Chapter Eight - Back In Business

October 9th, 2012

At long last, it was over.

Three long weeks of being able to do nothing productive, three intense, painful, mind-numbing days. For someone like Vin, who was always focused on being productive each and every day, the bland drawl of the three weeks was near maddening.

But hey, it was finally over, and he was ready to get back on the horse.

Which is what led him here…

"Erm, Vin…" Irina looked across the training room sheepishly, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Vin tightened the straps on his padded gloves, "Sure, why not?"

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to challenge me so feverishly," Her steps echoing across the hall, Xenovia walked up to Vin and Irina, her own pair of gloves secured firmly on her hands, "Still, I welcome your enthusiasm for training."

"See?" Vin turned to Irina, "Even Xenovia thinks this is a good idea!"

Irina shook her head, "My lord, please show mercy upon these two foolish souls."

Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Irina.

"So, rules are simple, right?" Vin turned back to Xenovia, "First person to pin the other for three seconds, or first person to tap out?"

Xenovia nodded, "No biting or poking; otherwise," She dropped down into a stance, "Anything goes."

Vin attempted to remember his basic combat training he picked up from Xenovia, raising his arms into a basic stance of his own.

"Irina, give us a countdown."

Irina let out a sigh, "Fine, three…"

Vin and Xenovia locked eyes, emerald and amber eyes glistening with steely determination, and a dangerous tinge of manic excitement.

"Two…"

Vin clenched his hands into fists, as he swallowed a dry gulp of air down his throat.

"One…"

Both combatants tensed their legs, shoes making small squeaks on the material of the floor, as they braced to lunge at each other at any second.

"Go!"

As soon as Irina waved her hand up into the air, both teens darted towards each other, Xenovia already having a punch prepared, as she jabbed straight towards Vin's chest. A basic move that Vin had experienced numerous times before from Xenovia, so he was able to quickly pivot to his right, letting the punch sail through the air.

Not wasting a potential opening, Vin lashed out his right foot in an attempt to kick in the back of Xenovia's knee, but even when making contact, the toned, muscled legs were like trying to kick out a pillar of concrete.

Without giving him any time to try harder, Xenovia continued to lay on the pressure, as she twisted to face Vin, all while forcing the boy to duck under a round-house kick, and then clumsily back pedal away from a potentially devastating uppercut that unfortunately, Vin caught on the corner of his chin, causing his jaw to clack together, sending a shockwave upward that nearly scrambled his brain. Not losing the advantage, Xenovia blitzed for Vin, before sliding down, and attempting to sweep out his legs with a kick.

Thankfully for him, Vin saw the attack coming, and was able to give a short hop up, letting Xenovia's sweep swish by harmlessly. As soon as his feet met the floor once more, Vin finally began his retaliation, sweeping kicks and punches at Xenovia as the bluenette handspring several times to get clear.

Finally righted, Xenovia rushed back towards Vin, keeping her body low to the ground as she advanced, forcing Vin to limit himself to at most, kicks; one advantage of their size discrepancy, Vin couldn't throw any punches at Xenovia like this without bending down and leaving himself way too open.

As the girl slipped between his kicks, Vin's analytical brain flared into overtime, he couldn't afford to try and grab her, she'd easily break free while probably rupturing something in him in the process. He could try dodging, and then counter-attacking right as she tried to hit him; that could work, but it'd probably be too obvious.

Vin then realized he did have one other option, and it could possibly work.

Hah, this was going to suck, wasn't it?

Vin squared his feet, assuming a wide, sturdy stance as Xenovia finally rose up to face him, a punch that could rival the gods already cocked back and ready to fly. Vin braced, before fist met flesh, as Xenovia drilled her fist deep into Vin's stomach, forcing the air out of him.

Hold on! Before he could go down, Vin lashed out a right hook, as his fist rocketed towards Xenovia's face. In between the soft hum of his adrenaline-induced pain-high, Vin could see Xenovia's eyes widen in surprise, before a deep thwack echoed around the arena as Vin's own fist pound deep purchase in Xenovia's left cheek. Both combatants stumbled back from each other, Vin falling onto his ass, while Xenovia simply staggered back a few steps.

Tasting copper in her mouth, Xenovia raised a hand to the left side of her lips, brushing it with the back of her hand, before finding it bleeding pretty bad from a pressure cut. Xenovia raised her eyebrow, not bad for a complete beginner, but certainly not enough to put her out of commission. Xenovia's tongue lapped at the wound on her lips, before swallowing her blood without a second thought, however, her attention was soon drawn over to her opponent, who smacked the floor a few times with his hand.

"Alright, alright," Vin wheezed, "I yield."

Irina finally walked back towards them from where she sat, "Vin yields, so Xenovia is the winner."

As Irina took in the appearance of her two friends, one on the floor, nursing his lower jaw and stomach, while the other was occasionally using the bottom of her shirt to dab away blood that continually poured from her split-open lip; she realized that indeed, this was the path that God had apparently put her life on: taking care of two maniacs whose idea of a fun afternoon was beating each other bloody. Oh god, was this some divine test of patience given to her by the lord himself in order to judge if she was truly worthy of salvation? Because in some deep part of her mind, it sure felt like it…

Irina pinched her brow, "I told you two this was a bad idea…"

"What? No, no," Vin staggered to his feet, his voice raspy as he slowly took in shaky breaths, "Look, I'm fine! This was a fine idea, perfect even-! Ow…"

Vin had jolted up right at the end of his sentence, as if something had just popped or strained in his body. Irina drew her best deadpanned, disapproving glare at Xenovia, who just stared back at her blankly, as if she didn't even comprehend what was wrong. But then again, this was Xenovia she was talking about… so maybe she really didn't think anything was wrong.

"I think it went well," Xenovia simply replied, not even showing the slightest indication she was bothered by her gushing lip, "He's improved tremendously from his first fight with Ezekiel. He actually landed a single hit on me."

Now, from anyone else, that would've likely come off as pretty condescending, but from Xenovia? Well, the girl really only spoke the blunt truth.

Vin gave a strained painful smile, and a shaky thumbs up, "Thanks for the compliment Xenovia! Next time, hopefully I'll get more than just one hit on you."

Xenovia looked over and nodded, "I look forward to it."

Irina's hand met her face. Oh lord, what did she do to deserve these two idiots?


November 12th, 2012

"Vin, a word please," Griselda called out, as Vin stopped casting out waves of crystals. Quickly Vin punched one of the crystals, and soon enough, the entire spire shattered into nothing.

"Yes Griselda?" Vin ran up to his mentor, nursing the burning muscles in his arms.

Griselda hesitated for a moment, "How confident do you feel about undergoing missions again?"

A myriad of images flew through Vin's head at the suggestion. Him, on the floor of that dank, dirty market, the ungodly beast on top of him, slowly digging it's fangs into his body in sick, sadistic pleasure. The feelings of hopelessness washing over him as he thrashed out in vain...

Griselda looked at the forlorn look in Vin's eyes, before quickly pressing a hand to his shoulder, making the boy snap out of his funk, and look his instructor in the eyes.

"Vin. What happened was a complete miscalculation, and won't happen again. I plan to ease you into this, alright? The mission I had in mind was a lot easier than the last one you participated in, and we've made sure to do a top to bottom search for any details beforehand. It's only one stray devil, and not a particularly powerful one at that," Griselda rubbed his shoulder caringly, "Look, if we get there, and you don't feel comfortable enough to go ahead, you can even wait in the transport, alright? We're going to be going in a smaller group, but that just means that we can all keep an eye on each other easier."

Vin's haunted gaze softened. A lot of what Griselda said had struck true for Vin. He wasn't going up against some insanely strong behemoth, he was just going up against one simple, measly stray devil. And surely, they learned from their mistakes last time, if the extra recon was anything to go by.

Vin looked down at his pants, brushing his hands against them, "...I don't exactly know if I'm ready yet, or if I'll ever be… But, that just means I gotta try, right?"

"Right," Griselda smiled, "We're going to leave tomorrow, so I suggest getting some sleep now, it's late anyway."

"Gotcha," Vin yawned into his hand, "Good night, Griselda."

"Good night, Vin…"


November 13th, 2012

Vin fiddled with the straps on his coat as he felt the bus bounce up and down on it's suspension while the team cruised down the streets. A pair of earbuds were tucked into his ears, as the sounds of music drowned out his anxieties over the upcoming mission.

His first stray hunt since the catastrophic failure that was his very first one months ago. He would be lying if he said he wasn't at least nervous to be facing one of these creatures down again, but as Griselda had assured him, they weren't dealing with any uncertainty this time. She wouldn't have brought him on a mission that he wouldn't be able to complete anyway.

Vin's thoughts were cut off when he felt something soft and warm press against the back of his right hand. Looking over to his hand resting in his lap, Vin found, surprisingly enough, that it was Xenovia's hand that had come to rest on top of his own. Pulling out an earbud, Vin looked up to meet the determined gaze of his blue-haired totally not-a-crush.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."

It was funny how that simple statement managed to calm his nerves so much. That's right, he had his allies with him, he could do this, he trained for this.

You know, for as socially aloof as Xenovia could be sometimes, it was kind of miraculous how she actually managed, intentionally or not, to say the perfect things to help Vin out.

Vin smiled back warmly, "Yeah. Thanks Xenovia."

Xenovia nodded, a smile never quite making her face, although if he were to guess, Vin could say that it nearly did.

Vin held out an earbud, "You want to listen to some tunes while we wait?"

Now, Vin had pretty much no expectation that Xenovia would accept his offer, but surprisingly, she did. Grabbing the earbud, before scooching over closer to Vin's side in order to adhere to the limitations of the cord's length. Sitting there, Xenovia closed her eyes as she listened to the softer music being played, some of the tension visibly dropping from her shoulders, as she just looked so… at peace.

Frankly, it was such a departure from Xenovia's standard taciturn professionalism that it caused Vin's cheeks to faintly glow a light pink. It was at moments like these that Vin could remember that Xenovia wasn't just a weapon of the church, but a regular human girl too, something that unfortunately, Vin wasn't sure that she realized about herself. Still, to see her like this was equal parts adorable and heartwarming.

The two continued to relax as the car ride continued on and on, just enjoying the music, and the unspoken company of each other. The peace reminded Vin of better days, before every day was characterized by grueling training; days where Vin would just enjoy himself, and the fact that he was here, alive, and content.

Eventually, the bus began to slow to a stop as the final song slowly drifted into silence, like the sun setting under a brand new night sky. Looking over, Vin saw Xenovia slowly open her twinkling amber eyes, before she raised her arms up, arching her back as she let out a surprisingly cute yawn. Vin's eyes were torn between the tantalizing sight of Xenovia's admittedly very endowed breasts straining against her skin-tight leotard, or the view of her really adorable yawning face. In the end, Vin ended up quickly stealing a glance at both (hopefully) without Xenovia noticing.

Xenovia plucked the earbud out of her ear, "Thank you."

"Ah, y-you're welcome," Vin replied as he slowly stood up with Xenovia, leaving his phone and earbuds resting on the bus like before.

The two made their way to the front of the bus, trailing behind their teammates, as they exited into the chilly, golden fall afternoon. Before them stood a long and thin trail of orange-colored trees, a single path winding its way down deep into the woods before them.

"Alright everyone," Griselda rounded up everyone's attention, "The stray devil has created a lair for itself in a lodge north of here, and we're going to have to make the rest of the journey on foot. Does everyone have their gear ready?"

Various shouts of confirmation echoed throughout the group. Irina proudly displayed a white, frilly band wrapped around her left bicep, Excalibur Mimic, if Vin's memory held true. He'd seen her training with it once or twice over the past few weeks, and from the little glances he stole while focusing on his own work it seemed like, true to its name, could manipulate its own form in order to transform into whatever sort of item the user wanted it to be.

At least, that's what Vin thought it could do. But c'mon, between the name, and the fact that he once saw Irina transform it from that same frilly band into a katana, and then into blade-whip, and then right back to the same band, he was pretty sure he got the basics of what it could do pretty down pat.

Looking around, Vin could see that Ethan also brought along Excalibur Rapidly, a cool sword to be sure, but it's look was just a bit too… haphazard for Vin's tastes. Still, it was anything but impractical.

Vin sighed, it would have been cool to wield a holy sword himself, y'know, give himself another option to rely on. But unfortunately, the only thing he got when Ethan once offered him to try Excalibur Rapidly was the damn thing not making him fast, and then it scorched his own palm, like a hot soldering iron, except it didn't leave a burn.

Walking over to the weapons chest that was brought out from the bus, Vin reached in, grabbing a white and gold decorated cylinder, a big chunky white and gold pistol, and a handful of magazines. Slotting them into various holsters and pouches sewn into his black and grey leather battle costume.

Oh well, he may not have been able to wield an Excalibur fragment like the others, but a light sword or a pistol with some blessed bullets would do just as fine for him. Plus, he had backup from his, admittedly, sometimes unreliable Sacred Gear. Thus, the little bit of assurance that the pistol and blade brought him were much appreciated.

The group began their march down the forest path, with Griselda taking up the lead, while Irina and Vanessa tagged just behind, wrapped up in a conversation that they were attempting to bring Xenovia into; right behind them was Jafar and Ethan, who were also having some sort of chat, with Ethan waving his arms around animatedly. Last but not least, Vin walked at the rear of the group, flanked by Ezekiel; the chunni having a sheathed blade clipped onto each side of his hip.

Now, Vin had seen the 'Judgement Sabre' before; hell, he'd been on the receiving end of it numerous times since their first clash, all with decidedly better outcomes than a broken nose, but what drew Vin's attention the most was the other sword, a rapier-like weapon with a large spiraling band of steel coiling around the blade like a serpent. Vin knew the name, sure: Excalibur Nightmare, but beyond that, well, it was the first time he'd seen the thing.

Ezekiel seemed to notice Vin's intrigued gaze, and raised the sheathed Excalibur slightly on his hip to allow Vin a closer look.

"This is the first time that one bears witness to the presence of the Excalibur Nightmare, yes?"

Vin nodded, more or less desensitized to the peculiar cadence used by his chuunibyou friend, "Yeah, what's it do? I mean, the other's are easy enough, Destruction makes blasts of power, Mimic changes shape, Transparency makes you invisible, Rapidly just makes you fast, but Nightmare? I don't know, it's a bit more… esoteric than the others?"

Ezekiel smiled, "One's glad to see that the wielder of crystals has access not only to such a wide range of extravagant abilities, but also a vast arsenal of refined vocabulary."

"Eh, I needed to pass my language final paper somehow," Vin shrugged, "Anyway, back on topic, the sword: what does it do?"

Ezekiel gazed down at the hilt of the fragment.

"Excalibur Nightmare… A blade that embodies the malevolent nature of the once great holy sword. It is the necessary shadow cast by the blinding light of Excalibur, a blade of unnatural prowess that defies the honorable spirit embodied by it's other brethren."

"Zeke, just tell me what it does," Vin deadpanned.

Flustered, Ezekiel coughed into a closed fist, before fixing Vin with an equally flat look, "It makes illusions, and can manipulate dreams."

"See, was that so hard?" Vin teased.

"You're incorrigible," Ezekiel grumbled, as the group continued their stretch into the forest.

Walking deeper and deeper into the woods, the group eventually found themselves in a massive clearing, easily the size of an American Football field or two; and on the far side of the clearing sat an impressive-sized cabin, which would have been rather luxurious, if not for the obviously foreboding aura that seemed to exude from the building.

"Ezekiel," Griselda called, "I want you to summon an illusion to fish the stray out here."

"Very well," Ezekiel stepped forward, drawing Excalibur Nightmare into his left hand.

Griselda turned her attention over to Vin, "When the stray comes out into the open, do you think you can trap it in place with your Sacred Gear?"

Vin summoned Midas' Rings onto his hands, "I think so. Depends how close I can get to it though; the amount of crystals peters off from farther and farther away."

"Alright then, Vin when it comes out, get as close as possible while retaining a safe distance, and seal it's legs in crystals. Everyone else will be in charge of laying on damage. If it comes loose, your top priority is to restrain it again, alright?"

"Gotcha."

"Good. Now Ezekiel, if you would."

Ezekiel raised Excalibur Nightmare into the air, as a dark miasma swarmed around the blade. Swiping it down quickly towards the ground in a flourish, the miasma split off from the blade, swarming in the air next to the chuunibyou swordfighter, until it began to grow, and take the rough shape of a human.

Next thing Vin knew, he was looking over an astonishingly lifelike copy of himself.

Ok, that wasn't funny.

Vin sent a dry glare at Ezekiel, "You chose a clone of me to be the bait?"

Ezekiel seemed rather smug as he shrugged his shoulders, "You do appear to be the most tantalizing target for a stray devil."

"Yeah, fuck you too," Vin grumbled without any real bite behind his words.

"Focus you two," Griselda demanded, "Everyone in position?"

Various cries of confirmation met Griselda's question. Nodding, Griselda jerked her head towards the lodge, as the clone of Vin began to run towards the lodge, and all but threw open it's front door before going inside.

Vin balked. Oh come on... Sure he was stupid, but he wasn't borderline suicidal.

Soon, a variety of guttural grumbles, growls, and all forms of unpleasant noises began to leak from the lodge, before a blur broke through the front window of the lodge, right as a massive creature burst straight through the wall, and into the open field.

Vin let himself absorb the appearance of the stray devil in front of him. It was a massive hulking thing, easily at least twelve feet or more in size. Covered in it's black fur, it looked more like a sasquatch than a devil, but hey, guess that was the nature of stray devils. It's eyes were feral, animalistic, and conveyed nothing more than a primal desire to tear apart the exorcists in front of it.

"Now!" Griselda shouted, as Vin regained his bearing, and began to shoot off towards the creature.

It gave off a massive bellowing roar to the skies, before immediately rushing towards Vin himself, bounding on all fours, it didn't take long for it to catch up to him. The stray devil bore down on Vin's comparatively tiny figure, before swinging its arms down at Vin.

Managing to throw himself to the side in time, Vin let the blow swish right by him. With no possible way to even get closer to the thing, Vin began to wave his ring-clad hands upward, as pillars of crystals began to rapidly form over the beast's feet, creeping further and further up it's forearms.

Thoroughly incensed, the beast managed to sweep one of it's bulky arms downward, and quickly grab Vin in it's disgusting, powerful hand.

"Let go of him!" Irina shouted from behind the monster, as it's forearm was restrained from behind by Irina holding Excalibur Mimic, transformed into a deadly blade-whip that dug it's blessed fangs deep into the stray's wrists.

It roared in pain, being unable to pivot to deal with the twin-tailed girl behind it thanks to Vin's crystals. Instead, the beast flung it's arm upward, causing Irina to be swept up out of the air. It was obvious that the creature was going to punch Irina with the same hand that held Vin, so not wasting a second, Vin touched one of his hands to the other, creating a long, sharp crystal blade that dug itself deep into the devil's palm.

With another booming roar, it compulsively opened its palm, allowing Vin, as squeezed and sore as he was, to harmlessly slip out of its grasp, and onto the ground below. As soon as he landed into a crouch, Vin willed his compressed and aching bones and muscles to act, as he ravenously swung his crystal blade into the back of the beast's massive exposed shin.

A testament to the advancements he made through training, Vin's blade didn't shatter, instead, it viciously dug deep into the hard muscle of the monster, like an axe to a tree.

Meanwhile, as soon as Vin slipped from the beast's grasp, Irina used the opportunity to land on the beast's arm, reforming her weapon into her preferred katana, before dashing up towards the shoulder of the creature, slicing a deep, poisonous wound into its hulking shoulder.

From the combined assault of the two exorcists, the stray devil thrashed around wildly. Knocking Irina off it's shoulder, as she backflipped to safety, and causing Vin to leap away from it's unharmed hand's attempt to grab him once more.

Geez, no wonder Griselda thought this thing was appropriate for Vin to take on, it was surprisingly predictable, and… dare he say it, but kinda easy too.

Oh boy, he just had to say it, didn't he?

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the stray devil let loose another earth-shattering roar, as its size and mass began to increase significantly. Gaps in it's fur along its body began to glow, coursing with a violet energy that only screamed one thing.

Danger.

With a great heave, the beast shattered the crystals around its feet, as it barreled directly towards Vin, it's hand outstretched, ready to grab and slam the boy until he was nothing but bloody paste on the earth below.

As it came towards him at breakneck speed, Vin could only help but ponder why exactly, it was always him who got the ire of these damn things. Why him, of all people?

Nevertheless, Vin shattered the arm blade that covered his one hand, and with the other, yanked his light-sword free, igniting the luminescent weapon in a fraction of a second. Time slowed down around him, as Vin dialed in his focus singularly on the target rapidly approaching him. He only had one change to pull this off…

Right as the beast was about to reach him, Vin darted forward, and dropped his back against the grass below in a slide. The sun was eclipsed by the massive meaty, quickly descending palm of the stray, yet Vin remained undeterred, holding the light-sword upwards as an extra layer of deterrent from the creature simply slapping him into an early death. If it worked as a surprise attack against Ezekiel, then Vin prayed to god that it would work here…

Vin swatted his open hand against the ground right next to him, and a massive spire of crystals surged forth from the earth, straight up towards the palm.

The result was carnage.

Vin closed his eyes as dark crimson blood sprayed over his face and body with nearly the ferocity of a power washer. The crystals had torn through the palm in the most ravenous way imaginable, flesh torn to shreds as the crystals made a brutal, messy exit out of the back of the beast's hand.

But Vin wasn't done yet, as even when his eyes were closed, he thrust the light-blade up into the palm for good measure, drinking in the somewhat sadistic catharsis of his weapon sinking deeper and deeper into the mess of an appendage.

The beast let loose an even greeted howl of pain, as Vin wasted no time scurrying out from under the sloppily suspended palm of the monster. Rubbing his eyes free of any blood, Vin cracked open his eyes, making eye contact with the eyes of the stray, which were filled with absolutely nuclear rage.

Vin grit his teeth, as he dug his right hand into his jacket, pulling free the loaded pistol, and as the exorcist scrambled away from the monster, he fired blessed bullets over and over again at the beast's head. It screamed as one of the bullet's found one of its eyes, thoroughly blinding it, as it sluggishly raised it's already incredibly wounded, yet not quite so impaled hand to block the rest of the gunfire.

"You did good. Now leave this to us."

Vin looked over, as a blue and black blur sprinted past him. Finally letting the nervous tension drop from his shoulders, Vin saw Xenovia swing Durandal into the side of the beast's leg, severing the appendage in one fatal stroke.

The ground shook as the stray devil collapsed over in a messy pile, it's blood pouring out from all around, staining the grass a deep hue. The amethyst glow of energy subsided, as the deep, labored breath of the nearly dead creature was the only audible sound in the clearing. It had since given up, it no longer had the time nor the energy to retaliate.

Xenovia stepped backwards, and with a few seconds of focus, Durandal was pulled back into its pocket dimension, leaving Xenovia panting on her knees from the exertion of wielding the fickle blade.

"Vin, would you like to do the honors?" Griselda asked, coming up behind him and offering him a towel; one that he promptly stained red, as he wiped the blood completely from his face.

"Uh…" Vin hesitated, did he really want to actually kill this thing? It was a person, wasn't it?

But then Vin continued to think. What was the issue? He had fought against it with the intention of killing it anyway, so what was different with doing it now? It certainly wouldn't have shown him the same courtesy. It wasn't a person anymore, it was a monster.

That last phrase echoed through Vin's head, as he vocalized his choice.

"Yeah, I'll do it."

Shambling to his feet, Vin clenched the gun in his hand 'till his knuckles turned white. Ejecting the spent magazine, Vin rifled through his coat to find another one, sliding it in, and cocking the slide of the gun.

Vin walked towards the nearly slain foe with hard, labored steps; the others watched his movements as he began to close in on the creature.

"Stray devil, you who can no longer be considered a person…"

Not a person anymore, just a monster…

"You preyed on the lives of the innocent for too long…" Vin climbed onto the downed body of the monster, walking up it's chest, until he was glaring down at the hazy eyes of his enemy.

...Just a monster…

Vin scowled, "So in the name of our lord in Heaven, I shall strike you dead…"

...A monster…

"You disgust me, and I hope that you never find forgiveness in passing on."

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*CHICK* *CHICK* *CHICK*

Vin looked down at his pistol, the entire magazine spent. He finally lowered the gun, and looked over at what was left of his enemy, the thing that was trying to kill him.

You wouldn't have even been able to tell what it had looked like.

It's face, if you could even call it that anymore, was riddled with craters where it's facial features once were. Squirting fountains of sickly blood that squelched from the wounds, as the impact of the bullets mangled and disformed its face considerably. It's eyes, one shot and oozing, were falling out of their obliterated sockets.

Vin felt the venomous rage that was held within him a second ago vanish from his body without a trace, leaving him to be filled with a new sensation.

Guilt.

He had killed this thing. He did it. He didn't witness it, he wasn't an accomplice to it, he was the person that ended a life prematurely.

The fact that it was a murderous monster that killed people was irrelevant. This thing was once a person: a thinking, living, breathing, intelligent person, and he just ended it's life.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Vin acknowledged the fact that he simply did what had to be done. He put down a dangerous creature, the same way animal control would for a dangerous bear or something, but still, drinking in the sight of what he did, the life he ended, shook Vin to his core.

Vin dropped the spent pistol through shaky, bloodstained fingers.

"O-oh fuck…" Vin's voice broke, as tears welled in his eyes, and bile rose up in his throat.

Vin rushed off of the monster's corpse, and ran off to the lodge in order to get away from it all. Vaguely, he could hear the shouts of someone from his group, he didn't know who, or why, he just focussed on getting away from the dead body.

Making it to the lodge, and leaning against a nearby tree, Vin came to the sickening realization that the blood of the thing he killed was in his hair, on his hands, all over his clothes…

Vin tugged the coat off his body, rubbing the blood off his hands onto it as best he could, before he threw it behind him. He didn't care that the cold snap of autumn was blowing against his now much-less bundled self.

Leaning against that tree with his arms, Vin began to retch and gag, before finally, he emptied whatever was in his stomach onto the ground. He felt the crushing weight of guilt come barreling onto him, as the disgust of it all coating him helped coax him to throw up again…

...and again…

...and again…

...and again...

"Vin!"

Heaving dry breaths, his throat burning in protest as the cold air whipped against his acid-burned esophagus, Vin slowly wiped his lips with a thankfully dry section of his outfit's sleeve.

"Vin, can you hear me?"

Turning around, Vin couldn't see anything very well. Everything around him was just hazy shapes of color. Blinking, the world became clear, as Vin made the off-handed realization that he must have been crying.

As the world cleared up around him, Vin realized that it was Xenovia who stood before him. Concern and empathy painted her face in a way that Vin found equally as captivating as it was heart wrenching.

In order to give her an answer, Vin opted to keep his mouth shut and nod his head. Partly because he couldn't possibly be coherent, and also because his throat was stripped so raw, it needed time to heal.

"You can hear me? Good," Xenovia walked closer to Vin, and sat down on the ground.

Staring out across the setting skyline, Xenovia sighed.

"It's your first time killing something, right?"

Vin nodded again.

"That's what I thought," Xenovia lowered her gaze, and locked eyes with Vin, "It's always hardest the first time. I went through the same thing, actually. But look, it's alright, that thing was preying on the weak and innocent, and you were justified in killing it, so don't feel bad!"

Vin's eyes widened, before hardening. What?!

Regaining his voice, as weak and shaky as it was, Vin stood up, "You don't understand at all! T-That thing was once an actual person! Someone who had a life ahead of them, and I killed him, Xenovia," Vin jabbed a thumb into his chest, "I ended their life."

"That thing wasn't a person, Vin!" Xenovia shouted, as she stood up and rounded on Vin.

Xenovia continued to step closer to Vin, as the boy took steps backwards in order to maintain his distance.

"That thing was a monster that feasted on over ten different innocent people! Do you really feel sad that you killed something like that?"

"..."

"Well?!"

"Yes! Fucking- Are you kidding me, Xenovia! Killing someone whose killed people is still murder! What don't you understand?!"

Vin stepped backwards, and ended up bumping his back into the wall of the lodge, nevertheless, Xenovia continued to advance forward.

"What don't I understand?! What don't you understand, Vin?! It's the job of an exorcist to kill things like these so that humanity can live in peace! You can't have feelings of reservation like this towards the enemy! That's a great way to get yourself killed!"

"Yeah, well guess fucking what?! I never wanted any of this!" Vin waved his arms out, "Do you really know what it felt like to have my entire fucking life ripped away from me, my family?! Do you?! Or wait, maybe you can't, because your so fucking brainwashed by this shit, that you're convinced that this is the only life you can possibly live."

Xenovia began to grind her teeth, her fist clenching, "I never wanted this either, Vin! But I had a gift that no one else had, just like you. We have an obligation to do something to help others, because we truly can! We're here to become exorcists for the good of humanity!"

Vin chuckled bitterly, "Please, how about we stop calling it by the fancy title, huh? You think we're training to be 'exorcists'; but in reality, your adoptive mommy is training us to be human weapons. Is that the life you want to lead? Or are you still going to give me that shit about it being your sacred 'duty' to become an exorcist?"

Vin scoffed, "Why'd you choose to sign your life away, Xenovia? Was it because it was the first time anyone ever paid attention to you? Was it because Griselda was the first person to ever give you even a semblance of a home?"

"SHUT UP!" Xenovia screamed, grabbing Vin by the neck with one hand and slammed him against the wall.

"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU FUCKING KNOW ME!" Xenovia cocked back, and threw a punch with her free hand, which landed just shy of Vin's bloodstained head, crumpling the solid wood wall into a crater with ease.

"I want you two to separate right now," Both parties looked over to see Griselda standing before them, her smile not present at all, and her tone like ice, "...I won't ask again. Separate."

Xenovia looked between Vin and her mentor, and eventually relinquished her grip over Vin's throat, causing the boy to fall down to the ground, wheezing while clutching his throat.

Xenovia stepped forward, "Griselda, he-"

"I heard everything, Xenovia," Griselda's tone showed that there was no room for debate, "Now go back to the bus with the others; you aren't to speak or sit with Vin until I say so."

"Y-yes Griselda," Xenovia bowed slightly, before running off in the direction of the bus, leaving only Vin and Griselda at the lodge.

"I deeply apologize Vin, I should have known sooner that Xenovia was ill-fit to handle a matter this delicate. I sent her because I thought you two were close enough to talk this out properly," Griselda apologized, watching her ward fade into the background.

"However," Griselda's gaze turned to Vin, "I do believe we need to have a discussion."

"...Sure, what the hell," Vin replied, "Can't go worse than the last one."

"... Some of your statements weren't necessarily incorrect."

"What?"

"Yes… Listen, if I had a choice, I would make sure that each and every one of you could walk out of this life whenever you wanted to. This isn't the life that anyone deserves. As for Xenovia… If it could grant her the opportunity to live a normal life, then I would take the ability to wield Durandal from her in a heartbeat."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you and Xenovia aren't so different in that regard. You, Vin, are hungering for the life that you left behind… and Xenovia wanted that same life for as long as I've known her, despite her attempts to hide it from me."

"She feels like she's indebted to me, Vin. She thinks that I gave her a home when nobody else would. But, I took her in because the church mandated it so, not because I necessarily wanted it to be that way, although I did learn to love her over time…"

Griselda looked on wistfully, "She was a young thing when the church discovered she could wield Durandal… No more than six or seven… far too young to be thrust into that life. But regardless, I wanted to make sure that such a girl could at least survive the world out there, so I trained her every day. I… I never had the heart to tell her why she was originally taken in. She's figured it out by now, of course, but those feelings still remain."

Vin sat there, stunned, "So she's torn between wanting to-"

"-Fulfill the wishes of the church in order to make me proud, and the impossible desire to have a normal life? Yes."

Vin looked up at the sky, "...I've been such an ass."

Griselda chuckled, "Possibly, although your thoughts are equally as valid. The church, and by extension, myself, have placed you in a very difficult position, Vin. I understand your hesitancy to end a life, and it's a remarkable strength to have. Holding value in all life is what we need in a world like this. And I understand if you feel like you're being forced to compromise on those morals for the sake of doing a job you've never wanted to do. If anything, I'll try and put you in a position in the future where you never have to do something like that again, alright?"

"Alright…" Vin agreed, before hesitating for a second, "I-I should go and apologize to Xenovia, shouldn't I?"

"That would probably be for the best. Come, I'll lead you back to the bus."

Vin got up, and began the long walk back to the bus with Griselda. Along the walk, Vin glanced at the nature around him, it was peaceful… tranquil… It helped put his mind at ease, while he mulled over Xenovia and Griselda's words in his head.

It was okay not to like killing… He… He just needed to learn to draw the line somewhere. Where that somewhere was… Well, that was something that he'd have to find out another time.

Not too long later, the bus came into sight. Griselda held Vin back for a moment.

"I'll go get Xenovia for you," Griselda smiled, as she walked inside the bus.

Vin stood there, trying to get his thoughts together about how exactly he was going to approach apologizing to Xenovia. Things had gotten pretty heated after all…

Soon enough, the door of the bus opened, and out stepped Xenovia herself, tailed closely by Griselda who stood in the doorframe of the bus, preventing either party from getting back on.

Vin, deciding he should be the first one to speak, sucked in a breath.

"I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry!"

The two looked up at each other in confusion.

"What, why are you sorry?" Vin asked, "I acted like an insensitive asshole to you, and obviously I brought up stuff you didn't want me to."

"I acted like my usual muscle-brained idiot self," Xenovia grimaced, "I didn't think for a single second, and just tried to force my ideals on you. And when you did bring up sensitive topics, I lashed out at you. That's not the way allies should treat each other; how could we beat the enemies in front of us if we spent our time beating each other instead?"

"Stop doing that."

"What?"

"Referring to yourself as 'Muscle-Brained Idiot'."

"Well, it's true."

"Yeah, no it's not."

"Sure it is."

"No, look… Xenovia, you're anything but an idiot, alright? An idiot wouldn't reflect on their mistakes like you have, they wouldn't care as much for their teammates like you have. You are not an idiot, okay?"

Xenovia looked taken aback, "A-Alright…"

"Good, so...uh…" Vin raised his hand, "Friends again?"

Xenovia took a moment to look at Vin's hand, before clasping his forearm with her own hand in a classic roman handshake, "Yeah, friends."


"You got the popcorn ready yet?" Ethan yelled from the couch.

"Just give me a second here," Irina walked over to the couches, clad in her pajamas, with three massive bowls of popcorn cradled in her arms.

"Here, I'll take one from you," Jafar, clad in his own sleepwear, reached over and grabbed a bowl from Irina, setting it on his lap between Ethan and Vanessa.

"Here you go, Vinny!" Irina beamed, as she passed a bowl to Vin, who had long since cleaned himself up.

"Ah, thanks Irina," Vin took the bowl of popcorn and set it next to him on the couch, "So, movie night… What are we watching?"

"Hmm… I don't know, I got a lot of stuff, but I thought this one would be fun!" Irina held up a DVD case into the air.

"Hmmm… What's this?" Vin eyed the cover, before flipping it over to the back, "A romance comedy?"

"Yep! I thought that a gaijin like you would like this kind of stuff," Irina teased, placing the movie into the DvD player, and plopping down at the foot of the couch, next to Ezekiel, who reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the last bowl Irina held.

Vin shook his head, "I feel like I'm being attacked."

"Shush, the movie's starting," Xenovia sat down on the couch next to Vin, "Pass me the popcorn."

"Sure, sure," Vin obliged, passing over the bowl of popcorn to Xenovia, who now wore a fuzzy pair of green pajamas that frankly, looked adorable on her.

As the film began to play, Vin sat back, surrounded by his friends. At that moment, even if Vin wouldn't have chosen this life for himself, he would be lying to himself if he didn't say that it was the little moments like this that made everything a little more worthwhile.


I'm alive I tell you, ALIVE!

How have you all been? I've been absolutely drowning in schoolwork, so that's just so much fun! I actually may have shot myself in the foot by basically sacrificing a day where I could work on school to write instead. It kind of pisses me off a little that all of my best ideas come when I absolutely cannot write.

Moving past that, I'm so happy to announce that as of this chapter, we've reached a trifecta of milestones, holy shit! We managed to hit over 7,500 views, 150 follows, and 100 favorites! You all are SO INCREDIBLE! This chapter took my blood, sweat, and goddamn sanity, so I really hope you all enjoy it! I feel like it came out pretty well.

I also wanted to announce that we're nearing the end of this story arc! We're going to be skipping forward a lot more in these next few chapters. I have the plan laid out for how these last few chapters are going to happen, so prepare yourselves. I've had the idea for the final climax in the back of my mind since I started writing this story! We have four chapters left to go 'till this arc is over, get ready for a wild ride!

Now, onto the chapter notes!

Chapter Notes:

[Vin VS Xenovia Fistfight:]

I really just wanted to include this part in this arc, it's a simple little scene that shows some improvement on Vin's side, a result of his training. Also, it helps show off that Vin and Xenovia like to bond over competition like this, and additionally, it'll help show that Vin's striving for improvement in order to match his comrade's power, Vin's slowly becoming a battle maniac…

… Oh fuck, I'm writing Vali, aren't I?

[The Stray Devil's Design:]

It's design is inspired by a few things, mainly a great ape, the sasquatch, and also, as shown by how it bulks up and courses with power, the Rajang from the Monster Hunter series is a main inspiration behind this design.

Originally, I was considering a stray design that was a quadruped, mainly inspired by Wildmutt from Ben 10, but I realized that the idea would be too much of a carry-over from the initial stray that nearly killed Vin in chapter five, so the gorilla design stuck.

[If it worked against Ezekiel, I hope it works now:]

The technique that Vin uses to send a massive crystal spike through the stray's hand is a direct callback to the technique used by Vin against Ezekiel all the way back at the beginning of the arc, just this time, you know… intentional.

[Vin's First Kill:]

This fight marks Vin's first canonical kill. Overall, this battle was a lot easier than the last stray devil fight, but while that fight's main focus was a struggle of physical strength, this fight was a struggle of ethics/emotions.

The choice to kill the stray is played as almost a lapse in judgement by Vin, riding the high of battle, and stepping over his own line of morals. Remember that, it'll be on the test.

Otherwise, this fight, and ensuing kill was also meant to show how Vin's improving as a fighter, he's beginning to showcase some strategy, his Sacred Gear is getting a little stronger (but just a little), and he's starting to get out of conflicts without too many injuries.

[The Argument:]

The argument is something that's been a little while coming. It was the culmination of the tension and reservations held by Vin over his kind-of-abduction into the church exorcists, and Xenovia's internalized hang ups about her life in the church.

This is part of me retroactively trying to make Xenovia's little character re-write pre-and-post devil. I'm trying to write it so that Xenovia's always held some reservations with the way her life's been, but it's buried under several layers of servitude, gratitude, and dedication. Some people may not like that so much, but this is simply my interpretation of her character in a way that I think takes the elements present in her canon characterization, and expands on it to make a more 'convincing' shift in character as the story goes on.

The two may make up at the end a little abruptly, but that was mainly because both of them come to essentially the same conclusion, that they're upset about their situations, and have just taken it out on each other. It's less a long fight, and more a heated forgive and forget moment in their relationship.

I personally really like writing character dynamics and scenes like that, so this fight was actually a treat to write for me!

REVIEW ROUNDUP!

soSentinel Says:

"Hey me again, I know wrote something about vin getting the light element at some point I was wondering what weapon you are gonna give him to go with it, cause I think it would be rlly cool if you give him King Arthur's spear Rhongomyniad and if you don't know what it is look up fate stay night version of it it's rlly cool"

So, in terms of the hinted-at light weapon, it's still a ways off, and no, it's not the light-blade that Vin uses in this chapter.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but as both a writer and reader, I'm not the biggest fan of crossovers. If I ever consider doing anything close to a crossover, it's always inspired by elements of something from another franchise, not a direct carry-over. I just feel it stifles any form of creativity from a story when everything is coming from something else. That being said, if you do enjoy crossovers, more power to you, it's just a silly personal opinion on my part.

It is a cool looking spear, though, I'll give you that.

Thanks for leaving another review, soSentinels! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, and I hope to potentially hear from you again!

horaizu Says:

"maybe you should speed up the timeskip, because honestly it's getting boring to read."

I'm sorry you feel that way! I really like writing character work, so I'll admit that sometimes my pacing can be compromised because of that. Regardless, I guess that you sort of got your wish, since we only have a few more chapters left in this story arc.

Thanks for leaving the review, I really do appreciate criticism like this, so thanks for letting me know what you think. And extra special thank you for not being toxic or mean about it, it really means a lot.

Dragonsaiyanblue says:

"Liking what I'm reading. Love the banter with vin and Vanessa over his shirt. ANC the fact is that vin and irina are bringing Xenovia out of her shell. Wonder how this going to change the canon when they meet Rias peerage. I can see Issei beginning jealous at vin for being with Irina when she can say she see vin more as a brother and that she have a crush on issei. It going to be interesting with kiba. But I'm sure vin would think of something. The fight with the robber was neat and Xenovia and vin team up to stop them. Also fact about lint is she Freed little sister and I wonder when freed show up before exiled. I can see him being a bully type guy before going psycho and pushing lint around. I hope vin be more of a monster hunter type guy. His personality doesn't really fit with him being an exorcist type of guy. Like he with the church but he more like a neutral member. Like he won't be biased to devil fallen and youkai of their just normal but if their evil and attacking for the hell of it then he can kickass. And I want to see the dark side of the church with the stray exorcists and that some members are that good like Griselda and Dulio are."

Hey, glad to see you're back too!

I'm glad that you're loving everything so far, I really do enjoy writing banter in this story, since it lends itself great to the traditionally dry, sarcasm/banter-based comedy that lends itself best to the tone of this story without compromising on having comedic moments, while not completely taking people out of the tone set by the story.

When we get to the group meeting the Gremory Peerage, oh boy is it going to be interesting. Vin being there alone is going to have to constitute a change in the character dynamics of those scenes.

Lint and Freed aren't necessarily going to meet, Freed wants nothing to do with Lint, and while Lint does consider Freed a brother, she's made peace with the fact that he's gone from her life, and is never going to come back. It would be a bit too much to shoe-horn a Lint-Freed confrontation into the story. Although she most certainly will be mentioned when Freed comes up later down the road.

I think this chapter shows that Vin… well, he may not be entirely suited to monster hunting, the guy cries over shooting a gorilla twelve times. But yeah, he'll definitely grow more and more as a person who specializes in using his words to deal with combat scenarios just as much as his skills as a fighter. In that way, he sort of resembles Azazel.

The dark side of the church was shown a little here with the argument, but ending this chapter, and going into the next, we'll definitely see more of the church's… flimsy decision making skills.

I hope you enjoy this chapter too! Your reviews always give me a lot to discuss, which is great. I hope to see you again soon, and thanks for leaving a review!

zKORN Says: (This one's about chapter 6, by the way)

"I'm back! How is everything going for you, author? I hope it's ok.

I loved today's episode and the development that has been seen, not in many fic are situations unrelated to the protagonist. Is it understood?

I mean that sometimes in a random Fic there, the protagonist is KO or something prevents him from returning and he does not develop as his absence or what has happened to the protagonist influences the development of the facts and how Characters outside the MC are affected, an example of this is the conversation between Griselda and the Doctor when Vin is unconscious but stable.

In other fics it is as if you leave MC K.O and ... that's it, there is no reaction, there is nothing.

I liked how you have captured the emotions in this chapter, and reading what you responded to my previous review I was very happy with the fact that Vin is not going to be a one-trick Pony, THANK YOU GOD AND THANK YOU AUTHOR.

I'm dying for the next chapter, and at the moment I am satisfied with this review since I have nothing to ask. (Sorry if it is too long or there are writing errors, my native language is Spanish and I am practicing my English

You have a reader from Venezuela over here who greets you. Thank you very much for the chapter!)"

Got your message loud and clear buddy! And I'm doing well, a little stressed and busy, but hey, who the hell isn't, right?

Like you said, I really do like when the main character of a fic is not the 'center of the universe', and that even when things happen even when they're knocked out, in a coma, etc. Chapter Six was a chapter that was supposed to be like a 'reaction' to the events of chapter five, if that makes any sense. We get to see Xenovia grappling with her feelings of failure and responsibility, etc. In that chapter, at least for the part where Xenovia is watching Vin's operation, Vin is sort of a piece of physical symbolism, and less so a character, if you get what I mean.

I'm glad you're happy that Vin isn't going to be a one-trick-pony, I love writing interesting things for characters to do, and I love making characters struggle a lot for any form of victory or growth, so seeing people like you be so supportive and into that makes me really happy.

I'm glad you're super satisfied with what's on offer for this fic, and now you have a whole new chapter to enjoy! Also, shout-out to all the homies in Venezuela, you all rock! Thanks for leaving the review, especially since I imagine it takes a lot of work to put together since English isn't your first language. I sure know that I couldn't do that myself, so mad props to you! I hope to see you here again!

Tyrant Overlord Killidia Says:

"These goonish idiots here were neat. They're not a real threat to our group of heroes (though they are a threat to normal people) and would get slaughtered by all of the heavy hitters in the DxD universe. They're effectively bit part bad guys because of it and it's kinda welcome to see something like this in a setting where most fights will have supernatural abilities being used by both sides."

Yeah, the Goon Squad possibly rank as the weakest DxD villains ever to be put into a fanfiction. Possibly. I don't know.

Either way, they were oddly refreshing to write. In a world of villains who want to do crazy shit like start wars, revive god-like beings, and force marriages, it's novel to see a group of idiots just trying to make some good ol' fashioned dirty money. They're kinda like the Team Rocket (Game Version) of the DxD world. They're here to do crime, steal shit, and make money.

Ah, rest in peace, Goon Squad. We hardly knew you before you all were destroyed by a boy wearing an excessive amount of rings, and a girl with a buster sword…

Glad you enjoyed the little fight there, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter! It was great to see you here again, and I hope that I get to read more reviews from you in the future!


Well, that marks all of the reviews! Again, thank you so much for pushing us past these recent milestones, you all are the absolute best. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if you did, a follow or a favorite is greatly appreciated!

If you have a question, comment, or criticism you want me to answer in the next chapter, make sure to drop a review. I go through and at least make sure to read each and every one I get.

That's all for now, I'll see you guys in the next chapter as we creep closer and closer to the finale of this story arc! Rock on guys!