Gremory members. "Wow, really?" Akeno asked.

"Well, that certainly is something to consider." Rias said before placing a hand on her chin. "Why would they come to this town? Maybe members of the Church are from this town?" Suddenly the conversation Rias had with Shirou last night flashed back into her mind, making her gasp. "No way…"

"You know you didn't have to wait for me right?"

Shirou told Asia and Mika as the three of them were walking down the side-walk during nightfall. After finishing his Devil work for the day, Shirou went back to the clubroom to get his stuff before going home. When he got there he saw that both the girls in question were still there and waiting for him instead of leaving.

"I know but, I felt like I didn't want to return home yet until you got back, Shirou-san." Asia said nervously.

"And I really didn't want to be home alone, while you two were out." Mika said honestly.

"You guys are way too clingy." Shirou complained.

Just as they could see the house only a few feet away. They all stopped and felt a chill that was all too familiar.

Asia and Mika felt on edge, their danger senses warning them of trouble right in front of them and it would only increase as they got closer. They started to tremble, worried, afraid, they probably would have already run away if Shirou wasn't with them.

Shirou, on the other hand, felt his guard unconsciously raise. He knew exactly what he was dealing with and his body went into battle mode. What he was feeling was the same as the pressure he felt when he entered the house that Freed was inside of when they first meet. Or when he first entered the Old Church. But right now it was much different yet much greater, it wasn't the building itself that was giving off this pressure, but rather it was whatever was inside. And whatever it was, it was giving him the same chill he felt from Excalibur.

Shirou mentally prepared himself for a fight. As the three of them stood at the front door.

"Asia, stay behind me, Mika, cover me but keep your distance." Shirou quietly instructed them.

They both nodded, trying to stay calm.

Rias quickly stood up and looked at Sona. "I'm very sorry, Sona." She said. "But there's somewhere I have to go as soon as possible. It's very possible Shirou could be in danger, along with Asia and Mika!"

She and Akeno then left the Sauna.

The Trio of Devils walked inside the house. The house was mostly dark with all the lights off. However, they could see the lights of the living room were on out of the corner of the wall. They could also vaguely hear what sounds like voices, roughly two of them in the living room.

"Let's go." Shirou told them.

With Shirou leading them, they walked up to the living room. Once they were at their destination Shirou was about the walk around the corner. Wondering what to expect.

What he got, however…

"SHIROU!"

At the sound of a loud, bubbly, and excited voice, which followed by having the owner of said voice glomping onto him and wrapping him up in a tight hug, Shirou stopped dumbfound completely. This wasn't at all what he was expecting.

Not just that but the person in question was the same chestnut-haired colored girl from who came to the Old Church the other night, her blue-haired partner was also present and sitting on the couch, simply staring at them without saying a word and just holding her Sword-like object wrapped up in cloth.

Asia and Mika were greatly confused. Almost unsure as to why they were even afraid before.

"You're really here! I'm so happy to see you again!" The girl continued, tightening her hug.

"Uh, see me again?" Shirou replied, completely lost.

"Huh? You don't remember?" She pointed to herself with a smile. "It's me."

"Oh yeah, that clears up everything. How could I forget a person whose name is me." Shirou said sarcastically.

"Oh stop it." The girl said, humorously waving her hand. "Wait, I know." She dug into her cloak and pulled out a picture which she handed to him. "Take a look at this."

Shirou examined the photo and noticed the child in the picture was himself. He hadn't seen a picture of himself as a kid ever since he WAS a kid. It was a rare sight to him, Shirou almost didn't recognize himself, like he forgot what his younger self looked like.

"Well, what'd ya know. It's a tiny me." Shirou marveled at the photo. "Man, I really can't take a bad picture."

"Take another look. Notice who else is in the picture with you." The girl instructed.

Shirou obliged and looked again, this time he zoned in at the child next to him. Then after looking at the girl in front of him and the child in the photo back and forth, he put two and two together and realized he did know this person.

"Woah wait, hold the presses!" Shirou said, surprised. "You're telling me you were the little boy from back then? And you weren't actually a boy."

She nodded smiling. "That's right, I'm actually a maiden and my name is Irina Shidou."

"Huh?" Shirou muttered before he thought. "Then that also means that before that family moved away I was actually kissed by a girl. And to think all these years I've been remembering that day as the day a Six-year-old boy came out of the closet."

"Bet you couldn't tell the difference, huh? Well, it couldn't be helped, I did act like a troublemaker just like the boys." Irina admitted.

"Yeah, and the fact that you didn't have these back then." Mika added, walking beside Shirou and gesturing to Irina's breasts.

"Mika-chan, it's you." Irina greeted her with a smile as well. "You've gotten older but you're still small."

"Forgive me if I don't return the welcoming attitude." Mika said sarcastically.

"Aww, you don't remember me either?" Irina pouted. "Even though we used to spend so much time together."

"How long ago was that?" Mika asked.

"Ten years ago."

"I'm 14 years old. From what you're saying, I'd of been four at the time."

"Huh, that is a small number." Irina realized. "I guess it does make more sense that you don't remember me."

"Well, at the very least we do remember the fact that we used to live nearby a religious family who was close to our parents." Shirou admitted.

"I'm glad you didn't forget that at least." Irina then looked upset. "Speaking of which, I heard your parents passed away."

The Tsukiharu siblings eyes' widened when she said that.

"I learned about it a few years ago." Irina said sympathetically. "Are you two doing okay?"

"As a matter of fact." Shirou said, his eyes narrowed, "We prefer not to talk about it in this house."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Irina said apologetically.

"Too late, you already said it." Mika added.

"Either way, why did you come to our house in the first place?" Shirou questioned.

"I had some business that required me to return to Japan." Irina answered. "And I was fortunate enough to be sent here, to the town I lived in as a child, So I decided I had to see you again and show you how much I changed." But then, she suddenly changed her tone. "Really. You can't tell what can happen in a reunion."

They all noticed. Her words sounded like they meant something, no doubt it made them put their guards back up.

"Irina." The blue-haired girl spoke as she stood up and grabbed her weapon. "We should be going."

"Oh, right." Irina and the girl started making their way around the living room. However, they stopped when Irina made her way to Shirou, who was watching them carefully. "Don't worry, we're already heading home for today. I meant what I said about wanting to see you again since it's been so long. But it's time for us to say farewell, right Xenovia?"

"Yes." The now named Xenovia responded.

"I see." Shirou said, still not relaxing his guard.

"We'll be seeing you again, Shirou-kun." Irina said confusing him. "Until then take care."

However, Xenovia in a dark tone said. "I'm ready any time…" Holding her weapon up to her chest with both hands.

Shirou scowled back at her. "Then bring it on."

Despite that exchange, she just left. Soon they were on their way out and closed the door behind them.

A little while later Rias showed up and was filled with relief.

"I'm so glad you're all safe." Rias exclaimed hugging Asia and Mika while they were all inside Shirou's room. "Are you hurt? Did they attack you? I think they knew about us being Devils, but I think they couldn't lay a hand on us in a normal neighborhood."

"Both Mika-san and I are safe, Chief-san." Asia said, trying to calm her down.

"Which is obvious, we had Brosfer with us." Mika added.

Shirou was simply standing near his bed.

Rias went up to Shirou and hugged him even tighter than the other two, she held him like he was something valuable.

"Aaah, Shirou. I'm glad…" Rias exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "If something were to happen to you, Mika and Asia, I… After I was called in by Sona and was listening to the story about people related to the Church intruding the town. And I also heard that they have a Holy-Sword with them.

"So that was a Holy-Sword she was carrying." Shirou thought back to Xenovia. "Now the question's whether or not that was an Excalibur."

"I thought that the worst might have happened to my cute servants. I prepared for the worst scenario, but you know…? If I were to bid farewell to you, after all, we've been through, then I would have regretted it till death." Rias said, clinging to him even more. "I'm sorry. I should have treated you three with more importance."

"You know, you're almost as clingy as them." Shirou muttered annoyed, referring to Mika and Asia.

Rias released her hug, without changing her expression. "Oh Shirou, you never stop making me worry."

"In any case." Shirou attempted to change the subject. "What did you and Sona talk about?"

The Crimson-haired girl sighed before sitting down on the bed. "According to Sona, who had met those two at noon, they want to negotiate with me, the Devil Rias Gremory, who has this town as her territory."

"And why would they want to do that?"

"I'm not sure what they are planning, but they are planning to come to the club room after school tomorrow. They apparently promised God that they won't attack us."

Shirou scoffed at Rias' words considering he didn't believe in God.

"That promise holds no weight."

"No, that's not true." Rias assured him. "We have to believe in their belief since they are the believers of God and they are coming to request something from Devils when we are supposed to be evil beings to them. They seem to be under pressure and it's certain that it's trouble. I have a bad feeling about this… From their story, the Priests that come to this town keep getting killed."

"Did they tell you why Priests have been coming to this town in the first place?" Mika questioned.

Rias shook her head. "They said they wouldn't until tomorrow."

"It's probably Freed who's been killing them. But does this mean Freed or in this case his Boss is the reason they've been sending Priests?" Shirou thought to himself. "If so, then that probably means that his Boss is someone big enough for the whole Church to consider a threat. That makes things harder."

"Shirou." Rias' voice took him out of his thoughts. "One of them was your old friend from childhood, right? What do you think of them?"

Shirou thought about them. "I can say Irina isn't too much of a problem. She knew we were Devils, but it seems like she really did just came to say hi."

"That's a relief."

"But the other one." Shirou continued. "Xenovia, she was different, even though she didn't say much, I could tell from the look in her eyes." He said seriously. "Those were the eyes of the wild. Someone who has no problem what so ever in tearing someone to pieces or in this case, just waiting for an excess to do so."

From the way he said it, the others looked worried.

"First time ever I've seen someone with those eyes." Shirou thought. "Eyes just like mine."

"In that case, we had best be on guard tomorrow." Rias concluded.

The next day after school.

The members of the Gremory group were gathered in the club room. The room was split down the middle. On one sofa, Rias and Shirou. Even though Rias said that, as a servant, he was required to stand. Shirou told her; he was willing to do it when Raiser was here for appearance's sake, but he won't do the same for members of the Church. Rias decided to relent since she knew she couldn't convince him in this matter. On the other sofa, the two guests were sitting. The other members of the group including Kiba were standing behind the sofa and were listening to the conversation. Ever since those two came to the club room, everyone couldn't help but feel something. Their instincts as Devils were telling us that they were dangerous, or rather they had something dangerous on them. Rias looked at them with a serious face. But the most dangerous one was Kiba. He was glaring at them grudgingly. If something were to happen… No. He looked as if he was about to go slashing at them at any moment. They were the believers of God that Kiba hates. If you knew his past, then you would know that he was brimming with hatred now. Under this atmosphere, the first one to speak was, Irina Shidou.

"Recently the Holy-Swords Excaliburs that were kept by the Catholic Church Headquarters Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen."

Xenovia got her weapon, which was covered in cloth, and revealed it to them. What appeared was a long sword.

"This is Excalibur."

The moment the Sword was revealed, everyone felt as if every pore on their bodies opened and felt something really cold running through them. Fear. Shiver. Awe. Those thoughts and emotions entered all their minds. The Sword was dangerous. It became easy to understand that a Devil would die instantly just from its touch. This a Holy-Sword. This the ultimate weapon to kill Devils.

"As I'm sure most of you are aware. Excalibur was broken into pieces during the war a long time ago. The fragments were collected and turned into new forms by alchemy. It was made into 7 Swords. This is one of them. The Excalibur I hold is "Excalibur Destruction". It's one of the 7 Holy-Swords that were created. The Catholic Church is in control of it."

Once she said the bare-minimum about her Sword, Xenovia put her it away and wrapped it with a cloth. Upon closer inspection, there were spell symbols that could be seen on the cloth. Meaning the Sword had to be sealed outside of use.

Irina also took out something that looked like a long rope. That rope started to move as if it were alive. The rope changed its shape right in front and turned into a katana.

"Mine is "Excalibur Mimic". I can change its shape into anything I want so it's really useful for carrying around. Just like this, each Excalibur has its unique ability. This one is in the possession of the Protestant Church." She said with Pride.

"Irina… There's no reason to tell these Devils the ability of Excalibur, is there?" Xenovia reprimanded her.

"Ara Xenovia. Even if they are Devils, we still have to form a trustworthy relationship with them in this situation." Irina brushed off. "Also, even if my Sword's ability is revealed, I won't fall behind all the Devils here."

Shirou could tell, she was just brushing off the situation. She was looking down on them, thinking regardless of who they are, she could easily defeat them. While he wasn't a stranger to arrogant opponents, the fact that she believed she was completely beyond them just because she had Excalibur was something that angered him a bit. Though in a second, Shirou could sense a far stronger source of anger right behind him.

It was Kiba. He was glaring at the Excaliburs and the two women with a face that just screamed he was triggered. Although considering Kiba's history with Excalibur this was expected. But after already facing an Excalibur last night, Kiba probably never thought that he would encounter more Excaliburs here. And now it was right here in front of him. He must be close to losing it.

"I guess I should have seen this coming." Shirou thought. "Still, if he can keep his cool a little bit longer, then I can get more information."

"So what does the stolen Excaliburs have to do with this country located in the east of the World?" Rias continued to talk with the same attitude.

"The Catholic Church was in possession of two Excaliburs including mine. The Protestant Church also had two. Also in the Eastern Orthodox Church, there were two as well. The last one went missing in the previous war between God, Devils, and Fallen-Angels." Xenovia continued. "One Excalibur was stolen from each Church. The ones that stole them escaped to Japan, and brought them to this town."

Rias put her hand on her forehead and took a breath. "Looks like my territory is full of incidents. So who are the ones that stole the Excaliburs?"

"The ones that stole them were the Grigori." Xenovia answered.

Rias' widened her eyes in surprise at the answer.

"The Holy-Swords were taken by the Fallen-Angel organization? It's not a matter of mistake. But certainly, it would be the Fallen-Angels when it comes to stealing them. For the Devils working at the top, Holy-Swords does not give them much interest."

"We know the main culprit who stole the Excaliburs. One of the leaders of Grigori, Kokabiel."

"Kokabiel…" Rias repeated grimly. "One of the leaders of the Fallen-Angels that survived the previous wars since ancient times… I never expected to hear the name of the one that appears in the Bible."

Shirou zoned in on this new information.

"I got more information than I thought. This Kokabiel who they keep talking about is probably one of the great powers that Ddraig was warning me about, a Fallen-Angel leader is apparently as strong as the Ultimate-Class Devils, so it's no surprise Ddraig called him out." Shirou thought to himself. "More importantly, if he is the one who stole the Excalibur fragments then that must mean he's the new Boss that Freed was talking about and he gave one of the stolen fragments to Freed. That means he still has two more."

Shirou considered that for a moment. "Ideally, he only has Freed with him and just gave him one fragment while keeping the others in reserve. But the worst-case scenario is that he has two more people on his side that can also wield the fragments and that means I have to face three Excalibur wielders and a Cadre-Class Fallen-Angel." He almost shuddered at that thought. "Well, odds are that isn't the case, after all, Excalibur isn't easy to wield and I doubt he's got that many of them who can. Still though, I can handle Freed but this Kokabiel is probably no joke. I'll need to keep my guard up for when I fight him."

"We sent Priests, Exorcists, to this town secretly but they kept getting killed." Xenovia said. "Our request… No. Our order is to not to have any Devils intrude in the battle between us and the Fallen-Angels for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you not to interfere with this incident."

Rias' eyes changed into a glare after hearing the way Xenovia talked. Though Shirou just seemed amused.

"Such a manner of speech." Rias retorted. "Is it restraint? Are you thinking that we might collaborate with those Fallen-Angels? Perhaps that we might team up with them to do something with Excalibur?"

"The headquarters think that it might not be impossible."

There were chills within Rias' eyes. Her eyes went from deep blue to a pulsating Crimson. She was pissed. An enemy comes all the way to her territory. Then tells her not to be involved and not to butt in. Also, they said whatever they wanted to by saying that they would not forgive them if we formed an alliance with the Fallen-Angels. Rias is a prideful High-Class Devil, hearing someone talk to her in such a condescending tone is something she wouldn't allow herself to keep quiet about.

"The higher-ups don't trust Devils and Fallen-Angels. We were ordered as (If the Holy-Swords are taken away from God's side then the Devils would also be happy right? The Fallen-Angels would also profit from it. For those reasons, it won't be weird for them to form an alliance.). That's why we are giving you a warning. If you form an alliance with the Fallen-Angel Kokabiel then we will eliminate you all. Even if you're the little sister of the Devil King, by our boss." Xenovia said it casually without caring about Rias' glare.

"Gahahahaha!" Before Rias could reply, Shirou let loose the laughter he was trying to hold in. This caused the others to turn to him confused.

Xenovia narrowed her eyes. "Is there a reason for your laughter?"

"Heh, my bad. But honestly, how can you expect me not to laugh." Shirou's expression then changed from amused to his usual smirk. "Especially after you said something that stupid, and all with a straight face."

This time it was Xenovia's turn to glare.

"And just what is that suppose to mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shirou asked in the same tone. "First of all, the fact that those higher-ups you were talking about are obviously as stupid as they are paranoid. Devils and Fallen-Angels hate each other more than the Church. Any alliance we would make would always end in someone being stabbed in the back, that fact is so clear that the alliance will never happen." He explained. "The second funny part is you; You seem to think that just 'cause you have an Excalibur, you're stronger than me, though I seriously doubt that. Plus, the fact that you think you can just walk in here like you own the place, make demands, and just expect everyone to obey you is a joke at best." He narrows his eyes at her while still smirking. "You'll eliminate us? Try it and you'll be eliminated."

Xenovia grit her teeth and sent him a death glare. Before turning to Rias.

"Are you just going to allow your servant to speak to us like that?"

Rias wore the same expression as her Pawn. "I'll tell him when he says something I disagree with."

Xenovia almost couldn't stop herself and reached for her Excalibur, she placed a hand on it but before anything else could be done, Irina placed her hand over Xenovia's in a motion to stop her. Xenovia turned to her partner and Irina simply looked at her serious and shook her head, as if she was telling her to calm herself. After-which Xenovia did so and learned her hand.

"She really was about to start a fight just now." Shirou thought. "I was right, this girl is wild."

Xenovia took a deep breath and sighed. "There really is no reasoning with Devils is there." She muttered. "I had to warn you just in case that Kokabiel is hiding in this town along with the three Excaliburs. If something were to happen I would be the one to be hated by the bunch in the Church headquarters. Well, we won't ask for cooperation. If you were to form an alliance with God's side temporally, then it would affect the balance of the Three Factions. Especially if it's the little sister of a Satan."

After hearing Xenovia, Rias softened her expression and took a breath herself.

"Where is the person the Orthodox Church dispatched?" Rias questioned.

"They have that person put on hold for this case." Xenovia answered. "They are planning to protect the last Excalibur if Irina and I fail."

"So it's just the two of you? You are going to retrieve the Excaliburs from the leader of the Fallen-Angel with just the two of you? How reckless. Are you trying to die?" Rias said it with an amazed voice.

"Yes."

"I have the same view as Irina, but if it's possible I don't want to die."

Irina and Xenovia said it with straight eyes.

"…You came here to Japan prepared to die? The belief in your teaching is extreme like always."

"Don't talk ill of our beliefs, Rias Gremory. Right, Xenovia?"

"Right. Also, the Church decided that it would be better to eliminate all of the Excaliburs rather than letting them get used by the Fallen-Angels. Our minimum objective is to get the Excaliburs away from the Fallen-Angels. To accomplish that, it's okay for us to die. The only way to fight against the Excaliburs' are Excaliburs'."

"It's the same stupid religious crap as always." Shirou thought irritated. "It's okay for us to die, huh? Anybody can say that but if you really were okay with dying just something like "taught beliefs" then, whatever happens, is your own fault. That's the same as being taught that it's okay to kill yourself as long as it benefits the Church, what could be more stupid?"

"Is it possible with only the two of you?"

"Well, we won't die in vain." Xenovia said fearlessly to Rias' question.

"You seem confident. Do you have a secret weapon?" Rias asked.

"Maybe. I will leave it to your imagination."

"In other words, no." Mika commented.

"Probably." Shirou agreed.

After that, the two of them just stared at each other and the conversation stopped. Shidou Irina and Xenovia looked at each other and stood up.

"Then we will take our leave now. Let's go, Irina."

"So you won't drink your tea? I can prepare a snack for you."

"I don't need it." Xenovia declined Rias' offer with her hand.

"I'm sorry. See you." Irina also apologized with her hand.

They didn't try to accept Rias' offer, and the two of them tried to leave. Then both of them looked in the same direction.

It was Asia.

"When I saw you in Shirou Tsukiharu's house I thought that maybe it was you. Are you the Witch Asia Argento? I never expected to meet you in a place like this."

Xenovia said. Asia's body shook after she was called Witch. Irina seemed like she noticed as well and stared at Asia.

"Are you the rumored Witch? The former Holy-Maiden? You are said to have the power that can also heal Devils and Fallen-Angels, right? I heard that you were sent somewhere after getting exiled, but I never thought you became a Devil."

".…Ummmmm…..I…..I.…" Asia didn't know how to react to Irina and Xenovia.

"Oh Hell no." Shirou whispered under his breath, his wrath starting to build.

"It's okay. I won't tell the higher-ups what I saw here, so rest assured. People who were around the "Holy-Maiden Asia" will also get shocked as well."

Asia made a perplexed expression at Irina's words.

"But to become a Devil. The one who was called a Holy-Maiden. You fell to the lowest place you could. Do you still believe in our God?"

"Xenovia. There's no way that she, who became a Devil, still believes in God." Irina said with an amazed face.

"No, I can smell the "belief" from her. It might be an abstract way of saying it. But I'm sensitive to these things. There are people who betray the teachings and still have guilt within them because they couldn't forget the teachings. I can feel something similar coming from her."

Xenovia said it with sharp eyes and Irina stared at Asia even more with interested eyes.

"Is that true? Asia-san, you still believe in God even if you have turned into a Devil?"

"…I just can't put it aside. I believed in it for my whole life…" Asia replied to that question with a sad expression.

Shirou bit his tooth so hard that it made a noise with his teeth because of the anger he was feeling towards the two Exorcists.

Hearing Asia's answer, Xenovia took her Sword out from the cloth and pointed it towards Asia.

"Is that so. Then you should be cut down by us this instant. If it's now, I can cut you in the name of God. Even if you have sinned, our God will forgive you—"

That was as far as she got before she froze. Faster than she realized she felt a single finger on the side of her head and an oppressive aura so strong that it shook her because of how suddenly it appeared. The one standing behind her was Shirou, who was pointing his index finger at Xenovia's head as if it was a gun. And he appeared there so fast that not a single person in that room followed his movement.

"I think you'd better stop there." Shirou's voice was calm but threatening, he clearly wasn't messing around. "Unless you feel like losing your head."

"Is that a threat?" Xenovia questioned, in the same tone.

"It's a fact."

"That's enough! Stop it, both of you!" Rias demanded.

"Stop it?" Shirou asked, not backing down. "You want me to stop? While this bitch just stands there and points a Sword at Asia, not to mention she has every intention of cutting her with it."

"You misunderstand, all I'm doing is trying to save her." Xenovia corrected. "As one of God's servants, it is my duty to save her soul."

"And there it is, that right there, that is why I despise you people." Shirou put his arm down and walked over to Asia. "Tell me, you say she needs to be forgiven? Then what pray tell has she done wrong?"

"You seriously don't know?" Irina genuinely asked. "She was blessed by God with the power to heal other followers but instead had the power to heal Devils and Fallen-Angels, only a witch can do that."

"Wrong!" Shirou immediately denied. "That's wrong and you know it! That whole thing about her power being 'God's blessing' was just some lip service. Asia's power is a Sacred Gear that doesn't discriminate on what it heals."

"It makes no difference."

"It is different." Shirou argued with Xenovia. "It means that whole 'Holy-Maiden' thing you all came up with just an attraction you all made up to get more followers, it was an act. This means the Church was the one at fault letting everyone believe something they knew wasn't true."

Xenovia looked at him angrily. "How dare you. What you say doesn't change the fact that she still healed a Devil."

"And so what, did you want her to just leave the guy there to his death?"

"Absolutely. That's what a servant of God should do."

"Like Hell it is. That's just what you think it is. You go around acting like anyone who doesn't agree with you is automatically wrong. When the fact is you people are just drowning so much in your own vanity that you can't accept anything that's inconvenient to you."

"Vanity?" Xenovia asked insulted. "We follow the teaching of God and live by them, all our actions are in the name of God. What about that is Vain?!"

"All of it. You think believing in God is all a person needs to live on? That's easy enough to say, but do you even realize what you're saying. People can't survive on convictions alone."

"Do you think a Holy-maiden needs other people? What's important is the charity to others. The Holy-maidens are finished when they seek friendship and love from others. She could have continued to live with the love from God. So Asia Argento didn't have the right to be a Holy-maiden from the beginning. Xenovia said it as if it was an obvious thing. That only pissed off Shirou more. "God loved her. If nothing happened then it means that she didn't believe in him enough, or her belief was fake."

"Do you have any idea how Fucked up you sound. Love? Didn't believe enough? What does it matter how much you believe in someone or how much love they give you when none of it is real in the first place?!"

.

.

.

Xenovia was now more shocked then she's ever been. Even Irina couldn't hide her shock either.

"…Shirou…What did you just say?" Irina asked, wondering if she heard him wrong.

"I said, God. Isn't. Real."

He didn't hesitate to say that. Xenova's eyes looked like the eyes of someone who was ready to murder.

"For you to utter such words in my presence is something worthy of death." She raised her Sword.

"Xenovia stop!" Irina stood in front of her. "He's only saying that to provoke you, and besides the only reason he can say things like that is because he's a Devil."

"Not true." Rias spoke out, still sitting. "Him being a Devil plays no part in this. That boy had no belief in God even before I reincarnated him, back when he was human."

That surprised Irina all the more.

"That can't be…" She turned to him. "Is that true?"

Shirou looked serious. "I already told you what I think."

"But why? When we were kids you believed as much as I did."

"Yes, when we were kids." Shirou clarified. "But as we got older, while you were away getting Holy-Swords and buying into this all the more, I struggled to survive after hitting the lowest point of my life. And the funny thing about when you have nothing but your thoughts, you start to think more clearly, like for example just how unreliable God really is."

"Wh-What?" Irina asked.

"Think about the history of mankind. The Salem Witch Trials which lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent people, The Crusades which only started because the pope wanted more land and money, the bigotry and prejudice against anything different or that aren't 'acceptable', the Ku Klux Klan which espoused from Protestantism." Shirou listed. "And it all seemed weird to me, after so many tragedies and atrocities all of them said the same thing, "It was in the name of God" when it was clearly done of their own will. Not to mention this oh so wise God himself just seems to sit back and do nothing despite all this, or despite how many people begged for him to save them, only to get silence in return." He clenched his fist. "How could anyone believe in something like that?"

The other Devils in the room were surprised, they knew Shirou was a former believer but they never realized he took the subject this seriously. It was actually the first time they have ever seen him this passionate and fired up. Xenovia, on the other hand, seemed frustrated, at the fact that she hated everything Shirou was saying but couldn't deny it because he wasn't technically wrong. And Irina just seemed devastated at hearing this from her friend.

She turned to Mika who had mostly been silent up till now. "And do you feel the same way, Mika-chan?"

Mika shrugged. "I'm not as passionate as him, but I do agree for the most part. Only for different reasons."

"Different reasons?"

"The way I see it, the concept of 'God' is just a system. Back during the early stages of man, humans weren't as capable as they are now and even though they were divided, they required a way of life that they could follow, thus religion was created. Despite that, they still needed a leader to follow otherwise this system wouldn't hold together, and so a symbolic one was made with the name of God." Mika elaborated, calmly. "And even though humans evolved, the theory of God still existed. But as people continued to divide themselves and had completely different beliefs and religions, every single one was based around the concept of a God. Which means that God is simply the default name of what holds people together."

"What you're saying is utter nonsense." Xenovia said strongly. "God created humans and those humans gathered together in worship of him, that is the source of religion."

"Even if that is the case, you can't deny that there are plenty of other faiths where, even though they have Gods, their beliefs sound ridiculous." Mika argued. "For example, the Norse Gods and their beliefs are acknowledged by society to be fictional and yet there are still those who believe it because of the fact that they have a God. And in the modern-day, there are many others who just makeup whatever God they want and can still get many followers."

No one could deny that. Though they were mostly surprised by Mika. The members of the Gremory Peerage knew she was smart, but her words were so deep and yet so calm. It was making it harder and harder to believe she was just a 14-Year-Old girl. The way so spoke so eloquently and with such knowledge made her sound like someone twice her age.

"However, I'm sure you've noticed all this is in past-tense." Mika continued. "The fact of the matter is that humans have now progressed to a point where they no longer need God. With the authority of Governments, Monarchy, and Democracy, humans have created new ways of living to replace the old and new systems to follow that no longer require a God. And for that reason the number of believers has rapidly dropped in recent years, that's because since we can function in life without faith or religion, people choose to live without it. In simple terms; The world no longer needs God."

"So that's your answers then?" Irina asked, upset. "You don't believe in God, and you think you don't need to believe."

"That's right."

"Absolutely."

Shirou and Mika answered her respectively.

"Even for Devils, your words are the greatest form of heresy I've ever heard." Xenovia said darkly. "But that's just what I would expect, from the children of Traitors."

Once she said those words, everyone in the room stopped, be it curiosity, shock, surprise, or confusion. Everyone zoned in on what Xenovia had just said. The siblings she was talking to though just seemed to have gone quiet.

"What are you talking about?" Shirou questioned.

"Xenovia, don't." Irina said, unsure.

"No, I think they have a right to know." Xenovia argued.

"Know what? What are you talking about." Shirou repeated, impatient.

"Tell me, how well do you know your parents?" Xenovia asked.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "I don't see how that's any of your business. The real question is why do you act like you know them?"

"Because I know of them." Xenovia replied. "You might find this surprising but, they were both members of the Church. In fact, they were raised there."

Everyone in the room became wide-eyed at this bombshell. Rias even stood up.

"What? Shirou and Mika's parents were from the Church." Rias spoke shocked. "I knew they were believers, but…"

"But how? I know for a fact that they were Japanese." Mika pointed out.

"Foreigner child being raised in the Orthodox Church isn't uncommon." Irina explained. "It happens often."

"But growing up they told us never to go to the Church." Shirou remembered. "If they're from the Church why would they stay away from it?"

"Simple, because they were forbidden to set foot in any Church. Penitence from their betrayal." Xenovia answered.

"You keep mentioning, Traitor or betrayal. Mind clarifying what that means." Rias demanded, her eyes narrowed.

"Exactly what it sounds like. If they had just been ordinary people than leaving the Church wouldn't have been a problem. But they were anything but ordinary. The fact is they were two people who were very prominent among those who served God. I'm sure you've heard of them, the ones known as the Slash Empress and the Heavenly Sorcerer."

[WHAT!?]

Everyone gasped at what they just heard. All the Devils in the room were in complete awe and dumbstruck at this news. The only two who weren't were Shirou and Mika.

"The who?" Mika asked.

"I guessing based on everyone's reaction they're big news. But who are they?" Shirou asked.

"Shirou, those two names are the names belonging to some of the most powerful members of the Church ever to be born in this Era." Rias said, still shaken. "There are hardly any Devils in the world who don't them."

"Are they strong?"

"Incredibly strong." Kiba answered. "The Slash Empress isn't just a powerful warrior, she's said to be one of the greatest Swordsmen in the world. I heard about her from my master, he told me she was easily one of the top 10 Strongest Sword-wielders in the world. And her Sword-Play was so masterful that some say that many of her opponents were already killed before they even saw her reach for her Sword."

"The Heavenly Sorcerer is just as famed and formidable." Akeno continued. "He was a Magician that was known to be able to master any spell after just a bit of observation, his skill with magic was so great that he could easily use spells that some thought would take years to learn. Even Ultimate-Class Devils or Cadre-Class Angels couldn't learn magic as quick or as masterful as him. Among all Magicians of the Church, none knew more spells then him."

"They were both considered to be Gems that shined far more than any prodigy." Rias added. "But I heard they died a long time ago, it was a great loss for those who served God."

"That's right, even I heard they were dead, growing up." Asia agreed.

"That was just a cover-up. The Elders that run the Church wanted to hide the truth." Xenovia said unhappily. "Why would they? The truth was that even though they were great powers to the Church they mostly worked alone and mainly handled missions involving hunting Devils or monsters that were S-Class threats. But there was one mission where they had to work together. However, after the mission was completed and they returned, they told the Council that they were going to leave the Church and would no longer serve God."

"There are times when people can choose to leave, but people in High-Position have large responsibilities and can't just quit. It'd be like a deserting the military." Irina said, still not happy about this. "Under normal circumstances, they would have been treated as enemies and be disposed of but the Church didn't have the power to make enemies of both of them. And thus, they were branded as heretics and forbidden from setting foot any near a Church."

"Could all of this be true? It sounds unbelievable and yet, it does explain some things." Rias thought, processing all this. "Take both Shirou and Mika for example, Shirou has been growing strong at an unbelievably fast rate and his talent for fighting is something I've never seen. And Mika is a prodigy in being a Magician and her ability to learn so many power spells was always strange. I always thought they couldn't be just ordinary humans, but if their parents were such powerful beings than it would all make sense."

"The story doesn't end there." Xenovia continued. "Even though we couldn't act against them, the Church wasn't going to just let them go and so they placed them under surveillance. The Church dispatched a family that was also Japanese and sent them to Japan. Their mission was to live close by the Tsukiharu's and carefully monitor their actions. If they stepped out of line, the Church would've acted against them."

Irina looked down guilty. "That family was my family." She then looked at them honestly. "But, this all started before any of us were born. And after I turned Seven and we moved away, that was because the Church had decided that enough time without incident had pasted to prove they weren't a threat and so the surveillance was rescinded."

"That explains why a family that has a child that became an Excalibur wielder was close to them at a young age." Rias noted.

"Still it is a shame. They should have continued monitoring them a little longer." Xenovia argued. "Even if they couldn't do anything about them, their children are a different story. And considering they turned their backs on their faith, not to mention fell so far as to become Devils, it would have been best to eliminate the two of you back then."

"Xenovia!" Irina said shocked that she would go that far.

"How dare you." Rias said with a deathly cold tone of disdain, walking up to Xenovia and wanting to give her a piece of her mind.

SLAP!

With that sound, everyone stopped.

The sound had come from the impact of a palm slapping a face. The one who was slapped was Xenovia, but the shocking part was the one who made the slap. It was Asia…..Yes, you heard right, Asia slapped Xenovia across the face without even thinking about it. That shocked everybody, including herself.

"A-Asia!?"

"What did you—?!" Akeno exclaimed with the same expression. Hell everyone in the room had the same expression as her and Rias. Though Mika looked pleased and Shirou didn't seem to react to it.

The blue-haired girl rubbed the red spot on her cheek. Asia gasped, realizing what she had done. Why did she do that. She never wanted to harm anybody. And yet she couldn't stop herself, nor did she regret it. "I-I'm sorry. I never wanted to do that. B-But, to say such things about Shirou-san and Mika-san. The two of them are wonderful people and even if they're Devils or don't believe in God or if you think their parents betrayed the Church. I won't forgive anyone who would say such terrible things to them."

Xenovia narrowed her eyes.

"And just what are they to you?"

"My friends, family, they are everything to me!" Asia proclaimed without hesitation. "Even back when I was a Holy-Maiden I always desired one simple thing; To have a friend. And the way I am now that wish was not only granted but it was more than I ever dreamed of. I don't have any regrets because I truly believe that being here now, with Shirou-san, with Mika-san, with all my friends, I believe that is far more important to me than my faith in God!"

"Asia, enough." Shirou said placing his hand on her shoulder. "You've made your point."

Asia heard him and looked around to notice that all eyes were on her. Her friends all looked at with either a face of happiness that showed that they were touched by her words or a look that showed they were pleasantly surprised by her outburst.

When she said all that, Asia felt the same courage she felt on that day at the park when Shirou encouraged her to say what she truly wanted. And just like back then after saying her piece, her courage began to wane, her mind had begun to realize what she was doing and what she just said, causing her face to flush.

"Don't worry about it too much, Asia." Mika comforted her. "We pretty much already knew you felt that way."

"And I think you all don't realize something." Shirou said, his expression completely calm. "I admit I never knew any of what you told me. But, I honestly couldn't care less about any of it."

You could hear a pin drop from how silent the room was now.

"You…What?" Xenovia asked, completely lost.

"You don't care?" Rias also questioned confused.

Shirou shrugged. "I'll say it, I am surprised that Mom and Dad were these insanely powerful fighters. But personally I don't see how that should make a difference anymore, I mean all that was before I was born and the only version I ever knew them as was Mikoto and Hideki Tsukiharu, the ones who raised me." He said, feeling at peace. "Whatever they were before then was their own business that I'm not a part of and I don't plan on passing judgment on them based on what I heard about them from someone I just met. I'm not like you."

"I agree completely." Mika added. "Mom and Dad are Mom and Dad, any titles or labels they had in the past won't change that." She placed her hand over Shirou's. "Not even a little. The only time you can judge someone and tell them what they did was wrong is after you've walked a mile their shoes and know what it was like for them. If you can't do that, then don't say a word."

Rias smiled at their display. "I should have known they'd say something like that."

"And as for the whole 'It'd be better if you were dead' line. Do you have any idea how many times I've heard stuff like that." Shirou asked rhetorically. "Longer than you might think possible, everyone wants me dead. To the point where it has lost all meaning to me. And if I took the time to worry about small stuff like that, I'd never get anything done."

Xenovia glared at the fact that he completely brushed her off.

Shirou then walked over to Asia. "Still though, that was the first time anyone got mad at my behalf and stuck up for me like that." He said kindly with a smile while patting her on the head. "I knew you had guts, but still. I could actually fall for you."

"Umm..." Asia became completely flushed and her whole face turned red.

"Smooth." Mika commented.

"Yeah, I am aren't I?" Shirou replied.

"Ahem." Xenovia coughed, interrupting their display simply because she found it irritating. "If that's all then we shall be leaving."

"Actually, that's not all." Shirou spoke out, stopping the two Exorcists from leaving. "There's something I've wanted to tell you since you showed up... Go home."

"What?" Xenovia asked, not amused.

"I know the situation now and whose behind everything. But the thing is, I've already decided to deal with this problem myself." Shirou elaborated. "To be perfectly honest, you two should just leave and go back to the Church, better that than go into a fight you have no chance of winning."

"Are you telling us to just running away with our tails between our legs!?" Xenovia asked, furious.

"In short, yes." Shirou answered uncaringly.

"Shirou, what are you saying?" Rias asked confused. "This is a matter concerning the Church and retrieving the stolen Excailburs, you can't just decide to get involved."

"Rias, think for a moment. If the stolen Excailburs and the Fallen-Angel who has them are such a big problem to both sides. And they're in this town, wouldn't it make sense to do whatever can be done to stop them. In which case, the moment Kokabiel came to this town he became our problem as well." Shirou reasoned. "By that logic, I have every right to go after him as they do."

"He has a point." Mika noted

"Don't encourage him!" Rias scolded.

"I'll just come right out and say it. I will defeat Kokabiel and destroy the stolen Excaliburs he has with him." Shirou declared. "It doesn't matter what happens to those Swords as long as he doesn't have them right. And to be frank I seriously doubt you two can pull this off in the first place. You'd be better off going home.

"This is ridiculous!" Xenovia shouted. "This is a mission we were entrusted to by our superiors as wielders of Excalibur. We came to Japan to regain what was stolen from us and we won't just leave because a Low-Class Devil told us to!"

"Xenovia, calm down." Irina suggested.

In truth, Irina felt a little insulted by Shirou's words but she didn't take it personally like her partner. In fact, she was still hoping this meeting could still end peacefully.

"You don't seem to get it. The only thing that'll happen if you two go along with this mission is your deaths." Shirou said seriously, followed by a smirk. "Besides, people who came here to die shouldn't go around acting as though they can win. After all, you did say you came here to die, remember? Besides, no matter how I look at it there's no way the two of you can beat this Kokabiel guy."

Shirou then walked up to Xenovia and looked her in the eye while he looking down on her.

"If you two are really the best the Church has then, of course, I'd have to do it myself." Shirou didn't hide the fact that he was looking down on her. "Hell I could beat both of without breaking a sweat, your Sword wouldn't even graze me."

"Is that a declaration to us… All of those in the Church? If I have to hammer you down by force than so be it. Gremory. It seems I'll have to turn your servant into Excalibur's next meal."

"Shirou, sto…"

Rias tried to calm me, but Kiba stood in front of her.

"That's good timing. I will be your opponent."

Kiba was carrying his Sword, and there was an enormous aura of intent to kill coming out of his body.

"Who are you?"

Kiba smirked at Xenovia's question.

"I'm your Senpai. Though I apparently was a failure."

That instant a countless number of demonic-swords appeared in the clubroom.

Later they were all outside of the Old School Building. Standing on a wide space that would provide them enough space to fight. Shirou and Kiba were standing next to each other and Irina and Xenovia were standing in front of them. Off the side near the edge of the tree line stood the other members.

"Then let's start."

Irina and Xenovia took their white robe off and were revealed to be wearing black battle purpose clothes. Xenovia was wearing a skin-tight, short-sleeved unitard with pauldrons, matching fingerless gloves that reached up to her biceps, and thigh-high boots, all of which were adorned with straps. Irina wore the same outfit with slight differences. Her shoulders were more exposed and her gloves have closed fingers. They weren't showing their skins but it looked…erotic…. You could see the curves of their bodies.

Shirou almost face-palmed when he saw them. It took a lot of his self-control to not sarcastically say "Really".

Xenovia took the cloth off her weapon and revealed her Excalibur. The Excalibur that Irina had also turned into the shape of a katana.

If you're wondering how things turned out like this.

After Kiba came in and it got worse. Then Xenovia made a suggestion.

"It might be interesting to test the strength of Rias Gremory's servants. Also, I'm interested in the strength of the so-called Senpai, as well as seeing if you can back up all your arrogance."

Xenovia accepted Kiba's challenge. She also added that this battle wouldn't be reported to the Church. Apparently they understood their position a little bit, so they made it so that it wouldn't be a problem if it was not a fight for life. To avoid unnecessary damage and getting noticed by others, Akeno put up a barrier around them. With this, they could fight as recklessly as they wanted.

Play OST Rurouni Kenshin - Last Wolf Suite

"Even if it's just a match, be cautious of the Holy-Swords!"

Rias' warning reached them.

"Whatever." Shirou brushed off as he removed his weights.

Kiba, on the other hand, had activated his Sacred Gear and there were several Demonic-Swords around him.

"…Are you laughing?" Xenovia asked.

Kiba was laughing so much that it looked weird. A smile that made the atmosphere cold. There wasn't any trace of the refreshing smile he usually has.

"Yeah. The thing I wanted to defeat and destroy appeared right in front of me. I'm happy. Fufufu, I had even heard that by being close to a Devil and a Dragon, powers would gather. But for me to encounter it this early."

"So in other words, he assumed he would find the Swords faster if I was around." Shirou noted, hearing Kiba before shrugging. "Well, he wasn't wrong."

"…"Sword Birth", huh. The possessor can create any Demonic-Sword they imagine in their head. It's unique among the Demonic-Sword related Sacred Gears. I heard that there was a subject that avoided being disposed of by the Holy-Sword Project… Is that you?"

Kiba didn't answer Xenovia's question. He just directed his killing intent towards her.

Shirou smiled at his comrade's display. "That's right Kiba, go as wild as you want. And Shirou-Sama will back you up all the way. The day you've waited your whole life for is here."

"Shirou Tsukiharu-kun!"

He was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a shout from the one standing in front of him. Irina Shidou.

"When I met the boy that I haven't seen for so long, and he turned into a Devil….. I was shocked."

She seemed really depressed. Though Shirou didn't seem to pay much attention to hear.

"…..Okay?"

"A pitiful Shirou Tsukiharu-kun. No, I will call you Shirou-kun since I knew you since a long time ago. And what trick has destiny played on us! I went to England because I found out that I can use Holy-Swords, and I thought that I could be a representative of God! Aaah, this also must be a trial that God has given me! The land that I haven't been back in for so long! A harsh destiny where my childhood friend has not only turned into a Devil but also abandon his faith! The way time moves is harsh! But by moving forward, I will turn into someone with the true belief towards God! Now Shirou-kun! I will give judgment to you with this Excalibur! Amen!"

Even though Irina was shedding tears, she seemed really eager to do it and pointed her Sword at him. Her eyes were sparkling like a star! Almost as if she got drunk with her beliefs. Like she was enjoying this situation.

At this point, Shirou just looked at her like she was an idiot.

The Silver-haired Devil groaned. "Why do I always get the nuts?" He complained, before raising his arm. "Activate Boosted Gear!"

[BOOST!]

By his command, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet appeared and covered his arm. Both the Holy-Sword wielders seemed shocked after seeing his Sacred Gear.

"…Longinus?!"

"Is that a Boosted Gear? I never thought that I would meet the person possessed by the Welsh Dragon in a far eastern country like this."

Irina and Xenovia raised a brow.

Shirou was amused by their reactions.

"Unfortunately the surprises don't stop there."

With that said, Shirou removed his Student-Uniform blazer and revealed that Dyrnwyn was strapped to his back the whole time. He placed his hand on the Hilt, drew the blade from its sheath and brought out the Sword in all its glory. After letting it be seen, Shirou flared up the Swords Holy-aura and shocked his two adversaries a second time.

"A Holy-Sword? That isn't possible for a Devil! He should have been killed upon touching it!"

"Unless Irina, that is the fabled Dyrnwyn; The Sword Of The Red Dragon that only the Red Dragon Emperor can wield. I thought it was just a myth."

Shirou took a bit of pleasure saying their expressions of disbelief.

"Beautiful isn't it? I found this baby just recently. And yet, it cuts like a dream."

Xenovia glared. "It's an abomination to see a Devil wielding a Holy-Sword. But the fact you can has to mean you're a natural-type." She cursed. "I suppose I should say as expected of the son of the Slash Empress."

Shirou knew that was an insult but took it as a compliment. "Yeah, Mom really is the best."

"You will hurt yourself if your attention is on Shirou-kun!"

CLASH!

Kiba went on slashing towards Xenovia. The Holy-Sword and Demonic-Sword made sparks. Xenovia smirked after blocking Kiba's strike.

"Sacred Gear "Sword Birth" and "Boosted Gear". And also the "Twilight Healing" that Asia Argento has. All of them are Sacred Gear that are said to be heresy to us. Maybe it was natural for you to turn into a Devil."

"My power is also the power made by my comrades' hatred, who were killed while filled with regret! I will beat those with Excalibur with this power, and I will destroy that Excalibur!"

While Kiba and Xenovia were clashing with each other Irina rushed in slashing towards Shirou.

"Here I come, Shirou-kun!"

Though she was closing in fast, from Shirou's perspective she was moving in slow-motion. After facing the lightning-fast speed that Freed was using last night her speed was seeing he could read with his eyes closed.

Irina entered his striking zone and thrust her blade at him. Shirou, however, flipped his Sword upside down and had the hilt face upwards. Shirou raised the hilt upwards and it hit the bottom of Irina's blade knocking it upwards and messing up her balance. Seeing an opening, Shirou spin Dyrnwyn like a Bo-staff and slammed the dull-side of the blade into the back of Irina's neck, knocking her away and sending her trembling on the ground.

Shirou then held his Sword like normal again and gave Irina an unimpressed look.

"The Church must have really low standards." Shirou commented harshly. "That or they let anybody wield Excalibur these days."

"Don't get hasty." Irina said as she stood up and gripped her Sword. "I'm just getting started. After all." She charged at him again. "I wield this Holy-Sword in the name of God! Ahem!"

CLASH!

The chestnut-haired girl began her assault and continued to repeatedly slash and slice her Excalibur at Shirou. Though he simply kept parring or blocking her attacks without moving. All the while he kept his eyes focused on her movements and attack patterns.

As the fighting went on the others continued to watch.

"This is a surprise." Akeno noted. "Shirou-kun is having an easier time against Excalibur than I was expecting."

"Still though, I'm concerned." Rias had a worried expression. "The way he's fighting her is unusual. It's like he's simply toying with her."

"He's not." Mika corrected her. "In fact, I'd say he's completely serious right now."

Rias didn't seem to understand. "Why do you say that? From where I'm standing he's just brushing aside her attacks."

Mika sighed annoyed. "Then you obviously aren't paying attention."

"What?"

"Brotousai could've won by now by powering up and blowing her away with power, but then what would that accomplish?" Mika asked, rhetorically. "Right now he's watching her carefully, studying how she fights, how her Excalibur works compared to other Holy-Swords, and most importantly how to defeat it. He wants to fully understand the way she uses that Sword so that he'll have more experience in facing Excalibur. And have an easier time beating other Excaliburs."

"So your saying Shirou-kun is using this fight to train himself against Excalibur?" Akeno asked.

Mika nodded. "That's right, this is a learning experience for him."

"But that's dangerous!" Rias said concerned. "Just one cut from that Sword could be fatal, he can't act recklessly when fighting an Excalibur fragment."

"Too bad!" Mika shouted back. "Broshin makes it a habit to do whatever he can to get stronger. During a fight he learns whatever he can before it's over so he'll be stronger afterwards, it may not be safe but it's what got him this far, so quit complaining."

Asia looked on worried and prayed for her friend's safety. "Oh Shirou-san, please be safe."

"But besides that, there's something weird about this fight." Mika thought. "True he's studying her fighting style, but for some reason, it almost looks easy to him, or at least easier than it should. This is the first time he's fought an Excalibur and yet, rather than it looking like he's fighting blind and learning along the way. It looks like he has a similar experience and is comparing this to something else." She noticed with her eyebrow raised. "Could he have fought Excalibur before, is that why he want out last night?"

On the other side of this battle. Kiba created a Demonic-Sword where he stood and held it. He now had two Swords and went towards Xenovia.

"Now Burn! And freeze! "Flare Brand" and "Freeze Mist"!"

One of the Demonic-Swords created a whirl of flames while the other one made a cold air and silver frost. Kiba was attacking with fast-paced speed. But Xenovia was evading Kiba's attack, which came from all directions, with the minimum movements.

"The Knights swift move. And flame and ice Demonic-Swords. But you are too naïve!"

KACHING!

A single swing of Xenovia's turned Kiba's two Demonic-Swords to dust.

Kiba became speechless because his Demonic-Swords were destroyed with a single swing.

"My Sword is a mass of destruction. There's nothing it can't destroy."

Xenovia swirled around her Sword. She then pointed it upwards then thrust it into the ground.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Suddenly the place where they were standing shook and the ground was rumbling. Kiba and Irina lost their balance and kneeled on the ground. Shirou, on the other hand, stood perfectly fine as if the tremors didn't bother him. There were clouds of dust in the surroundings. There was even dirt flying around the place. It even reached the spectators. A crater. There was a big hole at the place where Xenovia had placed her Sword.

"This is my Excalibur. It can destroy anything that comes its way. It's not called Excalibur for nothing."

Kiba made a bitter expression when he saw that.

"…Such a destructive power when it isn't a real Excalibur. So destroying all 7 Swords will be a difficult path."

"I thought you knew that going in?" Shirou thought, then he looked at Xenovia. "Still though, that power is more basic than was expecting."

"Geez! I'm all covered in dirt because you destroyed the ground, Xenovia!"

Irina wiped the dirt off her clothes while complaining.

[BOOST!]

[TRANSFER!]

Shirou Boosted his power once and gathered it all into his arm. It started to glow in a deep red light, filled with power.

"That Excalibur of yours isn't anything to brag about, I could do that myself if I wanted with my fists." Shirou informed Xenovia. "Watch me demonstrate!"

"DRAGON FORCE STRIKER!"

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Shirou slammed his attack into the ground. Once again the place where they were standing shook and the ground was rumbling. Kiba and Irina lost their balance a second time and kneeled on the ground. Xenovia also fell to her knees at this tremor. Clouds of dust covered the surroundings. again and more dirt was flying around the place. Another crater was created. This time though the hole at the place where Shirou punched the ground was large than the one made by Xenovia's Sword.

In other words. Shirou's destructive power was stronger than that of Excalibur Destruction.

Those watching were covered in dirt.

"…Do they have to keep destroying the ground." Koneko complained.

"Ara, Ara, I guess Shirou-kun didn't want to be outdone." Akeno commented.

"That's Brociel's competitive side, the moment someone else starts showing off, he can't resist strutting his stuff as well." Mika informed them.

"We'll have to fix all this damage later, otherwise the Student Council will be on our case." Rias reminded them.

Back to the fight. Xenovia and Kiba got back up.

"This is unbelievable." Xenovia cursed. "Even if he is the Red Dragon Emperor, how can he possibly unleash more destructive power than Excalibur Destruction with just one blow?"

"Haha, that's just business as usual when it comes to him." Kiba said, confident. "Every time someone underestimates Shirou-kun they regret it once he demonstrates his power. Trust when I say, if he says he can do something, he can walk the walk as well."

Xenovia glared. "Is that a fact?"

Irina had to wipe off even more dirt on her clothes now.

"Oh come on already!" She complained loudly. "Now I'm covered in even more dirt."

"That should be the least of your problems." Shirou told her. "In case you still haven't noticed, I haven't taken a step from where I started."

Irina blinked and looked for herself. To her surprise he was right. Since this fight had begun Shirou hadn't moved an inch. He was still standing in the exact same spot he stood from why they began.

Irina didn't seem to like that. "Hey! Take me seriously you jerk!" She whined.

"I am, this is how I fight."

Shirou then started to think. "I more or less figured her out. Irina is the opposite of Freed, she's fast but it's nothing to write home about, on the flip side she has a lot of skill and technique. She rushes in and uses slashes to cut her opponent on any part of their body that is unguarded, it's a basic style but also a polished one." Shirou deduced. "Although she's still untrained, even though her Excalibur Mimic can transform into any weapon she's only using a Sword. I thought she was waiting for an opportunity but she's not that smart.She probably can't use anything besides a Sword."

CLERK!

Shirou then placed his Sword back in its sheath and removed it from his back.

"That's enough, I've already seen through your fighting style, Irina." Shirou proclaimed. "This fight is over."

"What are you talking about?" Irina said in defiance. "We're just getting started."

Shirou held up his sheathed weapon and placed it by his hip while gripping his other hand on the hilt. "Irina, when I say it's over." He then entered a Batto-Jutsu stance. "It's over.

This time Shirou began charged forward at high speed. Irina moved back in response, but Shirou's advance was faster.

[BOOST!]

In an instant, he was right in front of her with his Sword drawn from the sheath.

"RAPID SLASH! 10X"

And then both the Sword and the arm holding it seemed to vanish. Irina only heard repeated explosive noises. The Dyrnwyn was creating Sonic-booms as it moved faster than the speed of sound. Spraying blood and ripped clothing scattered in every direction around Irina and her body was knocked backwards after a slight delay. It was confined to a small location, but the attack had the force of an explosion.

Irina collapsed to the ground with ten wounds carved into her body. Her combat uniform was also sheared up, leaving her right leg exposed, her left glove torn up, and her breasts completely out in the open.

Shirou sheathed Dyrnwyn and looked pleased with the result of his attack. He was so satisfied he didn't even comment on the way Irina's clothes were destroyed.

Those watching were awestruck.

"…Incredible!" Akeno said amazed.

"I barely even saw it, it was like an instantaneous consecutive strike." Rias said shocked.

"It wasn't. It was definitely a consecutive strike, but not an instant one." Mika explained. "He moved at Hyper-Sonic speed and slashed her in ten different points of her body at a speed that broke the sound barrier, this caused a chain-reaction of not only repeated Swords strikes but also a delayed shockwave with the force of an explosion afterwards."

"So then, you could see it?" Asia asked.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I know what happened but I couldn't see the attack at all, it was too fast." Mika replied. "I only know what happened after seeing the state Irina was in after the attack. But, I do know this much. This attack is newly developed."

"…Well yeah, it's a new move." Koneko said.

"You're not getting it, I'm not saying it's an attack he was saving for this fight but rather, an attack he just created." Mika clarified. "What you saw, was a new-born attack he taught himself to use with Dyrnwyn."

"Than, Shirou-kun created that move only recently?" Akeno asked.

Mika nodded. "I'd go so far to say it's only a few days old. And yet it's that strong."

Rias looked on at her Pawn with amazement. "Shirou, just how much will you continue to evolve?"

Her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of breaking metal was heard and their attention went back to Kiba and Xenovia.

"Haaaaaaaaaa!"

Kiba raised his spirit up and tried to make something in his hand. It turned into the shape of a Sword, but what appeared in Kiba's hand was a gigantic sword. Kiba held it with both hands while releasing an ominous aura. It was big. It was much longer than Kiba's height. It definitely was more than two meters. "The destructive power of that Holy-Sword or the destructive power of my Demonic-Sword! We will see which one is stronger!"

Kiba then swung it with force. The slash reached Xenovia, but she made a sigh as if she was really disappointed.

"It's a shame. You made the wrong decision."

BANG!

The pommel of the Holy-Sword hit deep into Kiba's stomach. It was a simple move like that yet it created a shockwave. It meant that even a single attack with a pommel has destructive power.

"Your weapon is the variety of the Swords you can create and your speed. You would need a lot of strength to swing a gigantic Sword like that, and you will lose the speed that you are proud of. Are you seeking a destructive power? From your fighting style, it's something unnecessary. Don't you even know that?"

"Gaha!" Kiba fell onto the ground after he vomited from his mouth. His Large Demonic-Sword was dropped to the ground and rested beside him.

"Even if it's not a hit with the blade, that hit just now will be enough to stop you from standing for a while."

Xenovia glared at Kiba once and turned around.

"…Wa…wait!"

Kiba reached his hands towards her, but everyone here knew that the match was over.

"Senpai, I suggest you fight with coolness the next time we fight. Rias Gremory, I trust you with the talk from earlier. Also, you should train your servants a bit more. There's a limit for polishing their battling style."

Kiba glared at Xenovia with hatred. Xenovia then looked at Shirou.

"And now for you."

"Yeah me, glad you didn't get cold feet from watching me slice up Irina."

"I admit I underestimated you. But, you're still no match for the power of my Excalibur or the power of the servants of God!"

Xenovia raised her blade, her expression as confident as her words.

Though Shirou just found it funny.

"Don't get too cocky, bitch. I'm still just warming up."

Xenovia takes her stance. "Draw your Sword."

Shirou looked over to where Kiba was laying and thought of something.

"Actually, I have a better idea."

Upon saying that he went over to where Kiba was and placed his hand on the large Demonic-Sword he created.

"I'm borrowing this." Shirou told Kiba as he picked up the Sword.

Xenovia narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Making a point." Shirou replied, holding the large Sword with one hand. "Kiba may not be strong enough to use this Sword right, but I can. And I'm pretty sure I can beat you with any Sword."

"I have had just about enough of your attitude." Xenovia gritted her teeth before charging at him. "Now fall!"

"That's funny." Shirou commented.

Once Xenovia closed the distance between them she prepared to slash him, but Shirou simply swung the Sword horizontally.

KACHIN!

The blades of both Swords clashed but to her surprise. Xenovia was the one blown away a few feet and hit the ground.

Both Kiba and the spectators were surprised as well.

"But how?" Kiba thought.

"Is the Sword Kiba-san made stronger than Xenovia-san's Sword?" Asia wondered.

"No that isn't the case. What you saw was a simple difference in power." Rias explained. "The Sword Yuuto made was built for Destructive power, but it can't compare to an Excalibur built for the same purpose. However, the difference is the wielders themselves. Shirou's physical strength must far surpass Xenovia's so when they enter a clash of power, she'll get pushed back."

"Not to mention the difference in their weapons reach." Mika continued. "They both have long Swords, but Big Bro's one is two meters long, so it has much more reach. He could hit her before her Sword could even reach him."

The fight continued as Shirou sidestepped and dodged a diagonal slash from Xenovia and jumped back to dodge a horizontal slash. He gained some distance before dashing at her with his fast speed. She prepared to strike but just as she was about to slash him, Shirou suddenly increased his pace and was right in front of her ready to strike. He swung his Sword at the left side of her body and she quickly raised her Holy-Sword to block it, she was able to shield herself from damage but the force of the attack made her skid back a few feet.

Xenovia grit her teeth in frustration at how this fight was going.

Even though the Sword should be too heavy and long to properly use skilfully or maneuver correctly, Shirou was able to wield it with the speed and grace of a Rapier, not to mention he could easily see through any attack Xenovia tried. It was because he was used to heavy-weight because of the weights he wears on his limbs, because of his great strength, the Sword wasn't as heavy as his weights, so he had an easy time wielding it.

"Of all the Excalibur wielders I've faced so far, she's the easiest." Shirou thought. "She doesn't have any skill like Irina and just swings that thing around like a Warhammer or a battle-ax. It's basically the same as fighting Freed, just swap speed with power. No doubt smashing stuff is the only way this girl knows how to fight."

"I thought Excalibur-wielders were supposed to be, oh what's the word, "good"?" Shirou asked, asking somewhat bored. "Whoever gave you this mission must have had low-standards."

And with that, Xenovia gave in to her frustrations and charged at him like a wild-bull.

"SHUT UP!" She roared after jumping in the air and aiming to land an overhead strike with both hands on the Sword. Leaving herself completely wide open for an attack.

"It's over." Shirou brought his Sword back and readied his attack.

[BOOST!]

"RAPID SLASH! 10X"

Just like before both the Sword and the arm holding it seemed to vanish, though it seemed a bit cleaner than before. Like Irina heard repeated explosive noises. The noises of Sonic-booms from the blade moving faster than the speed of sound. It wasn't as fast as it was with Dyrnwyn but the power of the attack was much higher. Spraying blood and ripped clothing scattered in every direction around Xenovia and her body was knocked backwards after a slight delay. The attack had the force of an explosion but it was a bigger one than before and louder.

Music Off

Xenovia collapsed to the ground and ten wounds were carved into her body as well. Unlike Irina, Her combat uniform was almost completely blown away. the only part that remained was the leather that reached around her hips and ended at thighs. Everything else was exposed, her breasts and entire torso were out in the open, her gloves were gone, along with her boots, and she was unconscious.

Shirou threw the Sword away to his right and it disappeared. "Well, that takes care of that."

Now for truth, the battle was over. With Shirou being the last one standing it was obvious to anyone looking. Irina and Xenovia were utterly defeated.

Later, after the fight was over, the ground was now repaired with magic making it the same as before the fight. Akeno also used her magic on Irina and Xenovia to restore their combat suits to what they were before the fight. And Asia was currently healing them with her Sacred Gear.

"Are you okay?"

While she was healing them, Xenovia just frowned and looked away.

"I have no intention of thanking you."

Asia just smiled and shook her head.

"That's okay, I'm glad that your wound was minimal."

Once she was done healing they both stood back up.

"Still though, that was surprising." Irina said, almost impressed. "To think Shirou-kun would overpower both of us."

"Could you not say that like it's a good thing." Xenovia said annoyed at her defeat.

"You went off arrogantly saying that Kiba needs to polish his fighting style and he needs to cool down, and yet you lost because yourself got sloppy and lost your cool." Mika pointed out. "Doesn't really fill you with confidence if someone like that is going to take on a Leader class Fallen-Angel."

Xenovia clenched her fists. She would have attacked if she didn't already know that would just prove her point.

"Mika, stop that." Rias scolded. "Still I will agree that I also have concerns with it being just the two of you. Are you recklessly trying to die?"

"We understand the danger." Irina said. "There's already been one casualty. A Priest who came to this town to check things out ahead of time was killed."

"I know who killed him." Everyone turned to Kiba who was struggling to stand. "Freed Zelzan."

Xenovia and Irina both made sharp eyes at Kiba's words.

"I see. So it's him."

"Freed Zelzan. Former exorcist of the Vatican. The genius who became an exorcist at the age of 13." Xenovia informed them. "He had lots of big achievements because he kept on eliminating Devils and mystical beasts."

"But he overdid it. He even killed his allies." Irina added. "Freed never had any beliefs towards our God from the start. The only thing he had was fighting instinct and killing intent towards monsters. And an abnormal obsession for battles. It was a matter of time that he'd be charged for heresy."

"So someone like that was in my territory, but for you two to of encountered him?" Rias asked, before widening her eyes. "Wait, Shirou did you…?"

Shirou sighed. "Guess the cat's out of the bag." He muttered. "Yes, I fought Freed, that's where I went last night. He also had an Excalibur, it was one that amped up his speed."

"Excalibur Rapidly?" Irina gasped.

"That's the one."

"Then is that why you were asking about Excalibur? Because you knew an Excalibur was nearby and planned to fight it?" Rias asked.

"Actually no." Shirou denied. "I sensed a Holy-aura nearby and guessed an Excalibur was nearby. What I was actually sensing was those two." He pointed at Irina and Xenovia. "But on the way, I found Freed fighting this guy." He pointed to Kiba. "And so I fought him and shortly after I thrashed him."

"You've encountered him before?" Irina asked.

"Unfortunately." Shirou replied.

"So that makes three Excalibur wielders you trashed? Do I hear four?" Mika commented.

"It was a learning experience, fighting his Excalibur made it easier fighting other Excaliburs."

"Well, that answers one question." Rias noted.

"This is all interesting. At least now we know what we're up against." Xenovia and Irina put their cloaks back on. "I'll at least thank you for the information. But like I said before, don't involve yourselves in our affairs."

"You're pretty arrogant considering you lost." Shirou condescended her with a smirk. "I told you already, I'll be the one to take out Kokabiel."

Xenovia glared hatefully at him.

"Easy, Xenovia." Irina tried to calm her down.

Play OST Death Note - Special Investigation

Shirou then just groaned. "You know what, forget it." He drowned, confusing the others. "It'd just be better to do things more simply, we'll go after Kokabiel our way you guys just do it your way. We both have the same long-term objective so it shouldn't be much of a problem, and whatever happens we'll deal with it when we get there. You do you, we'll do us."

Xenovia took in this information and after a few seconds, she just walks away without answering, though she had a look of reluctant acceptance on her face.

"Wait for me Xenovia. I'll take that as an okay, Shirou-kun. Tell me whenever you want to get judged. Amen."

Irina held her cross and winked at him. She then left the scene following Xenovia.

Once they were gone Shirou went over to Kiba who was still on the ground, trembling with anger at his defeat.

"Not just once, but twice." Kiba thought with frustration. "Shirou-kun defeated two Excalibur user, with hardly any effort, he was incredible. And all I could do was lose disgracefully and watch. It's so frustrating."

"Can you stand?" Shirou asked, standing over him.

The blonde Knight stood and nodded.

The two of them then began to leave themselves.

"Hold on! You two!"

They heard Rias' voice and turned around. What they saw was an angry Rias.

"I won't forgive you if you leave me! You are the Knight and Pawn of the Gremory group. I will also be troubled if you turn into a Stray. Wait this instant!"

"…I was able to run away from there, thanks to my comrades. That's why I have to put their regrets into my Demonic-Swords…"

After saying that Kiba turned away from her.

"Rias, this is just something that has to be done."

Once she heard Shirou say that she tried to him.

"Shirou, why are you even involving yourself in this so much? I still haven't approved what you plan to do."

"Whether you approve or not isn't an issue." The two of them began to walk away. "I'm seeing this through to the end, no matter what."

"Yuuto… Shirou… Why…?"

Rias watched them go with a sad face.

Unbeknownst to everyone there, sitting beside a tree a few feet away was a familiar brown-furred wolf that witnessed everything that had transpired. After seeing everything was over the wolf left.

Music Off

Later that night. back at the Old Abandon Church. In a chamber that was created for baptism with a large pool of water that was only a foot deep was Irina.

With no other way of cleaning, Irina stood in the pool, Naked and washed herself with the water. "I don't get why I can't even take a bath comfortably." She complained, bending over to cup some of the water in her hands before throwing it onto her breasts. She then stood up straight and put her hands together. "Hmm, I bet this must be another trial from God."

"Do you really believe that?" Irina turned around and saw Xenovia walk into the chamber and into the pool, equally Nude. "After all you were the one who spent all of our money." She said angrily at her, before pointing to a badly drawn painting of a Saint leaning against the wall, near the entrance of the chamber. "And for what? A weird, suspicious-looking picture.

Irina, however, was offended. "What are you trying to say?! There's an honest to goodness Holy person in that image and you know it! The exhibition guy said so. And why would he lie?"

Irina saw that painting from an art-exhibit that she went to a few days ago and was offered to buy it from a sleazy looking art seller. Because of her naive personality, she hadn't realized she was scammed.

Xenovia sat down by the edge of the pool and with only her feet in the water. She sighed and face-palmed, upset by Irina's actions. "Why did I have to be stuck with you as a partner?"

"Wow when you get depressed you get like really depressed, don't you?" Irina noted.

"Oh be quiet." Xenovia told her, feed-up.

RUMBLE!

The two girls blushed when they both heard their stomachs growl in hunger, along with each other.

"First things first, we have to find a way to get something to eat." Xenovia decided. "We're hardly in the condition to retrieve Excalibur right now."

Irina smiled and made raised her hand to make an upbeat fist. "Yeah, you're right, in that case, you wanna threaten people from other religions so they'll give us money?" She said it so casually and yet she sounded serious. "Since they won't be with the Church, God'll totally forgive us…Probably."

Xenovia stood up. "If we're going that far, we might as well just steal a temple's offering box or something like that instead."

Irina turned to her and smiled. "Oh, that would be easier, good plan."

Xenovia soon sat back down. "No, we can't do that." She said, feeling down.

Irina crouched down in the water herself. "Right. I guess that wouldn't be very nice now, would it?" She said, feeling equally down.

They both sighed as their stomachs continued to growl in hunger.

The next day was a Day off at Kuoh Academy. But really, even if it wasn't, Shirou wouldn't have gone anyway. He was still busy looking around for Freed or at least he was until a few minutes ago.

The Delinquent had received a text from someone to meet him at the small cafe beside the Kuoh train station and so was sitting one of the tables outside the cafe waiting for whoever he was supposed to meet.

"Hope this doesn't take long." He grumbled.

"Tsukiharu?"

Shirou sat up when he heard a familiar voice and saw that standing next to his table was his fellow Delinquent, and the Pawn of the Sitri Peerage, Takeru Saito. He looked as surprised as Shirou upon seeing him.

"Saito? Wait are you the one who sent me that text?"

"You got one too?" Saito brought out his phone and showed he had the same text that Shirou received. "It just appeared in my Inbox under the name anonymous."

"We both have the same text? Then who called us here?" Shirou wondered.

"That would be me."

This time they both turned and saw the one that appeared before them was Shirou's closest and one of his only friends, along with his usual training partner, as well as a half Human, half Wolf-Youkai hybrid. Ren Todo.

"Ren?"

"Todo?"

Shirou and Saito respectively showed surprise at the one who called them here sat down himself.

"Yeah me. Glad you both made it."

"Hold on, why'd you call me here? And why with him?" Saito asked.

"Yeah, and why does the text say anonymous?" Shirou asked.

"I used a different phone that wasn't in your contact list so you wouldn't know I sent the text." Ren then looked at Saito. "If I used my usual phone you'd have come, but I couldn't guarantee that Saito would. So I made you both come out of curiosity."

"Okay, now the question still remains on why?" Saito reminded him.

Ren had a serious expression. "First off, let me confess something. Saito, I know about you guys being Devils."

Saito's eyes widened surprised. "You what?!"

Shirou also looked a little surprised. "Ren?"

Ren smiled. "But don't get the wrong idea, I know because I'm part of the supernatural, you could say." Ren then brought his hands forward and they glowed a small red light. Once the glow stopped what appeared over his hands were two red gloves with orange finger-covers and black-knuckles. And on the center of the back of his hands were a Crimson-flame design on both gloves. "I'm the same type as you guys."

"Wait, you have a Sacred Gear too?" Saito asked, both surprised and curious.

Ren nodded. "That's right, it's called Pyro Drake. As the name suggests it gives me Pyrokinesis."

In truth, Shirou wasn't surprised by Ren's Sacred Gear. Because the fact was, Ren already showed it to him because Ren was half-Human he was able to be born with one and he used occasionally whenever the two of them trained together. Mika is also aware of this obviously, but Rias and Asia also know. After telling Shirou he had revealed himself to Rias, Ren decided to let him know he was going to inform her about his Sacred Gear as well. The reason for that being Shirou was continually coming back from training with burns and they started to become suspicious.

Although Asia still doesn't know Ren is a Youkai, she is hopelessly naive so they don't have to worry about her asking any more questions on the matter.

That's why Shirou was confused. Even if Ren hadn't revealed his true secret yet why would he reveal this one and why to Saito?

These questions were soon answered.

"As for why I'm telling you this." Ren paused and made his gloves vanish before answering. "It's because I want to lend you my help."

"Help me?" Shirou blinked. "…How?"

"I already know what your planning, you want to hunt down Excalibur."

"You know about that?" Shirou thought about it and then realized something. "You were watching yesterday?"

"That's right." Ren confirmed. "When two unfamiliar presences show up at school even I'd obviously want to know what's happening. And now that I know what you plan to do I can't let you go in alone."

"I've got Kiba." Shirou argued.

"After yesterday's fight can you really say he'll be of much help?" Ren shot back.

Shirou had trouble answering that and said nothing.

"You need more manpower in a fight like this so I want to add myself to the roster." Ren looked at Saito. "And I also called you because you're the only other person in town strong enough to be of help in this fight."

"So you want to drag me into another group's problem?" Saito grumbled annoyed.

"You won't do it?"

Saito answer at first and just got more comfortable in his seat. "Well, I did hear about the situation from Sona and Tsubaki, the whole thing about stolen Excalibur fragments in this town and the string-puller being a Fallen-Angel Leader. But I didn't hear about Tsukiharu and the Knight jumping into the fray themselves."

"I'm not just going to sit back and watch things play out." Shirou spoke out.

"I seriously doubt your boss would approve of that." Saito reminded him.

"When has not "having permission" for something stopped anyone at this table from doing anything, ever?" Shirou argued.

"Good point." Saito admitted. "And I do agree that it would suck ass to just do nothing in all this and pretend it doesn't concern me. Not to mention I haven't been in a single fighter since I became a Devil." He weighed his options. "All right, I'm in."

"You'll help us?" Ren asked relieved.

"Yeah." Saito confirmed. "All joking aside, if a fight is going to start, then I'm not backing down. I don't care if Sona isn't okay with it."

"All right then, now that that's decided let's find Kiba and go." Shirou brought out his phone.

"Hold it, that's not everything." Ren stopped him. "There's still one more thing. I told you we need manpower for this fight. I also meant we should link up with those two Exorcists from yesterday."

Shirou knew he meant Irina and Xenovia and glared. "We don't need their help. Since you saw what happened before you should know that."

"You mean the fight you guys had. Just because you beat them like that doesn't mean their weak, it just means you're that much stronger." Ren corrected him. "Besides, you already know the kind of enemy we're about to face, things will already be hard enough as is and we can't afford to waste energy clashing with others, especially when he has the same goal." He reasoned. "Personal feelings asides, it's in the best interest of both sides that we work together on this fight, I'm sure even they would agree."

Shirou knew he was making good points but he still didn't like it. He started to clench his fist.

Saito chimed in. "Listen, I don't know all the details but, it's not like we actually have to get along with them, just cooperate for the time being. Besides when all's said and done the result is still the same, so why sweat the details. Just worry about the fight."

Shirou considered his words and after a few seconds, he unclenched his fist and sighed.

"I suppose that's true." Shirou admitted. "I'll agree to team up with them, but don't expect smooth sailing."

"Good enough, I guess." Ren shrugged before getting up from his seat. "Now we just have to go to them, luckily I know where those Exorcists are."

"Okay, let's go." Saito said as he and Shirou stood up too.

"Yeah, but first." Ren turned around. "Why don't we tell whoever's back there to come out."

Upon saying that there was a small ruffling sound and two small figures came out of hiding from behind the surrounding wooden grass holders. The first was Koneko and the second was the other Pawn of the Sitri Peerage; Ruruko.

"Koneko?" Shirou asked.

"And Ruruko? What are you doing?" Saito asked.

The First-Year Rook stepped forward. "…You don't look all that surprised, you knew we were there?"

"We could feel someone was there, but I couldn't tell who, so I was going to wait until you moved before trying anything." Shirou clarified.

"I didn't feel anything?" Saito thought deadpan.

"Moving on, how much did you here?" Shirou asked.

"All of it, actually." Ruruko said nervously. "I came here because I wanted to know what you were up to, and then I meet up with Koneko-san who was doing the same thing." She explained. "We got here the moment Ren-Senpai showed you his Sacred Gear and heard everything after that?"

The guys looked at each other.

"What do we do now? We can't let them tell Rias and Sona about this." Saito reminded them.

"We could erase their memory, I basically got the hang of that spell ever since Rias showed me." Shirou suggested.

Ren nodded. "Fine, let's try it."

"…Wait." Koneko spoke out and stopped them. "…We didn't come here to stop you and we won't tell. I want to help you as well."

"What?" Shirou was surprised. "But I thought you sided with Rias on these things?"

"…I don't want to go against the Chief, but I will help as well. It's about Yuuto-Senpai, right?" Koneko answered, unusually determined.

"What about you Ruruko?" Saito questioned.

"W-Well, I…" Ruruko seemed very nervous around Saito, she even started to blush. "I know that President Sona wouldn't approve of any of this, but I know I can't persuade you to stop. So I just want to do whatever I can to make sure you make it through this safely." Her voice was quiet but her eyes were serious.

Ren scratched his head. "Well, it's you guy's call. What do you want to do?"

"Ruruko's new but she's pretty good at Martial Arts and she's got decent speed too." Saito informed them.

"And Koneko's a Rook and she's got a lot of power. I'm pretty sure she won't be in the way." Shirou informed them.

"All right, I guess the First-Year duo is in." Ren accepted.

"Okay, you guys go talk to the Exorcists and I'll go fill in Kiba." Shirou decided.

"Fine, I'll text you where to meet us later." Ren told him.

And with that, they all left to begin their objectives.

A few minutes after parting ways with Shirou, the merry band of three Devils and a Youkai made their way past the busy streets of Kuoh to find Irina and Xenovia. Leading the group was Ren.

"So just be sure, you know where we can find those two right?" Saito asked, walking with his hands in his pockets.

"That's right." Ren confirmed. "It wasn't all that hard, really."

"But how though?" Ruruko asked. "Wouldn't two wielders of Excalibur be harder to find?"

"Please give blessings to the lost lamb!"

"Please give charity to us on behalf of the Father in Heaven!"

Turns out finding them was fairly easy. There were two girls wearing white robes, praying on the road. They were standing out. It looked like they were quite troubled. People walking past them were giving them odd glances. The other three looked confused while Ren just sighed.

"Yeah, they've been doing that for a while." Ren said, aloof. "Honestly, it'd be harder to not find them."

"Hey." Saito leaned down to Koneko and whispered. "You've seen them before right?" He pointed to the girls a few feet away. "Is that seriously them?"

Koneko nodded. "…Yes, there's no doubt."

"Great." Saito face-palmed and got back up. "If that's them, I see why Tsukiharu didn't want them on board."

Ren clapped. "First things first. Let's talk to them."

"Delicious!" Xenovia exclaimed, rapidly eating her food. "Japanese cuisine is delicious!"

"Yes, yes!" Irina agreed, scarfing down her food too. "This is it! This is the taste of the food of my homeland!"

Irina and Xenovia started to fill their stomachs with the food they ordered at a family restaurant. After having the two of them agree to let the others buy them food, Ren and the Devils took them to a family restaurant. While the four of them only had drinks, Xenovia and Irina looked as though they were going out of their way to order everything on the menu. While it might seem like this would be expensive, Saito said he would cover the cost.

Although that was only because he swiped random guy's credit-card and planned to use that instead of money.

Thankfully, on their fifth plate of food, the girls were finished eating. "What just happened?" Xenovia asked, with her hood still over her head. "It's the end of the world to get helped by a Devil."

"We practically sold our souls to the Devil." Irina said in misery, with her hands together. "How can we ever be forgiven?"

"Just for the record, I'm not a Devil." Ren pointed out. Emphasizing the not.

Saito hit him in the shoulder. "You're also not helping!" He said angrily.

"Aaaah God, please give charity to these Devils." Irina prayed while using her cross, Xenovia prayed with her.

CLANG!

[Augh!]

The moment she said that the three Devils were hit with intense pain to their heads, making them grab their heads in agony. Ren thankfully was unaffected, not being a Devil.

"Does really hurt that much?" Ren asked curiously.

"Yeah, it hurts like a Son-of-a-Bitch." Saito answered in pain.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Irina said, smiling with a cute face, as Xenovia drank her water. "It's kind of a habit."

"Now then, let me ask. Who are you?" Xenovia asked with a stern expression without showing any hostile intention. "I know that those three are Devils but the fact that you weren't hurt by our prayer means that you aren't. Not to mention, I recognize that White-haired girl as one of Rias Gremory's servants from yesterday, but I don't know the other two."

"Let me explain."

After saying those words, Ren began to inform on who he was, who the others were, why they were they approached the two of them, and most importantly what they were planning. Once that was done, they asked Xenovia on whether or not they were willing to work with them.

"I see, I never imagined a human would be allied with the Devils of this town." Xenovia noted.

"Devil, none Devil, doesn't make a difference to me." Ren told her. "All that matter is, I'm on Shirou's side, it's that simple."

"Besides that." Saito chimed in. "We gave you your answers and you pigged out the menu, so now it's your turn to answer; are you in or out?"

They were silent, there was a lot of tension in the air. All they could do is wait for an answer and if need be, wait for a fight to break out. Xenovia opened her mouth.

"Yeah. Maybe it's okay leaving one Sword to you guys. If you can destroy it, that is. But make sure that your identities aren't revealed. We also don't want our high-ups and enemies to think that we are connected to you guys."

Ruruko blinked in surprise, not expecting that answer. "…So, is that a yes?"

"Hey, Xenovia. Are you sure? I mean they're Devils, you know?" Irina raised an objection.

"Irina. To tell you the truth, it would really be tough to retrieve three Excaliburs and to battle Kokabiel with only the two of us." Xenovia reasoned.

"I know that. But...!"

"The minimum objectives we have to achieve are destroying the three Excaliburs or take them back. If our Excaliburs are going to be stolen as well then we should break them before it happens. Even if we use the last resort, there's only a 30% chance that we will succeed in our mission and return home safely."

"Arguably." Saito muttered quietly.

"Shh, don't stop her, she's on a roll." Ren whispered to him.

"Even so, we thought that the success rate was high enough to come to this country prepared to put our life on the line." Irina reminded her.

"Yeah. The higher-ups also told us to continue with our mission as well and dispatched us to this country. It's almost self-sacrifice."

"And isn't that what we, the followers, desire for?"

"I changed my mind. My beliefs are flexible. So I can act in the best way."

"…Didn't she say yesterday that she was perfectly fine dying for her beliefs?" Koneko thought.

"You! I have been thinking about it for a long time, but your faith is a bit weird!" Irina noted.

"I won't deny it." Xenovia shrugged. "But I think that it's our duty to accomplish our mission and return safely. I'm going to live and continue fighting for God. Am I wrong?"

"…You are not wrong. But..." Irina still seemed reluctant to agree.

"That's why we won't ask for help from the Devils. Instead, we ask for help from a Dragon. The high-ups didn't tell us not to borrow the strength of a Dragon."

They all immediately knew she was talking about Shirou.

"I never thought that I would meet the Welsh Dragon in a distant country like this. Even if he turned into a Devil, you and I both saw that the Dragon power within him is was incredibly potent. If it's like the legend says, then he could increase your power to that of a Satan. If he gains power equal to that of a Satan, then he can break the Excaliburs without breaking a sweat. I also think that it was God's doing that we had this meeting." Xenovia said joyfully.

Irina thought for a moment. "Hey, I've had this on my mind for a while but. Is the reason you want their help because you're worried about fighting Kokabiel without Shirou-kun?"

Xenovia's expression then changed to that of dear caught in the headlights.

"No, not at all!" She denied hastily. "I'm just thinking on a tactical stand-point."

Although no one was convinced.

"Oh, that explains it." Saito noted with half-lidded eyes.

"…Not really surprising considering she was crushed by Shirou-Sempai without being able to graze him." Koneko added with the same expression.

"I guess losing humbled her a bit." Ruruko rationalized.

"I told you that's not it!" Xenovia said frustrated, before taking a deep breath. "Anyway, since we've agreed to it, you'd better get the Welsh Dragon to agree as well."

"That's already been dealt with." Ren informed her. "He said he'll agree to cooperate as long as we have the same goal. Right now he's telling Kiba about all this, we plan on meeting up with them after talking with you about the plan."

"Then it's decided." Xenovia got up from her seat and all the others did the same.

Ren got out his phone and called Shirou. "Hey…Yeah…Yeah, they're on board… Okay, we'll see you there." He hung up. "All right, let's go to the meeting spot."

And with that, they all cleared out of the restaurant.

It was the afternoon by the time they meet up with Shirou and Kiba, the sun was already setting. The meeting spot was within the local park area nearby the location Shirou had brought Asia to, learned about her past, squared off against Raynare and her allies, and killed of the three Fallen-Angels, many months prior.

Right now the group had found the two of them standing near a small water fountain.

They filled in Kiba on all the details.

"To tell the truth, I feel unsatisfied when the wielders of the Excaliburs are giving me permission to destroy it."

"That's a rough way to speak. If you were a "Stray-Devil", I would have cut you down without any time to spare."

Kiba and Xenovia glared at each other. She reached for her Sword beneath her cloak and Kiba summoned one of his.

"Don't draw them."

However. Before a fight could break out they both stopped when they heard the sound of Shirou voice along with him placing his hand on Dyrnwyn's hilt and ready to drew it while having his own glare that showed he wasn't in the mood for this.

"Keep your Swords sheathed." Shirou spoke as if he was ordering them. "Do not make me draw mine."

After hearing the threatening way he worded that, the two of them put their Swords away.

"Better." Shirou let go of his own Sword and turned to Ren. "Still, I'm more surprised that you were able to get them to agree so fast."

"Actually it wasn't as hard as I was expecting." Ren admitted.

"Apparently the blue-haired one got cold-feet about all this after getting wrecked by you yesterday." Saito informed him.

"…Now she doesn't want to fight Kokabiel without your help." Koneko added.

"hmm." Shirou nodded. "Makes sense."

"Can you all stop bringing that up!" Xenovia shouted annoyed.

"Moving on." Irina changed the topic.

"So you do hold a grudge regarding the "Holy-Sword Project"? Against the church and the Excaliburs?"

Kiba sharpened his eyes at Irina's words. "Obviously." He replied with a low and cold voice.

"Why would he not?" Shirou thought, looking at Irina like she was an idiot.

"But Kiba-kun. Thanks to that project, the research on Holy-Sword users showed results. That's why it created people like Xenovia and me who can synchronize with the Holy Swords."

"Do you think it's a forgiving act to kill all the test subjects because the project was thought to be a failure?" Kiba looked at Irina with eyes filled with hatred.

"What are you, some kind of idiot!?" Shirou said out-loud at Irina. "You seriously think that something, as messed up as that project, can just be glossed over because it happened to benefit others later down the road? The ends don't justify the mean, Irina."

Irina didn't know how to respond. Then Xenovia spoke,

"That incident also became one of the worst cases among us and people felt disgusted about it. The person in charge of that project at that time was said to have a problem with his belief. So he was charged with heresy. Now he's one of those people on the Fallen-Angels side."

"On the Fallen-Angel's side? What's the name of that person?" Kiba took interest and asked Xenovia.

"…Balba Galilei. The man who is called the Genocide Archbishop." Xenovia answered.

"…If I go after Fallen-Angels, then can I reach him…"

Kiba's eyes had the color of a new determination. Just knowing his target was a big step for him.

"Anyways, let's move onto the cooperation strategy." Xenovia took out a pen and used it to write on a memo pad. She gave us her contact details. "If something happens, call this number."

Shirou took it and put it in his pocket. "Got it. And no offense, but I'm not giving you my number."

"Fair enough. Then that's it then. We'll contact you at another time, Sekiryuutei and others."

"Really, others." Saito said deadpan.

"Well, we never actually told them our names." Ruruko reasoned.

Xenovia looked at Shirou seriously. "Before we go I will tell you one thing. "Vanishing Dragon" has already awakened."

"…The "Vanishing Dragon"?" Shirou repeated, astonished by this information. "The Dragon Ddraig warned me about that's supposed to be my Rival. Guess I know how I'll be fighting after this mess."

"You will meet him eventually, but in your current state, despite how powerful you may be, you can never win." Xenovia proclaimed.

Shirou just smirked. "Listen, lady, my "current state" as you called it isn't my limit. I'm a lot stronger than you seem to think." He proclaimed Pridefully. "And I'm still growing by the day, so even if I'm not as strong as this "Vanishing Dragon", I will be soon enough."

"You sound pretty confident."

Xenovia noted which amused Shirou.

"Wait until you've seen me serious, then you'll see why."

Xenovia didn't respond.

Irina then walked up to Shirou with a nervous expression.

"To tell the truth, I was really upset when you told me you stopped believing and ever since we were reunited all I've ever done has only seemed to upset you, but…" Irina hesitated before finishing. "But I still want us to stay friends. Even if you're a Devil I still consider you my friend, so could you do the same, Shirou-kun."

From the pleading look in her eyes and his own instinct, Shirou could tell she wasn't lying about what she said. Although her gaze made him uncomfortable and the fact that they were at odds just yesterday, he still knew she wasn't intentionally a bad person. Just to oblivious to how her words and actions can affect others, unlike Xenovia who was perfectly aware.

Shirou sighed. "…I suppose, but it'll take some getting used to."

After hearing his answer, Irina's expression immediately changed to a relieved and excited one and she showed this by quickly rushing and hugging Shirou.

"I'm so glad you feel that way!" She exclaimed before she let go and began walking away with Xenovia. "We'll see you later." She told them with a wink before they were out of sight.

Shirou just stared with an unhappy expression, clearly not pleased by what just happened.

"I hate being randomly hugged." Shirou muttered.

The fact that he could say that he "hated" it like that was enough to tell you how often it happens.

"…Shirou-kun. Why did you do this?" Kiba asked quietly.

"Huh?" Shirou rubbed the back of his head. "Don't ask me, Ren was the one who brought everyone together."

Kiba then turned to Ren. "Ren-kun, I am surprised to see you involved in all this and I do have questions. But right now I'd like to know, why did you bring everyone together for this?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Ren asked rhetorically. "There's no big reason or anything, I just wanted to help out my friend. Besides, everyone else here has their own reasons for joining in. It's not like e need permission."

"He's right y'know." Saito added.

Kiba still didn't look satisfied. Then Koneko spoke.

"…Yuuto-Senpai. I would get lonely…if Senpai disappeared." Koneko put on a sad face. She is usually unemotional, so the sudden change had a lot of impact on all the guys here. "…I will help you…that's why please don't go."

Kiba seemed troubled, but then put on a smiley face. "Hahaha. I give up. If Koneko-chan says that to me, then I can't do reckless things."

"Really? Because I wouldn't change my mind at all even if she said that to me." Saito argued.

"Me neither. Must be a "Knight" thing." Shirou guessed.

"Okay. I will work with you." Kiba said with acceptance. "Thanks to Shirou-kun, I know who my true enemy is. But since we are doing this, we are definitely going to defeat the Excalibur."

"Before that can I ask a question?" Ruruko asked, getting everyone's attention. "I've been wondering this for a while now but, how is Kiba-Senpai related to Excalibur?"

Saito raised a brow and turned to her. "Not shy about bringing up touchy subjects are you?" He asked sarcastically. "Learn some tact would ya."

"Huh? No, no I just—" Ruruko became flustered.

"It's fine." Kiba interrupted them. "You all deserve to know."

Kiba then started to talk about his past. The project that the Catholic Church planned secretly. Project Holy-Sword. The test to make lots of people who can use Holy-Swords was taking place in a certain institute. There were boys and girls who had talents at using Swords and a possessor of Sacred Gear. Day after day, they were going through inhuman experiments. They were being experimented on and had their rights of freedom taken away. They weren't treated as humans and their lives were ignored. But they had a dream. To live on. They were forced to believe that they were loved by God, and they were just waiting for "that day" to come. They believed that they would become special beings. They believed that they could become people who could wield Holy-Swords. But the result was "disposal". Kiba and his comrades couldn't use the Holy-Swords.

"…Everyone died. They were killed. Killed by those who serve God. No one saved us. Just because we couldn't use the Holy-Swords. Other boys and girls were put under poisonous gas while still alive. They put poisonous gas on us while saying "amen". We vomited blood and suffered on the floor. Even so, we were seeking help from God."

Kiba told them his story. Shirou already knew all this but the others listened to him silently. Kiba explained how he managed to escape from the laboratory, but the poisonous gas had already infected him. Apart from certain people, the test subjects who had lower abilities than average were all disposed of because they weren't needed. Kiba, who managed to escape met Rias who came to observe Italy as he was dying. And now he was here.

"I want to accomplish my comrades' regrets. No, I don't want to make their deaths be in vain. I need to keep on living in their place, and I have to prove that I am stronger than Excalibur."

Ruruko had tears streaming down her eyes and Koneko just had her head down upset. Ren just stayed silent.

Saito clenched his fist and grit his teeth. "Pisses my off just hearing about it."

"That's how I felt when I found out." Shirou added.

"But still, I'm starting to wonder if I have the ability to do so." Kiba spoke with self-loathing. "Both when I fought Freed and again yesterday, I was soundly defeated without doing a thing. And in the end, all I could do was rely on Shirou-kun."

Shirou walked up to him. "Is that what you think?"

Kiba nodded. "It is, even yesterday I made a mistake an amateur would make. And it cost me the fight."

"Kiba, do you know what your strengths are?" Shirou asked him.

"Speed and my Sword Birth."

"And?"

Kiba blinked confused. "What else is there?"

"You don't get it." Shirou shook his head. "I just watched a recording of you fighting Siris, you actually fought her. And you won using your strengths; Technique. Thinking. And Fineness. You keep a clear head, keep fighting until you see an opening or problem in how your enemy fights, and when the time comes you move in to strike. Those are your strengths." He explained to Kiba. "And in my opinion, in turns of both Technique and Swordsmanship, your better than any of the Excalibur users I've faced."

"But I was defeated by them." Kiba reminded him.

"Because you didn't have a clear head." To show him an example, Shirou unsheathed Dyrnwyn. "The inside of your head is like this blade." He then makes the blade ignite with flames. "Right now your burning with anger, so much so that you can't control yourself. No one can win like that. But anger does have its uses." The flames around the blade then went out. "Instead of throwing it around wildly, let the flame go out. Forge your hatred into a sharp unforgiving blade that will cut down your enemy and no one else. If you can control your wrath, your wrath will make you the strongest."

Kiba listened to the words of his friend and could feel how insightful they sound, it was as if he couldn't not believe to him because it sounded so right. Like hearing the answer to a question you've been asking yourself for so long but never realized what it was. Until now.

The reason Shirou sounded so sure of his words was because, that was the mindset he created for himself. In the past, no matter how much he raged of let loose his wrath upon others, not once did he let that wrath consume him. Rather than letting it became a ragging flame that consumed everything, it was like unleashing an unlimited power that made him lock on to his enemy and do everything he could to destroy them and only them.

It was a controlled wrath.

Ren breathed in and sighed. "Everyone, let's part ways for now. We can meet up again after Shirou gets the call from Xenovia."

"Sounds good." Shirou sheathed Dyrnwyn.

Everyone else either nodded or gestured that they agreed. And with that, they all parted ways for now. Kiba and Koneko walked off together in one direction, Saito and Ruruko walked together in another one, and Shirou and Ren walked away together in a third direction.

A day later, Rias and Sona were back in the latter's sauna. Rias told her about what had happened to her Knight along with her Pawns involvement, and the Black-haired girl took in every bit of it. "Really?" She asked astonished. "Kiba did that?"

Rias nodded with a miserable expression. She didn't know who else to turn to other than Sona. The Red-head just needed to speak to another heir. Master-to-Maser. "Do you think…Did I make a mistake?" She asked, as their slim bodies sweated.

"He is still part of your house, right?" Sona asked concerned.

"Of course, no matter what he says there's no way I'd let Kiba leave me like that." Rias said, completely sure. "…He's just being dramatic." That part didn't sound sure.

Sona noticed that. "Why do you sound like you have trouble believing that?"

"It's just…It's something Shirou told me before." Rias reminisced. "He said; After a person feels like they lost everything, that feeling can't just go away over time. No matter how much you smother them or try to make them forget about it." She spoke depressed. "Maybe I was just being naive when I thought I could make him forget about his revenge."

"I'm surprised, Shirou really said something like that?" Sona asked.

"He did." Rias confirmed. "What's more, the way he said it. It was as if he was talking more about himself than Kiba."

"Has he gone through something similar in the past?" Sona questioned curiously.

"I don't know." Rias said almost ashamed. "Even though I'm his Master I know next to nothing about him before I reincarnated him. And I'm so sick of that fact."

"Is that what you think?" Sona placed a hand on Rias' shoulder. "Rias, you said Shirou left with Kiba right?"

"That's right." Rias answered.

"Then tell me, who do you think is the best person to keep Kiba alive against Excalibur?"

Rias thought for a second. "That would be…Shirou."

Sona smiled. "Exactly, from what I've heard and seen Shirou always gives it his all when others need his help. Even if you don't know much about him, you know enough to know that'll they be back safe, right?"

Rias turned her head to look at her surprised. Sona looked at the floor with a smile. "And as for Kiba, I believe it's true his feelings may have gotten the best of him. At least for the moment, it seems. I have no doubt he will always be a member of your house. Kiba will come back to you Rias, I know it."

Rias stared at her for a moment in wonder, before smiling. Sona has always supported her, and vice-versa. "Of course, thank you Sona."

"And when it comes to Shirou." Sona continued with a smile. "Something else you already know is that he's not someone that can be tamed, he'll always be a servant in name only."

Rias chuckled. "You're right, I gave up on taming him a long time ago."

Just then, two small magic circles appeared before them. From them stood two small holograms that showed Akeno and Tsubaki. "Excuse us for the intrusion." Akeno greeted.

"Thank you both for all of your hard work today." Rias said to them.

"It's getting pretty late, isn't it?" Sona asked. "What's going on?"

Tsubaki answered. "The situation is quite grave."

This caught the attention of both High-Class Devils.

That night, in front of the Old Abandon Church. The team that was formed to hunt down the Excaliburs had gather and were standing outside, all ready for action.

Shirou nodded. "Okay, since everyone's here we can begin."

RING!

They were all caught off guard when a ring was suddenly heard.

"It's mine." Shirou took out his phone annoyed. "Sheesh, somebody better be dying for me to get a call at a time like this." He muttered irritated before answering. "Who is it?"

{It's me.}

Shirou recognized the voice. It was the man that summoned him a short while ago simply to have a drink. Afterwards he became one of Shirou's regulars, he would summon him often to partake in a verity of different things that were meant for quiet enjoyment and relaxation. Shirou never complained when this man summoned him, but right now wasn't the best time.

"Aza? Why are you calling?" Shirou questioned, using the name the man told Shirou to call him by.

{I was feeling in the mood for some company and wanted to know if you could come over.}

Shirou sighed and face-palmed. "Look, man, if it were any overtime I probably would have, trust me. But I'm in the middle of something right now. And no offense, I say this in the nicest possible way but…I have something much more important going on than hanging out with you."

{…Well, I guess it can't be helped. I have to call you some other than.}

"Yeah, I'll be more available by than." And with that, Shirou hung up. He turned to the others and put his phone away. "All right. I'm good."

"Who was that?" Kiba asked.

Shirou shrugged. "Just a regular."

Meanwhile, the man in question was at the harbor by the ocean. He currently had fishing gear beside him and was prepared for some night fishing. While he was holding his cell-phone that he just used to call Shirou. He looked at the screen of his phone with amusement.

"Oh well. I did call last minute." At that moment a person appeared next to Aza. "Hey."

The person turned out to be a young handsome man about Shirou's age. He had Sliver-hair like Shirou but it was a different shade, it was a darker Silver that reflected off the moon like, it was more similar to Grayfia's hair. The young man also had eyes as blue as the Azure sky. He was wearing a rough-looking outfit that seemed to suit him somehow and had a confident look on his has that also resembled Shirou's.

This young man shared so many traits with Shirou it was almost scary.

"Have you came to keep sad, lonely old me company?" Aza asked before tossing the lure line into the water and began fishing.

The young man chuckled. "That's funny." He told him. "I didn't realize you ever got lonely."

Aza just smiled and looked out into the night sky.

After working out the plan to track down Freed they'd spilt into two teams that would spilt those search areas. Irina and Xenovia made up one team that would search the West while the whole rest would search the East. If one group found anything they were to call and inform the other. Although, truthfully, Shirou was more confident his group would find something first because he asked Ren to try and sense the presence of the enemy's location. Ren could only determine it was coming from somewhere on the East side of town.

But they didn't share this with the others.

As they continued searching for the past half-hour they soon came across a place that was familiar to the Devils of the Gremory Peerage. It was the same run-down old building that they fought the Stray Devil Viser in. And it looked even worse than before.

"This might be the right place." Kiba guessed.

Shirou frowned. "Yeah, but this is the place we fought that Stray."

"You guys fought a Stray Devil here?" Saito asked.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, haven't you?"

Saito scowled. "I wish."

Ruruko smiled uncomforted. "The thing is, our group doesn't do missions like that. Including myself, most of our members specialize in Technique or Support abilities, so we aren't really built for a combat mission." She explained. "In fact, Besides President Sona, Saito-Senpai is already the strongest member of our Peerage now and even than the President would have trouble winning if he used his Sacred Gear to Delete her magic."

"While on the flip side, your group is almost completely made up of people who use either brute force or destructive power." Saito added irked. "It was built for fighting, that's why only you get missions involving battle. And all we do is, day to day work or cleaning up the mess."

"It's not like that isn't important too." Ruruko reminded him.

Saito just groaned.

Shirou just narrowed his eyes. "I doubt he'd be so eager to fight Stray Devils if he actually saw what they look like." He thought, remembering the hideous monstrosity that was Viser and cringed.

Their conversation was cut short when they walked up to the building but stopped when they all felt a sudden chill go through their bodies. It was killing intent, and it was aimed at them. Not just that, but both Shirou and Kiba recognized the killing intent and knew what it meant.

"Look up!" Saito shouted.

When all of them looked up, there was a White-haired boy priest standing atop the stone archway that surrounded the outside of the building falling down with a long sword. With a crazed look on his face, he drove down towards them preparing to strike.

"YAHOOOOO!" Freed shout in murderous glee.

KACHIN!

Kiba took his Demonic-Sword out quickly and blocked Freed's slash. The insane Priest then jumped and flipped backwards, before landing on the building. Kiba went after him and they locked Swords. "I forget to thank you earlier." The psychopath said.

Kiba grit his teeth as he tried to push back against Freed. "For what?!"

"Probably this!" Shirou shouted as he appeared suddenly behind Freed and kicked out in an arch-kick that smashed into Freed's side and sent him crashing into a wall.

Shirou then landed next to Kiba and smirked. "By the way, thanks for earlier."

Freed broke out of the wall and looked furious. "For what?!"

"Exactly." Was all that Shirou said.

Kiba then made a large amount of Demon-Swords appear at his feet and picked one up.

"Chi! So it's not only the "Holy Eraser", I see! Having multiple Demonic-Swords. Are you the possessor of "Sword Birth", perhaps? Wow. You are guilty of having a rare Sacred Gear, you know!"

Freed seemed like he was enjoying it, which was the opposite of what he was saying.

"But. Normal Demonic Swords can't put up a challenge against…" Freed lifted up his Sword and flared up its Holy aura. "…My Excalibur-chan."

"Shirou, you guys need help?" Ren asked, still on the ground with the rest.

Shirou kept his eyes on Freed. "No need, we'll handle this one. Ruruko, Koneko watch the surroundings for in case he has allies around. Ren, stay on guard in case he tries to escape. Saito cover me." He commanded, while drawing Dyrnwyn.

[Right.] Koneko and Ruruko said simultaneously.

"Heh, got it." Ren replied, with a smile.

"Tch, don't go giving me orders." Saito muttered annoyed, though he planned on doing it.

"Kuhahaha, two for the price of one huh~?" Freed taunted. "I can't wait to feed you to my Excalibur-chan!"

Shirou ignored him and turned to Kiba. "Get ready, we're about to face the guy whose number 2 on your shit-list. Get it right this time, got it?"

Kiba kept his gaze on Freed's Excalibur and gripped his Sword. "Oh, I plan to."

Shirou summoned his Boosted Gear and placed his hand on Kiba's shoulder. "First you'll some extra fuel in your engine."

[BOOST!]

[TRANSFER!]

Having transferred power to his Blonde-haired comrade, Shirou could tell by the look on his face that Kiba had every intention of putting the power-up to good use. Kiba is already fast on his feet, but with his speed doubled thanks to the Boost, and with his focus sharper than last time, he was fairly certain he could outpace Freed.

"Ah Hell, some for me too."

[BOOST!]

[EXPLOSION!]

And with that Shirou Boosted his own abilities and sustained them. In the beginning, both transferred power and Explosion would last one minute, but after his training, the time limit has now been increased to three minutes.

Both of them flared up their auras like Freed was, Shirou's was Red and Kiba's was Black.

This display only seemed to amuse Freed. "So are finally done getting ready for your night?"

"Actually yes." Shirou said with a similar expression. "And now we're going to take you to a place I like to call….. SPEED HELL!"

KATCHIN!

Play OST Fairy Tail - White Dragon And Shadow Dragon - Extended

The two Devils vanished from where they were standing and speed blitzed Freed, surprised by the sudden strike he reacted on instinct and parried them blocking their attack. They then begin a speedy-quick exchange of strikes on the stone arch. Freed strikes Shirou again, and again, the Delinquent blocks his attempts. Kiba uses the opportunity to attack the Exorcist while he's distracted, but Freed manages to block his blade with the dull side of his Sword. The three Swordsman jump off of the wall onto nearby buildings' roofs. They all engage in rapid strikes, running across the roof and then jumping up into the air, all-the-while exchanging attacks.

CLASH! KATCHIN! SWISH! SLASH! WUSH!

Yet as they're fighting, The Knight and Pawn duo sprint out at speeds that started to surpass Freed's, nominally surprising him. The reason being that because Shirou had already faced Freed numerous times he could easily read his movements while not allowing him to do the same. And Kiba, now that he had calmed down he had more control over his Technique, his refined and graceful Swordsmanship was finally showing itself superior to Freed's wild Swordsmanship.

CLASH! KATCHIN! SWISH! SLASH! CRACK! BREAK!

But the Sword wasn't an Excalibur for nothing. After flaring up more of its aura, his speed further increased. Suddenly, the two Devils disappear from sight, and Freed's eyes widen in surprise at their increased speed. He is barely able to block both of their attacks, and the three continue with the High-Speed Hell. With the increased speed, the two of them keep up their pressure on Freed. However, even after Kiba goes on the attack, Freed is able to block it, to his shock. Freed then goes on the attack himself own and destroys Kiba's Sword.

However, Freed realizes this was his intention all along when the blonde Knight vanishes and the Silver-haired Devil appears with an overhead slice. Which Freed dodges. The Stray Priest was started to get frustrated at being stuck on the defensive considering his two opponents far outclassed him Technically. Even though he couldn't sense any notable disadvantage in speed among them. Kiba appeared with a new Demonic-Sword and this time they exchanged in rapid strikes while speeding around the entire location.

CLASH! SLASH! SWISH! KATCHIN! SHING!

The four on the ground had moved from where they were standing when this all started, from their perspective it just looked like a Golden flash of light was colliding with a red flash of light and a Black stream on darkness, and all they could hear was the constant sounds of steel clashing against steel. It was all to fast from any normal eye to keep up with but they were trying anyway.

"Can you see them?" Ren asked.

"Barely, I can see their bodies if I try hard enough, but their Swords are just a transparent blur." Saito answered.

Ren nodded. "The same for me, I can see why he calls it Speed Hell."

[We can't see a thing.] The two first-years behind them thought.

While Ren and Saito were at a high enough level to see their speed to an extent, Koneko and Ruruko were much more inexperienced and weren't able to see anything, they could only hear the sound of steel clashing with steel.

KATCHIN! CLASH!

As the three of them continued their rapid strikes and clashing they soon made their way back to the top of the building's roof. And while on the surface their battle seemed to be a stalemate, in truth the balance was about to tip and one look would tell you which why the was going to go at this point.

"…huff…huff." Freed was breathing heavily and his face was dripping with sweat.

"I was waiting for this." Shirou whispered satisfied.

This was their true objective. Shave away Freed's stamina. All of the high-speed fighting and the pressure they created by staying on the offensive was for this. While they were all moving at the same speed, Shirou and Kiba obtained this speed through training and understand perfectly the limits of how long they could move at top speed. But Freed was different, Freed only gained this speed through a weapon he recently acquired and had never been pushed to his limit before, thus he had no idea how much stress moving at top speed for this long could do to his condition.

Another problem was regardless of how much he didn't act like it, Freed was a human. The biggest weakness that humans have is they are much more fragile than the other races. They have less endurance, case in point if a human and a Devil competed to see how could outlast the other at the same level of difficulty, the human would tire out first 100% of the time. Knowing that fact, they made Freed go at top speed as long as it took to reduce him to this state.

Those on the ground saw this as well.

"I see, so this was their plan." Ren noted.

"They kept pouring on the pressure and made him rev up his engine at Max until he ran out of gas." Saito summarized. "Humans aren't built for moving like that and that psycho couldn't slow down otherwise they'd of shredded him to pieces. They made it so there was no other way this could have ended.

Ren smirked. "Of course, this is how Technique-Types fight. Guess Kiba really did follow Shirou's advice.

Back on the roof.

"…huff…huff." Freed whizzed out.

"What's wrong? Tired so soon?" Kiba asked, unmerciful.

"That's the price for going to Speed Hell unprepared." Shirou taunted.

"Don't…Don't fuck with me!" Freed shouted, still exhausted yet gripping his Sword harder. "This isn't enough to stop me…I can still keep going for hours if I have to!"

"Unfortunately we don't plan to wait for hours." Shirou said before he vanished from sight once again and appeared on Freed's right. "We're ending it this minute."

Shirou smashed a body blow into Freed with his left fist. Ever since he first gained Dyrnwyn he always swung it with his right hand and used one-handed Sword attacks and maneuvers. This always left his left arm free and gave him a chance to punch his opponents, like right now. Freed cough out some blood after taking Shirou's body blow and hunched over.

"Now Kiba!"

Responding to Shirou's signal Kiba rushes in and takes advantage of Freed's momentary immobilization. Once he is right in front of him, Kiba grips his Sword with both hands and slashes out a strong horizontal slash that cuts Freed in the center of his body and creates a large gash going from his stomach to his shoulder.

"AAAUUGGHHH!" Freed screamed out in pain as blood sprayed from his large wound and he flew. Free-falling from the roof of the building and unto the ground with a thud. He was defeated.

Music Off

"It's over." Saito turned to Ren. "How much time was that?"

"About 52 seconds." Ren answered.

"What?" Ruruko asked shocked, along with Koneko. "But that's less than a minute, how could so little time have passed?"

"That's what high-speed battling is like." Ren answered unfazed. "While it seemed like this fight could take a while, fights like these actually end pretty fast. One miss-step and it's over."

"Speed fighting is different from power struggles." Saito added. "Instead of being an all-out brawl where you keep going until you drop, these fights are one-shot kills where landing one blow is all you need to win."

Neither Ren or Saito have actually seen high-speed battles before and yet, they've both seen enough fights to know the difference between one and the other. Ruruko hasn't been in real fights before in general and Koneko has only been in more simplistic fights so all this was new to them.

Back on the roof, Shirou sheathed his Sword and looked down at Freed. "That takes care of that. Now all that's left is to destroy the Sword."

Kiba nodded. "Right."

Freed coughed out some blood and struggled to moved. "Fuck…Shirou is one thing but…When the hell did the other one get this good?"

"Hmm, how interesting." Suddenly a new voice spoke out. Everyone present looked in the direction the voice was coming from, walking out from the shadows of the inside of the build, there was an old man wearing priest clothes standing close to Freed. "Sword Birth huh? It's a Sacred Gear that can have an infinite number of powers depending on the possessor. And Dyrnwyn, a lost Holy-Sword that can only be wielded by the Red Dragon Emperor."

"…Is it you old-man Balba?"

Everyone became shocked at Freed's word.

"…Balba Galilei!"

Kiba glared at the old man with eyes full of hatred.

"I certainly am."

The old man admitted it normally.

"Freed. What are you doing?"

"…Old man, hurry up and give me more of that pain-killer stuff!" Freed exclaimed, impatient.

Balba sighed and reached into his pocket. "You get cut up far too often." He throws a syringe to Freed.

Freed grabs to syringe and injects it into his neck with a look of madness. After the intention Freed's wound started to close until it was completely gone and Freed stood up as if he was never cut. Everyone was shocked by what they were witnessing. With a primal grin, he lifts up his Excalibur again. "Kuhahaha! That's the good stuff!"

"They have healing objects?" Kiba gasped.

"Its almost like Asia's." Shirou noticed.

"That's not exactly correct." Balba corrected after hearing them. "While on the surface it seems like healing, that was actually a high-speed body regeneration. The human body is capable of healing any injuries given time, the contents of the syringe are able to speed up the process and quickly regenerate troubles injuries at a moments notice as well as dulling the nerves to block out the pain."

"They have something like that?" Ruruko said surprised.

"Hold on, that sounds like a drug, which means there are some bad side-effects." Saito reasoned.

"You're right. Alas, the human body has a limit on how much it can heal itself in one lifetime, so with every use the person in question shortens their life-span." Balba said, not upset by this at all. "And to make things worse Freed has been using them on several occasions as of late. I doubt you have much time left."

"Heh, who cares about that boring stuff." Freed brushed off. "It's better to live short and sweet anyway, as long as I can cut and slice right now I don't care about later."

"I couldn't disagree more." Shirou thought, annoyed by Freed's way of thinking. "Still though, that does explain how he's always in good shape whenever we fight despite the fact that I always body him a few days before."

"Now! Time for round two~" Freed pointed his blade at the two Devils on the roof. "Hey old man, how do I bring out more power from the Sword?"

"Hmph. You still can't use the Holy-Sword perfectly yet. Use the "Element" I gave you more wisely. I'm researching because of that. Gather the Holy element that is running throughout your body to the blade of the Holy-Sword. With that, you should be able to cut more effectively."

"Yeah, yeah!" Freed's Holy-Sword had started to gather auras and started to glow! "Like this! Horyah!"

"Guess it's not over yet." Ren said putting his guard back up.

"Over course not. Freed exclaimed with an expression of excitement. "My Excalibur is "Excalibur Rapidly"! In terms of velocity, it won't lose to anyone!"

"Expect us apparently." Shirou reminded him.

"Don't forget me." Saito added as he pointed his Sacred Gear at Freed.

[DELETE!]

Suddenly the bright aura covering Freed's Sword went dim. Freed looked confused. "What the hell!"

"I couldn't do much before because the aura was covering your whole body, so it was too much to suppress since I didn't have a clear target. But if it's just the Sword I can easily lock onto it and power it down." Saito explained, feeling confident. "The target was so big you were practically asking me to aim for it."

"Shit! Dragon-type Sacred Gear is it!? The most troublesome type. The initial ability isn't that much of a threat. But when it grows, the destructible power surpasses other Sacred Gears on a whole different level. Scary. Man, it is such a nuisance!" Freed complained.

He didn't have time to ponder on it though as just when he finished talking, a large rock was thrown towards him by Koneko. But Freed didn't seem worried and simply thrust the blade of Excalibur at it, thus shattering it to pieces. "Please, you think a rock can stop me~"

While he said that mockingly, Freed fail to notice that appearing from behind the boulder waiting for this chance was Ruruko. She dashed out at the speed of a Knight and right in front of Freed she kicked with enough sharpness to slash him, unfortunately, Freed was faster and dodged by stepping back. Although the front of his uniform was cut. She jumped back to join Koneko.

Shirou and Saito each looked at the member of the other group with interest.

"She threw that boulder as if it was a pebble." Saito thought. "Tsukiharu was right, she does have power."

"She's almost as fast as Kiba's base speed even without promoting." Shirou thought. "And her kick was as sharp as a knife, Saito wasn't kidding about her."

"Looks like the Underclassmen are better than you'd think." Ren thought.

"Geez, you guys are so annoying. I Can't Take It! Freed shouted. "I will be escaping now! The next time we meet will be the time of our ultimate battle!"

Freed said that but…

"I won't let you escape!"

There was someone who went past the others at a very fast speed.

KACHIN!

There was a blade clashing with Freed's Holy-Sword that was igniting sparks. It was Xenovia.

"Yahoo! Shirou-kun."

Irina was there as well.

"You're late." Shirou replied.

[RESET!]

Shirou noticed his three-minute long power-up was now gone. Though that didn't really concern him at the moment.

"Freed Zelzan. Balba Galilei. Rebels. I will cut you both down in the name of God!" Xenovia declared.

"Ha! Don't say the name of the hateful God that I hate! You bitch!" Freed roared outraged.

Freed and Xenovia exchanged Swords, but he took something out. It was a ball of light. Shirou recognized it as Freed used it to escape every time they fought.

"Old-man Balba! We are escaping! We are going to report to the boss, Kokabiel!"

"There's no other way."

"See ya! The alliance of Church and Devils!" Freed threw down the ball of light on the ground.

FLASH.

As always there was a bright flash of light that covered a wide range. The light covered the whole area and blinded the eyes of everyone. By the time they regained their sight, Freed and Balba were gone.

"Are you kidding me, this again?" Shirou groaned.

"We are going after them, Irina."

"Okay!"

Xenovia and Irina nodded at each other and sprinted off into the woods.

"I'm going after them too!" Kiba decided, sprinting off the chase after the Exorcists. "I won't let you escape Balba Galilei!"

Shirou jumped down from the roof and stood next to the other who stayed. They all loosened their battle stances and took a breath.

"What now?" Ren asked. "Do we go after them?"

Before Shirou could answer, he felt the presence of someone behind me.

"When I thought that the flow of power was irregular…"

"This is certainly troublesome."

They all turned around after hearing two familiar voices.

"Shirou. What's the meaning of this?"

"Explain. Saito"

It was Rias and Sona, along with their Queens. Ruruko and Koneko paled at the sight of their respective Masters while Shirou and Saito just groaned.

"Oh—"

"—Shit."

Shirou started and Saito finished.

They were now inside the building. Rias and Akeno were in front of Shirou, Ren, and Koneko, while Sona and Tsubaki stood in front of Saito and Ruruko. The guys all stood while the First-Years were forced to do a seiza in front of them.

"…Destroying Excalibur. You two…" Rias didn't have a pleasant face and she put her hand on her forehead as she sat on top of a table with her legs crossed and Akeno standing next to her. Shirou explained the situation to her and how Ren decided to have them all work towards this objective together, along with how the First-Years joined in. "I know we said we wouldn't intervene, but I would at least like to know what's going on. Therefore, Akeno and Tsubaki will be keeping an eye on them."

"Saito. Ruruko." Sona said, starting the others after a moment of silence. She looked at them with a cold expression. "You two were doing something like this behind me? You truly are troublesome children."

"I know and I'm sorry President…" Ruruko said regretfully.

"I'm not sorry." Saito said not regretful in the least.

Sona narrowed her eyes annoyed but then turned to Ren. "And you, I've heard about you from Rias. That you're a Sacred Gear wielder."

"I am." Ren replied, not fazed at all by this situation.

"Why did you involve yourself in this matter?"

"Sona, even if I'm not a Devil or rather because I'm not a Devil, I had every reason to involve myself." Ren answered seriously. "This involved facing a Rogue Fallen Angel Leader and those crazy enough to work with him, how could I while knowing I have the power to fight, just sit back and do nothing?"

Sona processed his words and sighed. "I suppose we all have different viewpoints on these things. But even if I think it's wrong, you aren't my servant so I can't say anything." The bespectacled girl than turned back to her servants. "You two on the other hand."

Ruruko flinched and Saito clicked his tongue.

"So Yuuto went after that person called Balba?" Rias asked Shirou.

"Yeah. Pretty sure he's with Irina and Xenovia right now." Shirou answered not worried. "Well, the way he is now, he should be okay."

"We can only hope so." Rias then turned to her White-haired Rook. "Koneko."

"…Yes."

"Why did you do this?"

Koneko closed her eyes. "…I don't want Yuuto-Senpai to go away…" Koneko told her true feelings. Rias looked confused rather than angry when she heard that.

"…Saying this when it has already happened won't change anything I guess. But what you two did could have affected the world of Devils. You understand that, right?" Rias asked seriously.

"…Yes."

"And you Ruruko, why did you do this" Sona questioned.

"I…I didn't want Saito-Senpai to do this alone." Ruruko answered nervously.

"The correct thing to do would have been to inform me immediately." The Sitri heir scolded.

"I know, but…" Ruruko hesitated.

"But doing nothing would have just made things worse." Shirou added.

"What do you mean?" Rias asked curiously.

"Before he left that Freed guy said he would be reporting to his boss and next time we meet it would be at the ultimate battle." Saito informed them.

"That can only mean they're moving into the final stage of their plan, whatever it is." Ren finished.

"I see, this is all happening so fast." Rias said worriedly. "We need to prepare ourselves."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you caused a great deal of trouble." Sona reminded them. "You'll be punished for this."

"This is stupid." Saito muttered before he turned around.

"And where do you think you're going?" Sona questioned.

"Obviously I'm leaving."

"Well think again, you will also be receiving punishment for all this."

Saito turned to look at her and had irritated expression. "Let me get this out of the way first. Quit talking to me like that?"

Sona raised a brow. "What was that?"

"I said stop talking to me like I'm a child." Saito clarified. "And stop saying things like you'll punish me because I'm not putting up with that."

"I'm your master Saito, I have a duty for punishing you when you've done something wrong." Sona argued.

"Well, I don't think what I did as wrong."

"Regardless of what you think, that doesn't change what you've done."

".….Sona, do you remember what I told you when I first joined you?" Saito questioned.

Sona seemed confused. "What are you talking about?"

"When I first joined your Peerage I told you, I agreed that I would work for you for the time being, but if there was ever something I felt like I had to do no matter what, I would prioritize that over any order you gave. And you accepted that condition." Saito reminded her, which silenced Sona. "Don't forget, I may belong to your household, but I have my own goals that motivate me. And they mean much more to me than your own desires."

Saito kept his gaze on Sona, looking her straight in the eye to show he was completely serious. Sona didn't avert her gaze either and had the same expression. The tension in the room was extremely thick. It ended however when Sona closed her eyes and sighed.

"Honestly, you truly are troublesome. If I had known this would happen I wouldn't have agreed." Sona said, with a hand over her forehead. "But fine, I will refrain from punishing you this time. However, please be more mindful in the future."

Saito shrugged. "No promises."

Sona turned to Rias. "It seems we both have untameable Pawns."

Rias smiled amused. "You think so."

Sona now looked at Ruruko. "Ruruko, you, however, will still be punished."

"I understand, President." Ruruko said, more accepting of her punishment.

Rias turned to her servants. "Koneko, the same goes for you."

"…Okay." Koneko said, also with acceptance.

"I'd say the same to you Shirou, but you'd probably just laugh and brush me off."

"I can assure, that is exactly what would happen." Shirou replied.

"Anyway, what should we do now?" Ren asked, walking up to Shirou and Saito.

"We could always go after Kiba." Saito suggested. "He probably caught up to them by now."

"But that could be rushing into a trap." Shirou pointed out. "I say we wait since they plan on coming to us, we'll wait before we make our move."

The three of them tried putting their heads together to figure out a plan. Unfortunately, they were interrupted when they heard a strange sound.

SLAP!

"Huh?"

"What the dick?"

The two Pawns turned their heads to see what made the sound behind them. Ren just looked up to see. They all saw it, but they didn't understand at all.

SLAP!

What they saw was Ruruko on her hands and knees, getting her butt spanked by Sona. However, Sona's hand had her family's magic circle on it, infusing it with her Demonic-Power. "Looks like you need to reflect on your behavior." The Student Council President said before spanking her First-Year Pawn some more.

"Augh, I'm sorry President." Ruruko said through her pain.

"Not good enough. 2000 spankings."

SLAP! SLAP!

The guys didn't know what was more awkward, the fact that they were doing this with them still in the room or the fact that none of the girls seemed to mind that they were still in the room.

"Uh, is…Is that…" Shirou asked awkwardly.

Akeno nodded with her usual smile. "That's right, this is their punishment." She confirmed. "Usually it's only 1000, but since you two aren't getting punished they get your share."

"I see…" Saito answered, very uncomfortable.

"Now Koneko. Show me your bottom." Rias smiled with her hand covered with a crimson-colored aura.

Koneko got on her hands and knees as well and prepared for her punishment.

SLAP!

Thus Rias began spanking her Rook.

SLAP! SLAP!

Seeing both of them receiving this punishment only made the guys feel even more uncomfortable. At this point, they were wondering if this was also a form of punishment.

"Um, we're just gonna…" Ren pointed to the door.

SLAP!

"W-We're just, uh…" Saito added.

SLAP!

"…Bye." Shirou simplified.

And with that, the three of them walked out of the room and outside the building. In truth, they just wanted whatever excuse they could think of to get away from this awkwardness of witnessing this.

Akeno placed a hand on her cheek once they were gone. "Ara, Ara, they seemed pretty uncomfortable."

"I wonder why?" Tsubaki said, unaware.

SLAP!

Right now the guys were standing outside the building, waiting for the punishment to be over. They just stood in silence, unable to get rid of the feeling of awkwardness.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it." Shirou broke the ice. "That was the most awkward moment of my life."

"Right?" Ren agreed. "I mean what was with them, did they want us to leave or to stay or, what?"

"I heard Sona has a draconian personality and loves punishing her servants, but this isn't what I thought they meant." Saito admitted. "All I can say is those two are nuts."

Shirou nodded. "I second that."

After having their conversation Akeno appeared outside as well and addressed them. "Okay boys, everything's all wrapped up."

"So the punishments are done?" Ren asked.

"That's right, it was very entertaining." Akeno said, showing hints of her inner Sadist. "After the 1000th spank, they moved on to bare-bottom spanking, their butts were almost the same color as the Chief's hair.

.

.

.

"…Oookay." Shirou turned to the other two. "I had more stuff I wanted to talk about. But after that, I think I wanna call it night."

"Uh yeah. Might be for the best." Saito immediately agreed.

"And we never speak of this again." Ren finished.

And with that decision, they all walked off in different directions. Hoping to just put this whole ordeal behind them.

"You know you don't have to came with me."

"It's a precaution."

After everything was settled back at the abandoned building, everyone parted-ways for the night. As Shirou was walking home, Rias decided to tag along with him and now they were both walking to the Tsukiharu residence. The two of them were currently having a conversation while they walked.

"A precaution for what?" Shirou asked.

"I have to make sure you don't go off on your own again." Rias answered.

"What? I already said I would wait until the enemies showed up again before doing something."

"Even so, I can't take any chances."

"Oh what, you don't trust the words of Shirou-Sama?" Shirou asked, pretending to be offended.

Rias smiled. "It's not that I don't trust your words, I just don't trust you to not find some loophole in your words." She corrected.

Shirou blinked and then shrugged. "I am good at that, aren't I?" He almost sounded like he was bragging.

"In any case, we should at least let Asia and Mika know what's going on." Rias reasoned. "With the situation as large as it became, they have a right to know."

"I know that. I was actually planning on telling them when I got back." Shirou said seriously.

After a few more steps they arrived at his house and opened the front door.

"I'm back!" Shirou announced as he and Rias walked inside. As they closed the door behind them, they heard footsteps.

It was revealed to be Asia. "Welcome home. Shirou-san." She greeted cheerfully. "You must be exhausted after working so late." Asia wasn't aware of what he was doing so she assumed it was Devil work-related. "Oh and the Chief-san is with you as well, then I'll get started on dinner. Any requests?"

.

.

.

Shirou didn't answer, he was too surprised at the moment. Even though Asia was talking to him as if everything was normal, it certainly wasn't. The reason for that being Asia's state of dress, or in this case 'lack thereof'. Asia was wearing a white-apron…..… And that was it, she literally had nothing else on. Not a single piece of clothing. Asia was completely exposed on the other side. And Shirou honestly had no idea how to respond to this.

Shirou pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't decide whether I should ask 'What?' or 'Why?', so I'll just ask. MIKA?" He shouted that last part.

"Incredibly Cute little sister here!" Mika announced appearing cheerfully from around the corner.

"What is that?" He pointed at Asia. "Explain."

"Well surprisingly enough, this wasn't my idea. I mean it's great but it's wasn't mine." Mika explained. "You see, a few hours ago she came home while I was reading Manga and asked where the aprons were. I told her and the next thing I know; Naked Apron Asia. She's been doing housework dressed like that the whole time."

Shirou blinked. "But the one thing you've neglected to mention is why she's doing that in the first place!"

"…Kiryuu-san from our class told me… That you have to wear nothing under the apron when you want to make a guy feel good after a tough day in Japan… Of course, I'm not wearing my underwear… It feels cold… Aauu…but I have to get used to Japanese culture…" Asia said it with a straight face.

Shirou groaned. "Why do you always believe everything you hear?"

"I'm not complaining about that." Mika commented. "It makes things more fun."

"Impressive, it's simple yet quite effective." Rias complimented with a clap. "Asia you can become a real Devil. You really are a lecherous girl."

"Eh!? I don't want to become a lecherous Devil!"

Rias smirked and Asia replied with a troubled face and teary eyes.

"A little late to be saying that." Mika informed her. "I mean you're already dressed like a lecherous girl." She pointed out.

"Asia, take that off immediately." Shirou commanded.

"Eh? Um, okay." Asia replied with her face red, she started to untie her apron so she could take it off.

"No!" Shirou shouted stopping her. "I meant get changed not…Wait, why are you embarrassed about being Naked but perfectly fine with wearing a Naked Apron?"

"This does seem strange now that you mention it." Mika agreed also curious.

"I've decided!" Rias announced, getting everyone's attention. "I'm going to wear one too, just like Asia's."

"You what?" Shirou asked, not expecting that.

"Oho, that's even better." Mika said, loving all of this.

"I think I know where the aprons are." Rias said, walking forward. "I'll be right back, just wait."

Rias then stopped when she was next to Asia and smiled.

"Oh and by the way." Rias leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You were very close to out-doing me here." She then walked off to the kitchen. "You should be very proud of yourself."

Shirou scratched his head. "I swear, she getting hornier by the day." He complained.

"Come on now." Mika patted his shoulder. "Naked-Apron's are one of the most beloved guilty pleasures, you should enjoy it."

"Can you not right now?" Shirou replied, not in the mood.

"Shirou-san." Asia looked at him upset. "So then, you don't like what I'm wearing?"

Shirou sighed. "Why do you assume you have to wear stuff like that?" He asked walking up to her. "And why do you only care about if my day was rough. You had a much harder time just the other day."

Play OST DRAMAtical Murder - Hikari

Asia frowned and knew he was referring to the meeting with Irina and Xenovia back at the clubroom before.

"Listen, rough days are just apart of my lifestyle, but look I don't have a scratch on me. You shouldn't worry all the time and instead learn to relax more often" He pointed out. "Like I told you before we're a family."

Asia gasped when she remembered those words.

Flashback...

"Listen." Shirou wrapped his arms around both girl's shoulders, holding them comfortingly against his chest. It was hard to find a word to describe the shade of red that colored both of their faces. "Everything's going to work out. Things look rough now, but I give you my word: We're gonna win this. We're stronger than anything that flaming man-whore can throw at us. We're going into this together and we're coming out of it together. And we always will, because we're a family."

""We're" a family?" Asia wondered.

"Yes, we're a family." Shirou confirmed. "And that means you too, I don't think there's anyone else I'd rather have at my side right now."

For a moment, Asia beamed at Shirou silently, a mix of joy, embarrassment, and relief pumping through her heart.

Flashback End...

"And that still hasn't changed." Shirou smiled as he patted her head. "The only difference is who I'm fighting. Or in this case; who I'm beating."

Mika smiled. "Oh Broliam Shakespear, you always have a way with words." She complimented in her usual Mika fashion.

Asia hugged Shirou silently. "…Shirou-san. I don't regret turning into a Devil. I also haven't forgotten my faith in God. But I have gained something more important than my feelings to God."

"Something important?"

"Shirou-san. Mika-san. The Chief-san. Everyone in the club. School friends. Everyone is important to me. I don't want to lose them. I want to be with them forever. I don't want to be alone anymore."

Asia said it in his arms with a small trembling voice.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder why you still worry about that." Shirou looked at her, serious. "I'll say it until it sinks in, you're not alone anymore. And you'll never be alone again. If you don't to lose what's important you, then just stay close to me and everything will work out." He then smirked confidently. "I always come through no matter what I'm up against, that's what makes me Shirou-Sama."

Hearing his words put Asia's mind at ease and wiped away her worries. "…I'm glad I came to this country. I met with Shirou-san. Shirou-san….… Shirou-san…" Asia put her face in my chest with a sweet voice.

Music Off

Mika watched them with a warm smile on her face. "How sweet, it warms the heart…" Her smile then turned into a mischievous grin. "Now for a bit of merry mischief." Mika held out her hand and pointed to Asia. Then after adding some magic-power in her hand, she activated a spell.

And at the moment without her noticing, Asia's apron instantly untied itself.

Asia then released her hug on Shirou. "…Shirou-san, I…" Asia paused, for when she moved back, her untied apron fell to the floor and her Naked form was now completely revealed in all its glory.

"I love magic." Mika couldn't stop smiling.

"KYAA!?" Asia cried out, her face completely blushed as she quickly covered her breasts and her womanhood and crouched down to her knees to try and preserve her modesty, even though that was pretty much useless at this point. She also confused as to why this happened considering she was sure she tied her apron correctly. But Shirou knew why.

"Mika!" Shirou scolded as if it was completely obvious that she was the cause.

"Oh come on." Mika shrugged. "You know me well enough to know I couldn't just not do that. Seriously when am I ever going to get a chance like this again?"

Shirou clicked his tongue. "I ask you, what else could happen next?" He asked himself, not expecting an answer.

Unfortunately, he got one.

"Shirou! I have also worn it!" He heard Rias' voice, and so he looked. Rias came out also wearing nothing but an apron. Though her one was a pink apron with white laces and a red heart print where her breasts were. And because her cup size was much bigger than Asia's, her 'assets' were more noticeable. "What do you think?"

Shirou face-palmed. "I think I should stop tempting fate."

"And I think I'm the luckiest NEET in the world right now." Mika added.

Rias approached and then noticed Asia. "Hmm, Asia why is your apron off?"

"U-Um….I…I." Asia stuttered embarrassed.

"It's because she decided to make dinner without the apron." Mika said for her.

"Eh?" Asia looked up surprised.

Rias blinked. "Oh, why would she do that?"

Mika smiled and nodded. "Obviously, because she knew she couldn't beat you in sex appeal if you both wore a Naked-Apron, so she decided to increase her's by going without the apron."

"You cannot be serious." Shirou thought, with half-lidded eyes.

"I'm surprised Asia, you're more of a lecherous Devil than I expected, but it's obvious that I'm far more appealing than you." Rias said confidently. "Not even Shirou can stop himself from desiring me."

"Says who?" Shirou argued, ignored.

"That's not true!" Asia argued determined, so much so that she stood up, not caring that she was completely exposed. "I won't lose no matter what! I know I can be more appealing to Shirou-san!"

"And she's lost it." Shirou commented, again ignored.

"Is that so?" Rias asked, not worried and immediately removed her own apron, revealing her own Naked body without a bit of shame and with a confident expression. "Well can you still say that after were on an equal playing field?"

"T-That's right, even if I'm not as pretty or gifted as you are, I still won't give up!" Asia said unwaveringly.

"I give up." Shirou muttered, still being ignored.

"Then let's put that to the test." Rias walked off to the kitchen. "Let's get dinner started, we'll decide things that way."

"Right." Asia followed her.

"Wait, it's incorrect to cook with an apron—" Shirou started to called out, but then just stopped and sighed, fed up. "…She used to be a nun."

"Yes and Rias is a princess." Mika added, standing beside him. "But now, they're both love-struck members of your Harem. Funny how things turn out in life, don't you think?"

"What was that all about?" Shirou asked, irritated. "The aprons were bad enough and you just made them go step further."

"I just wanted to how far they would go. And I don't regret it." Mika said satisfied. "Just imagine, in our kitchen, there's currently a Shokugeki going on where the females are Naked before someone tastes the food."

"Look I know this is a thing for you." Shirou said, not bothering to play along. "But I'm not in the mood right now. I've had a long day."

"Yeah, fighting Excalibur."

Shirou paused, surprised. Mika suddenly had both a serious tone and expression and the joking atmosphere in the room had faded at that moment. What surprised him, even more, was his sister's choice of words. Rather than saying he was hunting Excalibur, she said fighting Excalibur.

"How did you—"

"It wasn't hard to figure out." Mika cut him off, know what her brother was going to ask. "I already knew you were looking for Excalibur with Kiba, and a little while ago I sensed a lot of strong Demonic Power gathered in one place, which I'm pretty sure was Rias, Sona, their Queens, and you along with a few others, and the fact that Rias came home with you made it more convincing." She listed. "Though what truly convinced me was before sensing the Demonic Power I felt a strong sense of danger, the same one I felt when those Exorcists came to the clubroom. Need I say more?"

Shirou sighed. "All right fine, you got me."

"Then could you explain what happened out there?"

"Ren decided to lend his help and so he brought in Saito, plus Koneko and the new Student Council girl joined in themselves."

"And let me guess, Ren told them he was a Sacred Gear user without revealing his real secret." Mika guessed.

"That's right." Shirou confirmed. "Once we found the guy we basically concerned the enemy, but they made a run for it and Kiba and the Exorcists went after them." Shirou continued. "But Rias and Sona picked that time to show up and stopped the rest of us from going."

"And so here you are now."

"Yeah." Shirou took out his cellphone. "Now all I can do wait for Kiba to send me the word that he found them."

Mika noticed the concerned look on Shirou's face. "Can I ask you something? How come you're so involved with Kiba? I can understand that you sympathize with him after Rias told you his past but—"

"It's more than that." Shirou cut her off. "The truth is… I told him the truth, about me… Our past."

"…Oh…" Mika responded quietly.

"I felt I had to, after all, it was only right since I knew his and he didn't know my." Shirou reasoned. "Besides, after hearing it from his own mouth, it struck close to home."

"You don't have to explain why I pretty much agree with you." Mika assured him. "Besides, I figured you would do something like this after Rias told us about what happened, you've always been that kind of person."

"It's more than that, I knew that everyone had their own reasons for fighting and living. But I never expected there would be someone with the same reason as me." Shirou admitted. "When he talked about revenge and how he lost everything, I was surprised because that was the face I made after we lost it all. I could tell immediately, he wanted his revenge as much as I wanted mine."

"But you didn't want to see him lose himself to that desire which is what would've happened if he went after it alone." Mika deduced. "So you told him your story to let him know you were the same and so he would let you do this with him, that why you could snap him out of his funk."

"I couldn't just do nothing, if he kept doing it the way he was, he'd of been killed without accomplishing a thing." Shirou clenched his fist. "And I couldn't let that happen."

Mika went up to him and held his hand, then gave him a warm smile. "There's one big difference between you and Kiba. It's that Kiba has someone who is both strong and reliable to watch his back, you. And just like you said, you always come through no matter what your up against." She comforted him. "And know that no matter does come, your precious sister will be right there at your side, you know I'll always be there for you."

"Mika…" Shirou spoke before he returned her smile. "Yeah, I've always known that."

"Good, now." Mika's expression changed to an excited one. "Let's head to the kitchen, right now both of your waifu's are making dinner in the Nude and I don't want to miss another second of it!"

"You've always gotta ruin it, don't you." Shirou commented as she dragged into the kitchen.

Later that night, both Rias and Shirou woke up because of an enormous pressure they had never felt before. Both of them went outside. Asia and Mika also went after feeling something. When they got out of the house, there was someone standing before them….

"So it's you."

Shirou glared, the one standing before them was someone who had a sickening and evoking smirk, the White-haired Priest, Freed.

"Well, well, well would you lookie what we have here, so many damn Devils." Freed mockingly addressed them. He then noticed Asia in the back. "Well, if it isn't Asia-tan." His voice made her step back in fear. "The traitor Nun who gave her soul to the Devil. How much do you love your new life as Devil scum?"

"You're one talk, considering you're both a traitor and scum yourself." Shirou reminded him. "Now quit wasting time and tell whoever's out there to come out!"

"Huh? I don't know what you mean~?" Freed feigned ignorance.

"Don't play dumb you jackass, or do you seriously think I can't see that huge power right next to you?" Shirou said impatiently.

"It's as he says, now answer." Rias agreed.

"Hyahahaha, well aren't you smart." Freed pointed upwards. "Fine then, meet my boss!"

On his words a barrier covered the sky turning the sky into a purple/black kaleidoscope color. And out from thin air appeared Freed's boss. Kokabiel. He had the appearance of a young man but had pale skin, in fact, it was completely gray. He also had deep red eyes and pointy ears, he even had black hair that was somewhat puffy going downwards. Kokabiel also had spiky teeth, like a beast. He was also wearing black clothes along with a large robe with detailed accessories. What really got their attention was his wings, he had exactly Ten Black-feathered wings spread out.

Shirou could feel an extremely strong pressure coming from him, it was on a whole other level than what he ever sensed from any previous Fallen Angel he ever faced. But his or was what had him on edge, it wasn't as big as Sirzechs' or Grayfia's but it certainly wasn't weak by any means. However it didn't feel Demonic like those's two, it felt almost like the aura Excalibur had but with something more to it. Kokabiel's aura felt dirty, corrupted, something that was once clear and then became blackened.

But that made sense after this was an Angel that fell from grace. He smirked after seeing Rias. "This is our first time meeting, daughter of the house of Gremory. That Crimson hair is beautiful. It reminds me of your brother that I hate enough to make me want to vomit."

Rias returned his smirk with her own. "Nice to meet you, one of the leaders of the Fallen-Angels, Kokabiel. And my name is Rias Gremory. I will also add one more thing. We and the house of Gremory are a being who is closest to the Maou, and also the furthest from it. If you are here to discuss politics with me, then it's no use."

Mika couldn't help but feel pressured by being in his presence. "So that's Kokabiel. I didn't think I'd be this affected just by being close enough to see him. This could be bad, I don't know how well we can do against a Cadre-Fallen Angel right now." She thought worried.

Mika knew that while she was trying to hide it, Rias was also feeling the pressure. And Asia wasn't even trying to hide it as she couldn't stop trembling.

At that moment Kokabiel reached into his robe and took something out. They looked and tried to make out what Kokabiel was carrying. Upon close enough inspection they could see it was…a person, he was carrying a person.

"This is a gift."

The Fallen-Angel then threw the person he was carrying at them.

"Gah."

Shirou reacted immediately and went to catch it.

The one who dropped into his arms was…Irina Shidou. She was covered in blood. She was breathing heavily! Her whole body was covered in wounds. Her battle uniform was all cut up like she was sliced by a blade.

"Irina? What happened?"

Even though Shirou called out to her, she reacted painfully and didn't respond. It looked bad.

"She came into my base. So I gave her a welcome. Well, I couldn't catch the other two." Kokabiel said it with a laugh.

Shirou put her down and clenched his fists.

[BOOST!]

CLASH!

At that moment Shirou summoned his Boosted Gear, vanished from where he was standing and appeared right above Kokabiel with Dyrnwyn already drawn ready to slash Kokabiel. Kokabiel, however, summoned a large Spear of Light and blocked his strike resulting in the two of them being locking in a struggle.

"The Boosted Gear." Kokabiel marveled amused. "And the lost Holy Sword Dyrnwyn, to think I'd see both. Heh, and it seems the Red Dragon Emperor is as reckless as I've heard."

"I see, you're the fabled Kokabiel I've been hearing about these past few days." Shirou responded n the same tone. "I gotta say I didn't expect much from you consider your terrible taste in grunts, but I might actually have fun beating you for a change."

"You're as arrogant as they came." Kokabiel put more power in his Spear. "You should know who you're dealing with, boy. I'm far beyond you."

"Don't call me boy." Shirou put more power into his blade as to not get overwhelmed. And then, after seeing he was distracted Shirou raised his other fist and punched Kokabiel across the face, right on his cheek. "Call me, Shirou-Sama."

Once that was done, Shirou moved back and landed back on the ground with the others. He finished with a smirk.

Mika smiled. "I should have known, he's not affected by the pressure at all." She felt their chances had just gone up.

Kokabiel didn't look phased. "Not a bad trick, but I've had tick bites worse than that."

"Oh, then do tick bites leave a bruise." Shirou countered, referring to the bruise on the spot Shirou punched him.

Kokabiel responded with a glare. "How dare you."

"Stop it!" Rias shouted, getting their attention. "You still haven't said what you're doing in my territory. So answer my question." She demanded.

While Rias was confronting Kokabiel, Mika gestured Asia to heal Irina. There was a green light coming out of Asia's body, which covered Irina. Irina's expression started to soften and she started to breathe gently.

Kobabiel let go of his Spear of Light causing it to vanish and decided to answer. "I wouldn't do something as stupid as talking with a Maou. Well, if I rape and kill his little sister, then Sirzechs' anger will be pointed towards me. That won't be bad."

Rias and Shirou glared at Kokabiel with disdainful eyes.

"Bastard." Shirou muttered.

"…So what is your motive for contacting me?"

Kokabiel answered Rias' question with joy.

"I will be rampaging in this town using your base, Kuoh Academy, as the starting point. Then Sirzechs will also appear, right?"

Rias' eye widened with shock upon hearing that.

"If you do something like that, the War between God, Fallen-Angels and Devils will begin again you know?"

"That's what I'm wishing for. I thought that Michael would start a War if I steal the Excalibur... But what he sent were grunt Exorcists and two Holy-Sword wielders. It's boring. I'm really bored indeed! That's why I'm going to rampage at Sirzech's sister's base. See? It looks fun, right?"

"…You battle-freak."

Rias said it with hatred. But Kokabiel laughed with joy.

"Yeah. That's it! I was bored and bored after the war between the three sides! Azazel and Shemhaza weren't that keen on the next war. They then started to collect something boring like Sacred Gear and started to do some weird research. Something useless like that won't be of any use to us! …Well, it's a different story if it's a "Boosted Gear" like the one the brat over there has… But it's not something you can find so easily." Kokabiel then looked at Shirou.

"I thought I told you, its Shirou-Sama!" Shirou then looked at him irritated. "Still I should have known. Someone with a rabid dog like Freed under his lead could only be a bigger rabid dog."

"I prefer to think of myself as a warmonger. Either way, I'm going to be starting a battle involving the Holy-Swords, Rias Gremory. For starting a war! A school where both little sisters of Sirzech's and Leviathan's go to. It must be filled with Demonic-Powers so that I can enjoy the chaos! It's also the best place to release the real power of Excaliburs! It's a good place for the battlefield." Kokabiel exclaimed, his words and voice were filled with madness.

"Hyahahaha! Isn't my boss the best? His craziness is the best. So I'm also eager to do it. He even gives me treats like this."

What Freed took out was an Excalibur. He had one of them in each hand. He also had two of them on his hips.

"The one on the right is "Excalibur Rapidly". The one on the left is "Excalibur Nightmare". The one on my hip is "Excalibur Transparent". I also received "Excalibur Mimic" from the girl over there! I also feel like getting "Excalibur Destruction" that the other girl has. Hyaa! Am I the first person in the World to be in possession of this many Excaliburs? I also received an element from the geezer Balba that allows me to wield Holy-Swords. Right now I'm in a hyper mode that allows me to wield all of them, you know? I'm invincible! I'm wonderful! I'm the strongest! Hyahahahahahahahaha!"

Freed laughed as if he found it really funny.

"Big talk for a two-time loser." Shirou reminded him, which halted Freed's laughter. "I guess you're only the strongest when you aren't fighting me, 'cause you're always total bitch whenever we fight." Freed gave him a death glare, but Shirou was just glad he shut him up.

"Balba's Holy-Sword research. It's the real deal if it shows this much result. To tell the truth, it seemed suspicious when he joined my plan." Kokabiel continued.

"What are you planning to do with the Excaliburs!?"

Rias asked him. Kokabiel moved his ten black wings and moved his body in the direction of the school.

"Hahaha! Let's have a War! Little Sister of Sirzech Lucifer, Rias Gremory!"

FLASH!

In a flash, the barrier was gone and the sky returned to normal. Both Freed and Kokabiel had also vanished.

"They're headed for our school." Rias said, looking at the direction they flew off in.

"Rias, gather the others and head for the school." Shirou said seriously. "Tell them what's going on. I'll meet you there."

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Rias asked.

"Don't worry, It'll just take a second." Shirou and Mika walked back inside. "I just need to get something."

Once Shirou was inside his room he reached down under his bed and brought out a box. He opened it to reveal a set of clothes.

This was Shirou's new combat suit to replace the one that was burned up by Raiser. This new suit consisted of a jet-black leather jacket that reached down to the back of his knees, it had no sleeves and the front of the jacket was open. He was wearing a shirt beneath he jacket that was the same color, the shirt was a long-sleeved shirt, the sleeves reached all the way to his wrists, it was fabric and it's seemed like it was easy to move around in, it had a V-shaped caller by the neck, and it seemed to be tight enough that it hugged his skin and displayed his muscular figure beneath, attached to the caller of the shirt was a hood that was big enough to cover his hair and forehead. On his hands were dark gloves that had metal braces on the knuckles. His pants were also black leather jeans that were slim and without any sag, and they had the same chains around the pockets. His shoes were spiked black boots that reached up the bottom of his knee caps and had surps on the back heels.

This new combat suit was also enhanced by magic. The suit was now bulletproof, fire, proof, resistant to heat and cold and was much more durable. It also had the ability to regenerate if damaged just by adding magic power.

In a flash, Shirou changed into his combat suit and had a look of determination.

Mika then entered his room wearing the same outfit she wore during the Rating Game.

"Are you ready now?" Mika asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah." Shirou nodded and the two of them spread their Devils wings and flew out the window to head to the School. "Let's end this."

To start things off, I'm glad I got this done, I wanted to finish this sooner, like much sooner, I can't stress this enough how much sooner I wanted to finish this chapter. Moving to at the start of this chapter we had Ddraig tell Shirou that being a Dragon-user draws the opposite sex because it does and it gives him a reason to accept the Harem, speaking of which Mika was thrilled the idea, classic Mika. And she insisted on being the main because let's face it she as big a candidate as Rias or Asia. And Ddraig as mentioned the White Dragon Emperor coming, so Shirou has something to look forward to now.

What came after was Shirou's meeting with Azazel, and before you ask, yes the reason Shirou felt he seemed familiar is because they've met before. They have met in the past, but Shirou doesn't know that yet, the reason for that as when as a full explanation will come later, just know it's very important. Right now they are just casual acquaintances who hang out from time to time.

And for the meeting of Irina and Xenovia, I decided to keep it brief mainly because I didn't feel there was much else I could do. Though it did give them an idea of what those two were about. And Shirou can be at ease knowing his first kiss wasn't with a boy.

On a more serious topic. Once the meeting in the club room started even though Xenovia tried throwing her weight around by giving them orders and talking down to the others, it was pretty clear that it wouldn't have any effect on Shirou, for the simple fact that she was weaker than him and him hearing someone weaker than him, no more like anyone at all trying to order him around was a joke at best.

Then when it came to them putting down Asia and preaching about their self-righteous beliefs he clearly wasn't having any of that shit, he told them straight to their faces that the higher-ups were just a bunch of pig-headed narcissists who think the world revolves around them. And he didn't have a problem with telling them he doesn't believe in God. Not God himself, but the God they preach about. Nor about all the atrocities of the past that stemmed from people's distorted and warped beliefs.

As for both Shirou and Mika's reasonings on why they don't believe, well let me admit I didn't think of all that myself. Truth is I was having trouble thinking what they should say so I looked up a bunch of discussion videos and forums and basically took what I figured would fit with their characters. I figured it was enough to get the point across. I'm just not could at religious stuff.

And then came the bombshell you were all waiting for. The revelation on Shirou and Mika's parents. For anyone who read Devil Reborn I took the concept of the Slash Empress from there and used it in my story because personally I really liked the idea and I decided to make Shirou's mother that person in my story as well. As for their father, well I figured I should give them a father who was just as strong, plus one that had the same talents as Mila, which would explain why she is so talented at Magic. And this explains why both of them are prodigy's that get stronger so fast. But just so you know, this isn't everything about their parents. There's one more revelation about them that is yet to be revealed.

And for the two of them not being fazed by what they learned about their parents, well I think that given how their characters have been shown throughout the story that would be the response they would give. Being more understanding instead of all the Angst that all the other versions Shirou's had in their stories. No offense to Shirou Fujimura or anything.

Also as for the whole Asia slapping Xenovia, I wanted to add that because I felt it would be good for her character and thought should deserve a moment like that. Honestly, though I think it was right for her to do something like that because let's face it, even though she's always shy and timid it's refreshing in a way to see her to something like that. At least, that's what I think.

Now onto the fight. With the way Shirou is now it should have been obvious that he would outclass Irina and Xenovia, they're both untrained and inexperienced not to mention their fighting styles are too limited to one category, once Shirou basically figured out how they fight he could just beat them whenever he chose to, Shirou is the kind of person who grows while he fights, it's what makes he stronger and more capable against any opponent. Rather than just rushing in and tearing them apart. Plus this was a good way to introduce his new Sword attack. I really like attacks of that nature and as you can imagine the Rapid Slash won't stop at 10, it'll increase the stronger he becomes.

The next part was a part I was really invested in, Ren revealing himself to the others, sort of. From the very start, I was planning for Ren to possess a Sacred Gear, and if you look back I hinted that it was a fire-type, though it was a really small hint so I don't blame you for not seeing it. I wanted Ren to be involved in this fight without revealing who he was yet, but rest assured he'll reveal himself as a Youkai by the end of this Arc. I also wanted Saito in this fight as well because he's a strong person to have as back up. Koneko and Ruruko are too, to a lesser extent though.

Later when they joined up with Xenovia and Irina, I decided to have Shirou tell Kiba what he was doing wrong and help him realize it. Kiba is using his wrath the wrong way and so Shirou told him the right to use his wrath because we all know how much Shirou uses his own wrath and how many times it one him to fight. Not to mention he reminded Kiba of how he fights, honestly in my opinion if Kiba fought the Excalibur wielders more calmly his chances would have been better.

Looking back to the call from Azazel when we saw Vali appear for just a moment. I kept describing him to have similarities to Shirou because he does. When you stop and think about it they have a lot in common, personality-wise, strength-wise and how they look and act. But that's what I was going for. In the future, you'll see they have a lot more similarities that will be revealed.

Now for the Freed fight. I've always wanted to do a fight like that, one with pure High-Speed and Technique. The high-speed battle was something I wanted to try out and I thought it would be a good chance for Kiba to redeem himself after his string of losses, plus it would be a fight where he would focus on Technique rather than going berserk. Not to mention it could focus Freed's weakness, he's a human using a weapon he's not physically used to. It really wouldn't surprise me if Freed had a weakness like that considering he's careless and tends to overlook important details like that. So I played on it.

I also decided to add an explanation as to why Freed always shows up fresh to a fight despite Shirou tearing him apart so often. Balba couldn't care less about a person's safety and Freed is a mad man so it's not hard to imagine they would use something that makes him fresh while draining his life-span. Though since Freed won't be around much long it doesn't really matter all that much.

Next was the scene with Sona and Saito, as you can see like Shirou, Saito doesn't take shit from anyone even if they are hi King. Saito felt he was doing what he felt was right so he wasn't going to just let Sona punish him or treat him like a child, that just his nature. And the idea of the guys getting uncomfortable once the other two got punished was just something I wanted to add for comedic reasons.

Once they got home and started that Ecchi scene with Rias and Asia, Asia was being her naive self while Rias wanted to join in and one up her in any way she could, the usual stuff. I decided to have another moment of Mika being Mika, after all, it's what she does best and it always helps brighten up the mood. I also added a tender moment between Shirou and Asia. Shirou is the kind of guy who's good at finding the right words to say, unlike Issei how can barely put what he's feeling into words.

Though after that Shirou and Mika one of their serious moments. The moments between those two are always more special compared to the others because they always feel like, they can just be how they really are around each other and can tell each other anything. Their bond is one of trust, pure trust they don't share with anyone else and that's why I always like writing them.

And the final scene of this chapter was them finally meeting Kokabiel. Obviously, since Shirou has been established to be fearless he won't be pressured by seeing Kokabiel, especially after feeling the full weight of power from someone like Sirzechs. And he truly believes he can beat him, for good reasons. Next chapter will be the long-awaited fight between everyone against Kokabiel and his grunts. It's going to be a good one.

Plus I decided to give Shirou a new combat suit because I felt this was the perfect time for one. I decided to make it look a little different while keeping it similar to the original one and I gave it enhancements so he could keep using it. Plus Mika is wearing what she wore back during the Rating Game. I figured it was a good idea.

These outfits will be their main outfits during important fights and events since I didn't want them always going into battle in a Student Uniform like the others seem to. Not to mention the enhanced uniforms are something that the others got much later in the canon expect they still looked like their Student Uniforms, so I decided to do that now to save time and just did it for the two of them since these are actually clothes for fighting.

I'm glad I was able to post this and hopefully, the next chapter won't take so long. But try not to be so impatient for it, the reason I made this chapter so long was because I hoped it would satisfy you all for a while so I could work on other stuff in the meantime. I haven't done that in a while either, I also need to think up how the fighting for the next chapter will be handled.

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you all enjoyed it, if you want more leave a review, if you liked the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.