Sona Sitri was having a no good, very bad day. And it all started with this excalibur nonsense. First, some hoity toity Exorcists show up and start acting like they own the place - which they didn't, she did - and then it devolves into a fight, one of her Servants becomes an angry sword lady and now here they are, dealing with a deranged lunatic priest wielding an abomination of a sword that wouldn't be out of place in R.L. Stine. Simply put, she was done with this, pardon her French, bullshit.
Was it nice seeing two Peerages work together? Oh, absolutely. And she loved that Saber was proving herself to be quite the formidable ally. But that didn't change the fact that they were losing against an old feeble Priest, his misfit minions and a Joker-ripoff. She wanted to rip her hair out.
"Stop talking already!" she snapped and sent a blast of high pressured water directly at Freed, who casually slapped it away with his sword.
"I quite like talking, she-devil! So why don't you mind your own business?!" he half-shouted, half-cackled as he sent a burst of holy energy in her direction. It was only thanks to her honed battle instincts that she was able to dodge it at the last minute, but not before a small portion grazed her left ankle, causing her to hiss in pain.
"Prez!" she heard Saji yell from somewhere to her right.
"Forget about me!" she yelled back. "Focus on surviving!"
A Peerage was meant to protect her King. Those were the rules. But Sona would rather she herself die than any of her precious subordinates. They were like family to her. And in the case of Kyousuke . . . something more.
She glared daggers at Freed, who was still casually dancing circles around everyone.
Tch, at this rate . . .
And that's when she heard it, clear as day, Saber's call.
"Include - Shielder!"
Issei was getting a bit irritated. Freed had to have the most punchable face of anyone he's ever met, and that included Raynare. At least she had a nice rack. Freed, on the other hand? He had absolutely nothing going for him. He was just a complete and utter dick who wanted to stab everything. He was just so damn punchable. Maybe it was the arrogance, maybe it was the fact that he was so blatantly racist or maybe it was the fact that his stomach really hurt from that kick. He was pretty sure it was one of those.
He planted his feet firmly on the ground and charged once more. Freed easily saw through his attack and backhanded him in the face. But Issei was not deterred, he attacked again. Only to be knocked back again.
Even with Boost, I'm not getting anywhere! Am I really this weak?! Have I made no progress at all?!
Then again, he noticed everyone else was getting their butt kicked too, so he supposed he couldn't really call himself weak when Freed was styling on all of them equally.
There had to be something he could do. Something he could use to turn the tides. Maybe Saber had some pointers for him. But before he could ask her, a certain phrase erupted from her mouth and he was blinded by an immense purple light.
Become a Devil, they'd said. It'll be fun, they'd said.
And as Mittelt dodged one of Freed's holy attacks - you know, the kind that wouldn't even hurt her before - she was seriously beginning to regret becoming a Devil. Sure, she loved her new friends and Sona was way less of a prick than Raynare, but that didn't mean she enjoyed being in this situation.
"God, Freed! You need to get laid!"
"Stabbing you abominations is all the sexual stimulation I need, kahahaha!"
She shuddered in revulsion as she quickly conjured a spear made out of black fire and hurled it at the deranged Priest. "Eat a dick, asshole!"
He ducked underneath the spear and cut it in two with a single slash of his blade. "I think that should be reserved for sluts like you!"
In an instant, he was in her face and kneed her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, before aiming to cut her in twain.
He didn't get far before he was blindsided by a blast of dark red energy.
"Ugh! Why does everyone want to kill my boners?!"
"Because psychos like you should never be allowed to reproduce," Rias muttered as she lowered her hand.
Rias stepped up beside Mittelt. "We may have been enemies once in the past, but we now stand together. I'll cover your back, you cover mine."
Mittelt glanced over at her and nodded.
Rias, for her part, glared daggers at Freed who was just now regaining his posture. This fight had turned out to have far higher stakes than she had expected. For one, she hadn't thought Freed would pose this much of a threat, and for two, she didn't think he'd just be able to shrug off her destruction energy so casually. Was it because of the sword he'd been empowered by? That had to be it.
Freed merely grinned at them. "Ah well. In the end, no amount of devil sluts is gonna be a difference! You can't hope to defeat me!"
As he stood there, he had to deal with three attacks. One from Sona and two from Issei, all three of which he easily dealt with.
"Honestly, can't they see I'm in the middle of a pleasant conversation . . . " he trailed off as he noticed the lighting around them had changed. "Why the fuck is it purple?"
In one hand, the legendary blade Clarent, and in the other, the legendary shield that defended Camelot many times in the past, The Around Round Shield. She glared at Freed as she took a battle stance.
Lend me your strength . . . Galahad.
As you command, Lady Mordred.
"Mana Defense!"
A purple light erupted from her body and created a defensive barrier around all those she considered allies. A defense so powerful that even the original Excalibur would be hard pressed to break it. This fake, this abomination, would never have a chance.
"Now that I don't need to worry about you harming my comrades," Saber said as she stepped forward. "I can go all out."
She exploded forward and locked blades with Freed. "Let's go, you psycho ass."
Freed cackled. "Oh? You think it'll go differently now?"
She said nothing as they began to exchange blows and it quickly became clear to all those involved that Saber had been holding back previously. Freed quickly began to be pushed back.
"No! I won't let you defeat me! Not a slut like you! I'll crush you!"
Saber smirked. "Compared to father, you're like a toddler wielding a stick."
And then, it was over.
Shink!
Freed looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. "Oh, fuck me."
Saber yanked her blade out and stepped back. "But as much as I want to finish you, that is not my place. There's someone else who would rather put you down."
And before Freed could even contemplate what she meant by that, Issei Hyoudo burst forward and slammed a fist directly into his face.
"Eat shit!"
Ah. So this is what defeat feels like.
He merely cackled.
At least, I get to die with a boner.
He hit the ground and moved no more.
Saber glanced dispassionately at the blade on the ground before slashing it in two with Clarent. "Be gone, abomination."
She was about to give control back to Kyousuke when heard ominous laughter, followed by Valper screaming in pain.
She searched for the source of it and found her gaze landing on what appeared to be a Fallen Angel hovering in the sky above them.
He was laughing softly while also clapping.
"Well done. Well done, indeed. I am most impressed. I never thought you'd overcome the fake Excalibur, but you've proved me wrong."
"Kokabiel!" Mittelt exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
The black haired fallen merely laughed. "I can say the same to you. To say I was surprised when you survived that suicide mission was an understatement."
"What-"
"No matter, you shall all die here. And then, your deaths will be rightfully blamed on the Fallen Angels, inciting the second Great War!"
Saber clicked her tongue. "So you're just a warmonger, huh?"
Kokabiel didn't even look offended. "For lack of a better term, yes. I wish to prove the superiority of the Fallen Angels through this conflict! And you will all make excellent stepping stones for me!"
He snapped his fingers and dozens of Fallen Angels appeared in the air behind him.
"Now, let the massacre begin~."
Saber couldn't help but feel grateful that this fight didn't happen at the school. She couldn't even begin to imagine the chaos that would have unfolded if it had.
"Well, nothing for it then. Issei, how much did you manage to store up?"
Issei caught her gaze. "Quite a bit, why?"
"I'm going to unleash an attack and I want you to add your power to mine. It's time to clean up the trash."
She let her shield vanish as she gripped Clarent with both hands.
We only have enough mana to use this once, and then we'll be out of the fight, Kyousuke.
Then we'll have to make it count.
Red electricity burst to life around her as she narrowed her eyes at the sea of Fallen Angels above them.
Her sword shined a brilliant red and grew in size.
"Issei, now!"
"Got it! Transfer!"
Saber felt an immense power well up within her as she gave her opponents an absolutely feral smile.
"Clarent Blood Arthur!"
She swung her blade downward in a ferocious arc as a massive blast of energy exploded forth and tore through the sky at incredible speeds. Kokabiel dodged the blast by jumping upward, but more than two dozen of his compatriots weren't as lucky, quickly being overwhelmed and reduced to nothing but feathers.
Kokabiel didn't react in the slightest. "Half of my army with one attack. Impressive. But what will your precious friends do without you? I'm not blind, I know that was all you had left. Do you truly believe they'll be able to survive?"
Kyousuke, who had re-emerged the moment the attack finished, merely grinned at Kokabiel. "Oh, they will. After all, there's still one last trick I have in my book."
"And what would that be?"
"Blind stupidity."
Sona was honestly left speechless by the whole ordeal that had occurred. First, there was the defeat of Freed, which was impressive enough. But then there was that massive attack that wiped out all those Fallen Angels. You know, that army that honestly made her believe she and everyone else was going to die here.
But the moment Kyousuke reappeared and he wasn't backing down, she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Kyousuke!" she shouted. "Get out of there! You can't take him alone! Not like that!"
He turned around and merely smiled at her. "I think you know by now, Sona. I'm a real idiot."
He held up one of his cards.
He had no magic left. She knew this and she knew he knew this.
Was he going to use his own life force?!
And before she knew it, Sona had cleared the entire distance between them and had tackled him.
"No! I won't let you!"
Unfortunately, this left them wide open for Kokabiel to attack them.
And she saw. She saw that light spear heading their way.
It was like time slowed down. She felt a hand push her as a figure stood in front of her. And blood splashed over her entire body.
Kyousuke was standing there, between her and Kokabiel, a spear of light lodged directly through his chest.
"We're starting to make a bad habit of this, Sona."
" . . . Kyousuke?"
He gave her a light laugh before falling forward and hitting the ground with an audible thud.
She sat there, completely frozen. Before all at once, reality slammed into her.
"Kyousuke!"
