"Bonne Lecture, Everyone! Welcome back to the story!" Said Tassel in a cherry voice from his house
"Last time was sure exciting, wasn't it? We sure got to see a bunch of new faces, isn't that right my friends?" Tassel asked his companions
"That's right, master." Aryeh said cheerfully as he grabbed a book to read.
"Around the ages, swordsmen were recognized for their bravery and fighting spirit, it's so lovely to see them rise once more." Scheherazade said as she closed up a book she had in her hands.
"That's right my dear student, and we got two see two remarkable figures." Tassel said as he opened a book that showed the battle of saber and the Megid. "Fisrt we got to see the flame swordswoman Saber in action, battling against the forces of the Megid."
Tassel said as he closed the book and then opened it once more but on a different page, this time showing the brief conformations of Blades and Calibur. "Then we saw the water swordsman Blades fighting against the treacherous swordsman of darkness Calibur." Tassel finished as he then closed the book and grabbed a cup of tea. "But those are stories of yesterday, let's see what happens now."
"Yeah, yeah, just get over it." Great red said as he threw away the book he was reading.
"Hey don't throw away books, they're valuable!" Scheherazade said as she grabbed the book off the floor.
"Oh yeah, make me!" Great red threatened as both of them looked at each other with fire in their eyes.
"Can't you two get along?" Aryeh commented exasperatedly.
"Well, onto our story." Tassel ignoring the two of them.
…
"Huh?!"
Homura was shocked as she found a woman with orange hair waiting at her door with a sword of some kind in her hand. It also appeared to have a symbol similar to her new sword.
"Are you Homura Hyoudou?" Repeated the girl once again.
"Depends, who's asking?" Said Homura ready to defend herself if the questioner wasn't friendly.
"Relax, I'm not your enemy." The girl said before she entered the Hyoudou residence and extended her hand to Homura. "My name is Liseth Astraea, and I'm a member of the Sword of Logos."
"The Sword of Logos?" Homura asked confusedly, because she never heard of said group, not even as a whisper or a rumor.
"The Sword of Logos is a secret organization of Swordsmen dedicated to defending the world." She then pulled out a book similar to Homura's, however this one was completely white with a blue cover which had the image of a panthera in it with the title reading Flash Panthera. "We use Wonder Ride Books, like yours."
"Wait, you use books and swords like Homura?!" Sakura said as she got up "What exactly is going on?!"
Looking at Sakura, Liseth then snapped her fingers "That's right, I need to wipe the memories of your two friends."
"WHAT?!" All three of the Kendo girls yelled out in alarm.
"I'm sorry, but this is necessary." Liseth said as she pulled out her sword "This will only take a minute."
"Now hold on just a second!" Homura shouted as she got in front of Liseth. "I don't know what the hell's going on, but you are not doing shit to my friends!"
Liseth then began to frown "I'm afraid you have no say in the matter. The Sword of Logos is secret and must stay a secret."
As Homura began to growl, she didn't notice Brave Dragon beginning to glow along with Rekka itself, as if responding to her emotions.
"Well too bad! If I say they're in this with me, then they're in it with me! I don't care who you answer to, you will not mess with my friends and that's final!"
At this, the glow from the sword began to brighten the room, and Homura and Liseth watched in awe as Mikan and Sakura were engulfed in bright crimson light. Once the light died down, the two kendo girls began looking at their bodies to see if anything had changed.
However the two girls noticed something shining in their pockets. When they reached for the glow, their surprise grew when, in both of their hands, each of them found two identical Wonder Ride Books. These books were similar to the one Liseth showed them, but instead of a blue cover these were red like Brave Dragon, but they showed the image of a small winged dragon breathing not fire but an explosion, with a title reading Burst Wyvern.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Mikan asked, confusion and alarm filling her every being.
"Why did those tiny books appear just now?" Sakura, however, was much calmer, but not less surprised.
"What is going on?" Homura whispered to herself when she saw the face of Liseth had changed to one of astonishment.
"This cannot be… You all have to come with me now!" Liseth said anxiously, before grabbing a Wonder Ride Book with a brown cover and the image of a door opening revealing a moving room with the title in bold reading "Book Gate." When she opened the book a nearby door in the Hyoudou household started to shine. Liseth got close to the door opening it and found that the closet connecting to the door had disappeared and it was replaced by a purple portal. "Please pass through this portal." Liseth said, offering the way.
"Hey there, where are you taking us?!" Homura asked, wary of what might be at the other side of the portal.
"To the Sword of Logos base, you're gonna meet our leader." Liseth answered.
"Your leader?" Homura asked.
"Yes, now please come. Your friends can come too." Liseth said, with the last part pointing at Sakura and Mikan.
"Us, Really?!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Is it because of the books?" Mikan asked.
"Yes, now will you please come with me?" Liseth insisted one last time.
"Ok, but any fishy movements against me or my friends and you'll regret it." Homura threatened.
"I can assure you that my leader is fully benevolent." Liseth responded before passing through the portal.
"So what do you girls think?" Homura asked
Mikan and Sakura looked at each other before nodding and looking confidently at Homura. "We're coming and you?"
"Me too then." Homura responded before the three of them passed through the portal before it closed behind them.
…
The ride through the portal lasted only a few seconds with Liseth gracefully stepping on solid ground, except for the three girls who fell to the ground. To their surprise, the kendo girls found themselves in a large room with various bookshelves which Homura found fascinating, in the center it appeared there was some sort of control panel with various buttons, looking at their front they saw some sort of balcony connecting to some room and above it was a circular symbol of an open book with to swords crossing a long with some strange text. However around that symbol there were a bunch of other circular symbols surrounding it, 11 to be exact, they were red, bule, yellow, gray, green, fuchsia, purple, white, orange, sky-blue and black in a counter-clockwise order. To their surprise the red symbol atop had the same design as the one on Homura's sword.
"Welcome to the Sword of Logos base!" Liseth proclaimed proudly.
"This place is amazing! Look at all these books!" Homura exclaimed, fascinated by the sight of various bookshelves filled with books of vast knowledge.
"I knew you would love this place, Homura-chan." Mika said with a giggle.
"Yeah, you were always such a bookworm." Sakura added.
"How can I not be amazed, but why are there so many books? Homura asked with stars in her eyes.
"Because this is the history of all civilization and beyond." A female voice said, causing the girls to look at the balcony where they saw a figure approaching. It was a woman wearing white priestess garments, along with pearls in her hair. The girls were astonished by the presence of the woman.
"I am Sophia, the Vice-Leader of the Sword of Logos." The woman, now named Sophia, introduced herself and curtsied "Where you stand is the Edifice of the Three Kings, the base of the Sword of Logos, situated in orbit above Earth."
"Wait?! We're in space?!" Homura asked before she looked through one of the windows and realized she was right, before her she could see earth, the moon and the vast infinity of space, but she could also see that around the building there was some vast terrain along with some smaller buildings and a tall tower farthest from them all. "This is sick, I wish I could see my home from here, and look at that scientists were right, you can't clearly see the great wall of China from space."
"Ehem!" The sound of Sophia clearing her throat was her indicating to Homura to come back to her senses with her two friends giggling.
"Yes my dear, but let's start with the important matters and questions you all might have." Sophia said.
"Yeah, like what is this Sword of Logos thing?" Mikan asked.
"Is it something like an RPG adventurer's guild?" Sakura asked, earning some questionable looks from her friends. "What? I sometimes play with my brother's games."
"No my friends the Sword of Logos is a secret organization composed of selected swordsmans, seikens and Wonder Ride Books, we have one primordial task: to protect the tome of omniscience, as it is the book that created this world and it's also a source of infinite power.
"Really like are you saying that book created this world?!" Mikan said, finding it hard to believe.
"Yes, that's because the tome of omniscience has the record of all human knowledge and the universe from that matter, you can think of it as the book of everything." Sofia said, finishing the explanation.
While Homura was grasping parts of the concept, her friends were extremely confused.
"OK, I have no idea what is going on, but does this have to relate to how Homura can wield a sword and turn into some kind of armored superhero?" Mikan said, trying to understand all the information in her brain.
"And what's with these books that appeared out of nowhere." Sakura said, referring to the newly discovered Burst Wyvern Wonder Ride Book.
"Yes." Sophia nodded. "The Seiken has deemed him worthy of becoming a Kamen Rider."
Homura then looked at the Seiken Swordriver she had brought along with her.
"A Kamen Rider?" Homura mused out loud.
"Yes. Swordsmen chosen by the Sacred Swords go by that name." Sophia said before she looked at Liseth. "Though not all of us in the Sword of Logos are Kamen Riders."
"What exactly do you mean?" Homura said as she followed Sophia's gaze to Liseth.
"I'm what is known as a Page, a Pseudo-Rider." Liseth then presented to Homura her sword "My sword and book, unlike the regular Seiken and Wonder Ride Books, are mass produced."
"...How do you mass produce a book?" Sakura asked as she scratched her head.
"It's actually quite simple." Liseth then pointed to a mural on the ground, which showed the image of a red dragon, a blue lion, and a woman garbed in yellow "The Edifice of the Three Kings gets its name from the Three Kings of Wonder World. Using the power they left behind for us in the form of three different Wonder Ride Books, we use that power to create books similar to the ones they created. Although ours are weaker in comparison."
"The Three Kings?" Mikan asked, confused as all three of her friends.
"Oh, right, let me explain, it all begins with a simple legend…"
And so, Liseth began to tell them of the Legend of the Three Kings, and how the power the Three Kings left behind had created three Wonder Ride Books, and the Kaenken Rekka. Needless to say, the girls were enraptured by the whole legend.
"So…" Homura said, and looked down at Rekka and Brave Dragon, "This book and sword come from some ultra powerful dragon god?"
"In short, yes." Liseth replied as she nodded her head.
"And our books are similar to yours?" Mikan asked as she and Sakura looked at the Burst Wyvern book.
"Yes. Your books are specifically made from Saber's power, meaning you are now a part of the Crimson Division of Pages." Sophia then smiled "It would be wonderful to have new allies in our fight against the Megid."
"Crimson Division?" Homura tilted her head in confusion
"Yes. Pages are divided into three categories, based on the book they use." Sophia looked at Homura and her friends "The Crimson Division uses Burst Wyvern, and they're based around Saber, the Azure Division uses Flash Panthera and the Golden Division uses Valiant Sinbad. Both of them are based around their respective riders"
"Respective Riders, are there more people in this group?" Homura asked curiously.
"Yes, but you will meet them in due time." Sofia said before the panel in the middle of the room started to shine. "Oh, and it looks like one of them came back."
With that announcement the girls looked back and saw a good looking young man with mid-length brown hair and hazel eyes wearing the same uniform as that girl liseth but in a male variant, at his side there was a sword similar to Homura's but the guard was blue and it looked more like a water current. Mikan and Sakura fawned over his looks but Homura just thought he was ok, after all he wasn't Kiba.
"Greeting lady Sophia." The boy said respectfully.
"Greetings Yukio." Sofia greeted the boy before she looked back at the girls. "Girls, this is Yukio Tategami, a member of the Sword of Logos and swordsman of water." Sofia said, introducing the boy.
"Greetings everyone, my name as Sophia told me is Yukio Tategami, you can call me Yukio san, so let's get along." Yukio said before bowing respectfully.
"Such a gentleman." Sakura said, enchanted by his manners.
"He's like a true knight." Mikan said with a gleeful smile.
Homura just decided to take things easy and stretched out her hand "Hi, I'm Homura Hyoudou the new swordswoman of flames."
"Oh, you're the new Saber!" Yukio said excitedly while it left Homura confused by the term.
"Saber? Why did you call me that?" Homura asked, confused by that name. While her friend Mikan was also confused, Sakura started to think if it was because in her armor she looked like a anime character she knew of.
"Kamen Rider Saber, that's your title. Mine is Kamen Rider Blades." Yukio explained.
"Yukio, Liseth. Why don't you give our guests a tour through the facilities." Sofia suggested.
"With pleasure lady sophia." Yukio said before he and Liseth headed through the door. "Come along, we'll show you everything." Yukio said before the other girls followed him.
…
Animos looked at the rows of Alter Books, contemplating on which one to choose.
"Could you hurry it up and decide already?!" Myus shouted as he tapped his foot impatiently.
"Shush." Fabel scolded her companion as she began reading a book.
"What are you doing anyway, Fabel?" Calibur asked the female Megid.
"Reading Paradise Lost. It's my favorite." Fabel then held the book close to her chest "To think, a man such as the Devil himself, choosing to rise against what he perceives to be tyranny, only to become such a tyrant in the end," She sighed "But such a downfall makes it all the more beautiful."
"Perfect!" Animos said as he picked a book off of the shelf and began to walk over to Calibur "Hey Calibur! Mind giving me some of those books you took from your old buddies?"
"Very well." Calibur then reached into a stack of books on a table and presented one to Animos "Just make sure it's put to good use."
"Oh don't worry…" Animos grin then became completely feral. "I'm gonna make sure it's put to proper use."
…
They walked along Yukio seeing various buildings along the way, the girls sans Liseth were simply amazed by the fact everything here was hidden in space.
"At your left is the headquarters for the Crimson, Azure & Golden division respectively." Yukio said as he pointed towards the three lodges, each of them with roofs being of the color associated with their titles. The girls looked closer and saw a bunch of people with swords having practice rounds with one another, and also using other weapons other than said swords "To your right is the mess hall and the dormitories." Yukio then pointed towards his right and made the girls see at the ample building where there was a cafeteria and various wooden tables, right next to it there were what appeared to be two big buildings like a hotel of some sorts, one of them had the sign for women and the other for men. "If you want my opinion, the cafeteria is really good and has amazing desserts." Yukio added with a gleeful smile, especially the last part.
"Careful Yukio, remember knights must be in top shape." Liseth teased.
However the other building next to it was a small brick house with the doors shut by a large wooden bar, which made the girls wonder what was in there.
"Emm, Yukio. What's in there?" Homura asked which made yukio look at her then at said building.
"Oh, that's the workshop, our mechanic works there." Yukio explained
"Why is it closed?" Mikan asked this time.
"Well, let's just say that our mechanic is a little shy." Yukioo said with an uncertain smile.
"Saying that Daishinji san is a little shy is an understatement." Liseth said flatly.
Yukio could only laugh softly, while the other girls wondered what kind of person was the mechanic. Though their thoughts were interrupted when they saw a huge building in the back of the dormitories it was made completely out of black iron and it's huge doors were covered in chains.
"Hey Yukio, what's that huge building over there, the one chained?" Sakura asked which made Yukio look at said building and gained a serious look on his face.
"That is the Liberation room. It's an intense training room where only the most qualified are allowed to use in extreme situations." Yukio said, making Homura think about what could exactly be behind that door to make a training so dire.
"And finally the Tower of Logos, this is where our almighty leader Master Logos resides, along with the four sages and his two personal swordsmen. Yukio said with pride while the girls looked at the tower which had the appearance of a tree.
"So this Logos guy is the leader of this whole thing?" Homura asked, which earned some annoyed looks from Yukio and Liseth.
"Yes and please don't call him a guy, call him Master Logos or Master." Yukio said sternly.
"Sorry, but if he is the leader why don't we pay him a visit?" Homura asked innocently, however everyone from the Sword of Logos stopped what they were doing and looked at Homura with a surprised expression.
"What?" Homura asked, uncomfortable by all of the looks.
"Homura, you can't just simply go there to meet him, he has to summon you, or if it's a serious matter then you have to request seeing him." Yukio said with a serious expression that was digging in Homura's soul.
"He sounds like a big deal." Homura said with a thoughtful expression.
"He is. In Fact, he is the one who created the Sword of Logos with the very mission to protect this world." Yukio said with pride.
"Woah he's the one who created it, he must be really old." Mikan said in awe.
"Well, while his lifespan is longer than most humans, Master Logos is merely a title. There have been many who have held the title over the past 2000 years. Our latest one, Isaac, is one such individual, belonging to the prestigious Kanda family, who trace their lineage back to the very first Master Logos, and he has held this position for…" Liseth then started adding the numbers in her head "298 years."
"Wait, he's 298 years old?!" Homura gaped
"Like I said, he's older than most humans." Then they walked up to a statue of a man on a podium with shoulder length wavy hair in a robe holding an open book in his hand and a sword in the other while pointing forward. "And here's a statue of the first Master Logos in all of his glory." Liseth said with pride.
"He looks glorious." Sakura said until she noticed some scriptures in the podium where the statue was standing. "Hey, Liseth. What does it say on the statue right there?" Sakura asked pointing at the podium
"It's a promise the first master left for us." Liseth then walked over to the inscription on the podium and put her fingers on it. "When all the elements and the powers of human will and feelings unite, a power to change the world will be born."
"What does that even mean?" Homura asked as she scratched her head.
"Well, it is theorized by many that the 'elements' the prophecy speaks of refer to the Seiken, and the 'powers of human will and feelings' refer to the Wonder Ride Books." Liseth then looked around to make sure nobody was listening. "But there is a second part of the prophecy, and it's very important." She whispered.
"What second part?" Homura was now curious.
"Well…I really shouldn't be saying it to outsiders, but here it goes." Liseth then began to speak, her voice taking on a tone of seriousness "The Red who fights the White, the Golden King of the Pride, and the Black Lamp of Wishes. The red shall be picked by an infernal power, the gold the divine, and the black be born of fallen divinity. These three will aid those chosen by the Three Kings, and from there, the almighty power shall do battle with those who have received the power of the Apocalyptic Beast.
"So, what does it mean? And why is it a secret?" Sakura asked
"I honestly have no idea, either, why the higher ups are the only ones allowed to know of it."
"Really? Although how do you know about it if it's such a big secret?" Homura asked.
"That's because Liseth has a little problem with eavesdropping." Yukio said, making Liseth get a small blush followed by an uneasy smile.
"Ok then, Liseth can you tell us what it means to you?" Homura asked the Page.
Liseth then started to scratch her chin "Though 'The Red who fights the White' and 'The Golden King of the Pride'...I think I know what they're talking about.
"What is it?" Homura asked, the suspense killing her.
"OK, but for starters, we should get something to eat. I'm rather famished and this can take a while." Liseth said, making Homura fall.
The kendo girls only nodded and followed Liseth to the Mess Hall. As they entered, they could see that everyone around them was gazing at the Kendo girls, confusion evident on their features.
"What's going on?" Sakura asked, feeling uneasy by everyone's looks.
"Well, you guys are new, outsider to most of them. Since you're not in uniform they don't think you're part of the Sword of Logos." Liseth explained. Everyone then proceeded to get in line.
"Oh man, It sure smells good!" Mikan exclaimed.
"Oh, you and your love of food." Sakura snickered, "Better watch out, or you'll get fat."
"Oh, don't worry, with enough training you'll never lose your shape." Said a husky voice which got the girl's attention. And saw a muscular and tall man with short black hair wearing the same uniform as the rest of the Sword of Logos members.
"Damian, you're back. How are you feeling?" Liseth asked, happily to see some she apparently knows.
"Oh, much better after the recovery treatment, even so those shinmi can't do anything against these iron muscles!" Damian said, as he proceeded to flex his muscles. "So, who are these guys, newbies?" Damian said, referring to the kendo girls.
"Actually…" Liseth looked around to make sure nobody was looking, and leaned in to whisper to Damian "That girl is Homura Hyoudou. She's the new Swordswoman of Flame. Kamen Rider Saber!" Liseth said, the last part got the attention of everyone in the hall as they're eyes widened and started murmuring between each other.
Damian's eyes also widened by the revelation. "You don't say…" He then turned towards Mikan and Sakura. "And them?"
"They're new members of the Crimson Division. Brave Dragon made Burst Wyvern books for them, like how our books were made."
Damian's eyes then narrowed "Then we should give them a proper initiation."
"Oh, Homura already passed hers." Liseth remarked
Damian's eyes then widened. "Wait…you mean she defeated a Megid all on her own?!"
"Well, I am a Kendo champion, after all." Homura said as she smirked in pride.
"Well, we should call the others then." Damian then looked around "Where's Raiden at?"
"Oh, he's training in Liberation, but he should be out soon." Yukio replied.
"Raiden?" Homura asked.
"Raiden is another member of the Sword of Logos and a very powerful one. He's actually the Swordsman of Lightning, Espada."
"So he's like me, a Kamen Rider?" Homura asked.
"Yes, he is known as Kamen Rider Espada." Liseth answered as she got her dinner and sat down along with the others at a table in the corner.
"OK, so, what can you tell us about the legend?" Homura said as she began to eat the meal in front of her.
"Well…"
"Hey, Bison-Princess! How's it hanging?"
At this, Liseth growled as she turned to see two other teenagers approaching. One was a female, with long blonde hair and gray eyes. She was wearing a similar uniform to the girl, but left it open so one could see that she was wearing a bra and shorts. The other one was a male, blonde like his female companion, but his hair was shorter and spikier, and his was open to reveal an ACDC T-Shirt.
"You know I hate that nickname, Ukyo." Liseth reprimanded her fellow swordsman.
"Oh relax! So what if I want to mess with my friend a little?" He then turned towards Homura and her friends, and soon gained a lecherous look on his face "So, you're the new Saber, right? Gotta say, I like what I see."
This caused Homura and her friends to shudder slightly and cover their breasts.
"Oh great, another pervert, like my brother."
Ukyo then laughed "Don't worry! I don't bite! Besides, I know the rule, "look, but don't touch." He then extended his hand "Ukyo Sagawa, member of the Golden Division of Swordsmen, and this is Mio Sonada, another Golden Division member."
"Charmed." Mio said as she bowed, giving everyone a deep view of her cleavage, causing her to gain a lot of male attention, with several of them blushing.
"Wow, another Kiryu, and this one is a Gyaru." Homura said, her tone completely deadpan.
"Who's Kiryu?" Liseth inquired of Homura.
"A fellow classmate of mine and a huge pervert. She can calculate the size of a man's ehem, 'tool' just by looking at them. She's otherwise a pretty nice girl…if only she could kinda stop being a creep sometimes." Homura replied.
At this, Mio's eyes widened, and she proceeded to grab Homura's shoulders "What does she look like and how can I meet her?"
"Eh? Why?"
"Calculating the size of a man's dick just by looking at them? That's awesome! I wanna meet her so I can learn how to do that!"
Liseth could only sigh "As you can see, Mio is…rather perverted herself. Same with Ukyo."
"Hey, you gotta be proud of what you are, and I say I'm damn proud of admiring the female form!" He then turned towards Homura "By the way, you said you had a brother? What's he like? I would like to meet a fellow admirer of women."
Homura was about to answer, but she was interrupted by Mikan "He's a total creep."
"Totally." Added Sakura.
Homura could only glare at her friends "He asked me." She then turned back towards Ukyo "Yes, well, my brother does have porno mags hidden under his bed, and he does peek on girls sometimes, and he does proclaim that he wants a harem from time to time, but overall, he's actually a decent person once you get to know him."
"Hold on, hold on." Ukyo said as he shook his head "He peeks on girls, then he boasts about wanting a harem?"
"Yes?" Homura tilted her head in confusion "I just said that."
"Then he's got a long way to go." Ukyo said as he shook his head "Peeking on girls is easy but fleeting, but actually getting them in bed with you is hard, but rewarding."
Sakura and Mikan glared at Ukyo, the boy noticing their looks. "What I mean is, what do you want? Because seeing the smiles of those you love, and they in turn seeing your smile…that's worth it. Who cares if he wants a harem? I say go for it. If he can make those girls find happiness with him, and he finds happiness with them, then I'm all for it."
Sakura and Mikan's glares softened as they stared at Ukyo, seeing him in a rather new light.
"I…never really thought of it that way." Mikan said
"Me neither," Sakura added.
Ukyo nodded "What I care about most is other people's smiles, and I will do anything to help someone bring smiles to others around them."
Mio smiled "Yep. That's why Ukyo wants to start his own rock band."
Homura raised a brow, "You can sing?"
"Sing and play guitar." Ukyo smiled, "It's how I bring smiles to those around me. That, and charming the pants off of the ladies."
"Ukyo's a big music fan. That's why he admires Daishinji san." Liseth added.
"Hmm? Is he a musician?" Homura inquired.
"No. He's the Swordsman of Sound, Slash." Ukyo then gained a look of admiration on his face "All I can say is, the guy is an absolute beast with the sword, especially once he goes all 'rocker mode.'"
"Rocker mode?" Homura blinked.
"It's a special 'state' in which Daishinji san lets all of his inhibitions go, and he becomes like a rockstar with a full personality and style," Ukyo then shook his head "It's a bummer that most of the time he's rather shy."
"OK…" Homura then turned her head towards Liseth "About what you were saying?"
"Oh, right!" Liseth's face then took on an air of seriousness "How familiar are you with the Abrahmic religions?"
"You mean Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? A few bits and pieces, mostly from theology books." Homura shrugged.
"Yeah, well all that crap in their texts? Completely and utterly real." Ukyo replied.
Homura was about to interject, but then paused. Given the current circumstances of what had happened today, stories about Gods, Angels and Demons being real didn't seem that much of a stretch. "OK, so you're probably right, what does this have to do with the prophecy?"
"I was getting to that. You see, the Abrahmic God, or Jehovah or YHWH, whatever he's called, he created relics known as Sacred Gears. These relics bestow upon humanity exceptional gifts, and a lot of people throughout history have wielded them. Among these relics are the Longinus, 13 special Sacred Gears capable of killing Gods." Liseth said.
"You know this is a lot to take in," Homura remarked as she took a sip of her drink.
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon. Now, I think what the prophecy refers to is two of the Longinus, Boosted Gear and Regulus Nemea. Boosted Gear is a gauntlet containing the spirit of the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig, and its wielder is meant to fight against the one wielding Divine Dividing, which contains the spirit of the White Dragon Emperor Albion. Regulus Nemea is a Golden Battle Axe that contains the spirit of the Nemean Lion, Regulus."
"'The Red who fights The White', and 'The Golden King of the Pride'," Homura's eyes widened "Are you sure that's what the prophecy is talking about?"
"Exactly, and we know who Regulus Nemea belongs to." Yukio added.
"Who?" Inquired Mikan.
"His name is Daniil Ivanov." Yukio continued, "He's an agent of the Russian Orthodox Church, and is an exceptionally powerful exorcist."
"Exorcist?" Sakura asked.
"They're warriors of the Church, meant to fight off Devils, Vampires, and other beings of darkness. Think of them like Pages and Riders, only they belong to the Church itself." Mio said.
"And I take it Devils are what we know as Demons?" Homura remarked.
"Exactly" Liseth nodded "Devils are ruled by an aristocracy, led by the Four Great Satans. The Satans are Lucifer, Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub. Beneath them are the 72 Pillar Families, each one of them descended from a Devil described in the Ars Goetia. There are plenty of other Devils known as Extra Devils, who don't belong to a Pillar family, but are still important."
"What about Angels?" Homura asked.
"They are led by the Abrahmic God, and below him are the Four Archangels, with a capital A. You know them as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. The rest of the angels are divided into three spheres, each one containing three classes. The first sphere contains angels, archangels with a lowercase a, and principalities. The second sphere contains powers, virtues, and dominations, and the first sphere contains thrones, cherubim, and seraphim. Most of the major angels are in the seraphim class." Liseth then took a drink from her glass.
"And once they fall, they become Devils, correct?" Homura inquired.
"Actually, no." This caused Homura to blink. "What I mean is, Angels who fall become Fallen Angels, totally different species from Devils, although they both inhabit the realm of Inferno, or as you call it, Hell." Liseth clarified as she took a bite of her steak. "Fallen Angels actually have been fighting with Devils over territory in Inferno for as long as anyone can remember, and the Angels come down from Paradiso, or Heaven, under orders to destroy both of them. These conflicts eventually spiraled into a grand war between the Three Factions known as the Great War."
"So, all three of them are at war?" Homura's eyes widened at this revelation.
"Not exactly." Ukyo added "All three are under a truce and ceasefire, but tensions are still pretty damn high. Officially, the Sword of Logos has a stance of neutrality. We do not get involved with the war, nor do the factions get involved in our affairs. This is primarily to ensure that the Sword of Logos doesn't cause any problems in the ceasefire."
"Wow…" Homura then looked at her food, realizing she didn't even touch her food during the entire explanation "Oh crap, it's probably cold!"
"Don't worry," Yukio said with a wave of his hand, "the magic the chefs perform enables it to stay warm no matter how much time passes."
"That's…really convenient." Homura chuckled.
…
Rias and the group. was back in the club room of the Occult Research Club, the room having chairs, couches, and a table in the center, and in the back of the room there was a magic circle carrying the sigil of the House of Gremory. Everyone was healing themselves after the fight against the swordsman Calibur. Rias couldn't stop thinking about the outcome of the match.
"So strong…. just who is he?"
…
"Don't get in my way." Was all Calibur said, before raising his sword and running towards his opponents.
"You're gonna be the one who regrets messing with my family!" Rias said firmly before firing a sphere of destruction toward Calibur. Instead of hitting him, Calibur simply slashed the sphere and destroyed it as if it was nothing
"What…" Rias gasped softly at the demonstration of power.
"Be careful Buchou, I think he's using a holy sword!" Kiba shouted to his friends, causing the group no end of alarm.
"Are you serious, Yuuto?" Rias asked, now concerned about their opponent.
"It's definitely a holy sword but this one somehow feels different." Yuuto replied before looking again with hatred at the masked swordsman.
"All right everyone like Yuuto said, be careful!" Rias shouted as she and the other members got in a fighting stance.
"Fufufu, I hope that he'll put up a good fight." Akeno giggled, surrounding her hand with lightning.
"…Remember, be careful…" Koneko merely said, sensing evil in her opponent.
Calibur turned his attention towards Rias and her peerage, pointing his sword towards them. "I'll make sure to end you here." He charged towards them as the group prepared for a fight.
Kiba was the first to go as he started slashing the rider with his strange sword. In retaliation Calibur began to lunge at Kiba. Kiba quickly sheathed his sword then did a spinning kick to force his opponent back to give him some room, then he drew his sword once again and charged towards Calibur and began to keep up with his opponents' blows, blocking successfully and even managed to give a serious slash to Calibur's side.
Kiba then jumped up and brought his sword down, only to be blocked by Calibur's weapon, causing Kiba to jump back, he then lunged again to get face-close to Calibur.
"Tell me, how did you get that holy sword?!." Kiba shouted angrily before pushing back against Calibur.
Instead of responding he leaped high with his sword aiming towards Kiba, thinking quickly Kiba got his sword up just in time to block the attack.
Calibur tried to hit him but he was too fast for him. Kiba managed to launch multiple strikes on Calibur's body. Once Kiba stopped, thinking he took him down, he was surprised to see the swordsman still standing without much damage.
'His armor is so strong. Seems I have to take this guy more seriously.' Kiba thought to himself as he summoned two of his demonic swords. Picking them up, one created a whirlwind of fire, while the other created an icy blizzard. He attacked with great speed, slashing Calibur multiple times and on the final slash Kiba turned around towards Calibur, placing his hand on the ground, causing a blue magic seal to appear underneath the Rider. Kiba had birthed half a dozen of his swords to impale Calibur. He then proceeded to launch it at him, but before it could happen Calibur thrust his sword on the ground, releasing a huge miasma of purple energy that destroyed all of the swords created by Kiba.
"What…" Kiba gasped as he saw all of his swords being destroyed by the purple swordsman.
"You can't beat me if you only focus on hatred." Calibur said, gaining an anger filled look from Kiba.
"What could you know!" Kiba yelled, his temper lost.
"More than you." Claibur then delivered a darkness coated slash at Kiba with enough force to send him back a few feet. Kiba tried to get up but he was too injured to do so.
"Now, get out of my way." Calibur said before he tried to slash Kiba once again, but before it could happen Koneko approached as she delivered a kick to the swordsman getting his attention.
"Get away, you're my opponent now." Koneko threatened in a monotone voice. Calibur simply shrugged as both engaged in combat.
Koneko dodged a strong slash from Calibur and she jumped in the air. Koneko then came down and brought down her leg to deliver an ax kick but Calibur was able to dodge her attack again. She then lunged forward and zigzagged towards Calibur hoping that he couldn't dodge this attack, she jumped into the air and when she got close she launched a spinning kick at his head.
Calibur took the hit but he didn't move at all, just a few inches if one looked closely, Calibur then charged towards her. Koneko approached, cocking a fist back. As soon as she was about to launch her attack it was stopped when Calibur brought his fist back and clashed with her's, creating a shockwave so strong that it brought the girl to the ground.
Koneko struggled to get back up after an attack like that. She saw Calibur getting near her.
"Why don't you take your claws out." Calibur said, getting a surprised look from Koneko, but before she could say something, she saw Calibur charging towards her again. She then pulled back her fist, waiting for Calibur to strike. But before it could happen darkness started to coat the swordsman's blade before he delivered a devastating slash towards her. Koneko couldn't dodge in time and received the attack head on, making her scream in pain before plummeting to the ground.
"Too…Strong" Koneko merely whispered, before she collapsed.
Calibur was about to walk away until a lightning struck near him getting his attention, he looked up and saw Akeno giggling softly, her hands covered in electricity.
"Seems like you're looking for a fight." Akeno tittered while she got in front of Calibur "Before we begin, may I please know your name." Akeno asked, giggling lightly.
"Kamen rider Calibur, swordsman of darkness." Calibur said solemnly.
"But you already told me that sweetie." Akeno said, before she raised her hand as sparks of electricity surrounded it. "Oh well, I hope you can make this battle exciting."
Calibur raised up his sword then charged towards Akeno. He tried to slash Akeno but she was able to dodge and she decided to counter by releasing a large lightning attack towards Calibur resulting in an explosion, but he used his sword to slash through the lightning bolt seemingly destroying it.
Akeno's hand started sparking. She then threw her hand forward, launching a bolt of lightning towards the swordsman. Calibur managed to dodge the attack and charged towards Akeno, aiming several slashes at her, but she managed to dodge his assault. Her smile turned into a sadistic one. She then made a gigantic magic circle above Calibur, the magic circle suddenly released a huge lightning attack towards him, Calibur couldn't dodge so he was hit by it, earning a laugh from Akeno.
"Ufufufu, I'm so sorry. But it was really fun to battle." Akeno claimed. She then let out a shiver as she added lustfully, "Now, I wanna see you cry in pain."
But to her surprise Calibur's sword managed to absorb the gigantic lightning attack as if it was a sponge absorbing water.
"Is this all you can muster, Fallen Angel?" Calibur said getting a surprised look from Akeno, but before she could retaliate, Calibur delivered a darkness coated cross slash at her bringing her down to the ground in defeat
"Akeno!" Rias shouted at seeing her last companion on the ground. She looked firmly at Calibur, anger filling her gaze but deep inside she was terrified by his power.
"You leave me no choice." Rias said before conjuring a big red ball of magic. "I'll finish you, behold the power of destruction.'' Rias voice was full of pride, but then, to her surprise, Calibur simply put his sword in his holster.
"You asked for it" Rias growled, before throwing the destruction ball at Calibur. Yet the swordsman did not budge, he simply pressed the trigger on his sword while it was in the holster.
"Darkness Method!"
The sword suddenly announced for sinister music began to play which surprised Rias, then Calibur removed the sword from the holster making the sword fill with even more darkness than before.
"After Learning Flash!"
The sword announced before Calibur slashed the magic ball, destroying it completely. It was so strong that the remaining parts of the energy wave catched up to Rias, sending her back against a wall leaving her defeated and humiliated.
"You're all lightweights in my sight." Calibur said to her.
…
Back in the club room, Rias was still thinking about what Calibur said to her, his words pressed against her mind. One thing was sure, she and her friends needed to get stronger. But she then noticed something in the room.
"Akeno, where is Yuuto?" Rias asked, noticing her friend nowhere near.
"He said, he went to get some fresh air." Koneko said, her words thinking over to what Calibur had told her
"How…how did he know?"
"It seems we underestimated this man, this Calibur…" Akeno said as she looked over at her hand, thoughts racing through her mind.
"Maybe if I had just…" Her hand then clenched into a fist "No! I will not allow myself to use that power! I don't want to be like him!"
Outside, Kiba was standing near a tree, before his face contorted in anger and he punched it. "Dammit! I'm not strong enough! I need to get stronger, I have to! It's the only way…the only way to make sure they rest in peace!"
…
After returning from the SoL base, Homura went to sleep in her room. However, she couldn't sleep, thinking about what had happened all throughout the day. This, of course, made her completely drowsy.
"Hey, Homura, are you sure you're OK?" Issei asked his sister as they walked to school, "You got bags under your eyes."
"I told you Issei, I'm fine. Let's just get to school and have a good day, OK?"
"Um…are you Issei Hyoudou?"
Turning around, Homura and Issei saw an unfamiliar girl. She was wearing a school uniform that wasn't the Kuoh uniform, and she had long raven hair and violet eyes. She was fidgeting slightly.
"Um…yeah, can I help you?" Issei asked the girl.
"Well, the thing is…I've been watching you for a while and…" The girl then took a deep breath "would you go out with me?!"
Both Issei and Homura jumped back in surprise. ""What?!""
"You see…I want you to be my boyfriend!"
Issei and Homura couldn't believe what was happening. Homura however, was the first to come to her senses, and smiled as she put her arm around her brother "Way to go casanova! I told you you would snag a girl one day!"
"Ah, right!" Issei then smiled as he looked at the girl "Before we start dating though, what's your name and phone number?"
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Yuuma Amano, and give me your phone so I can put my number in it!"
Issei lended Yuuma his phone, and she proceeded to do just what she said she would do "Great! See you Sunday!" She yelled as she walked away and waved goodbye.
Issei and Homura then looked at each other, and Issei promptly grabbed his sister by the shoulders "I've got a date! Homura, what do I do?! I've never been on a date before!"
"Calm down." Homura said as she grabbed Issei's hands "Just follow my advice, and you'll be good to go. Just remember: 'Be a gentleman.' I'll give you some more pointers later, but that's the most important rule. Don't forget it."
"Ah, right!' Issei nodded as the two continued their walk to school, their moods now significantly brighter.
…
"Good morning class. It seems that we have a bunch of new students today." The teacher said, gaining the curiosity of everyone in the classroom.
"Please, enter." When the new students entered Homura, Mikan and Sakura were flabbergasted to see who just came in.
"Hi. My name is Yukio Tategami. I hope we can get along." Yukio said, wearing the school uniform.
"Greeting everyone. My name is Liseth Astraea, and I also hope we can get along." Liseth said with a warming smile while also wearing the school uniform.
The girls were completely in love with Yukio's mannerism, they boys would be jealous at that but they were too occupied checking out Liseth.
But only Homura, Mikan and Sakura could ask themselves one thing. "What the Hell is going on?!"
…
Unbeknownst to everyone present, Animos was on top of one of the buildings in Kuoh, holding the book he had picked out. Smiling, he opened it up.
"Honey Make Bee!"
A humanoid monster came up of the book, it had a gray skin but was covered in yellow hexagonal armor in the chest, shoulders, forearms, shins, thighs, and the head in the shape of a viking helmet, the face was gray with feminine features but it had a small mask that only covered the eyes. Said mask also had a yellow hexagonal pattern, while only the eye parts were red. The Forearm guard also had stingers in them longer than the fist, the monster also possessed a pair of stinger-shaped daggers at the sides of its waist. But the most unique feature was the hexagonal 'door' in the middle of the abdomen.
Animos then handed the Megid a Blank Book "You know what to do, now go!"
"Very well, Lord Animos!" The Bee Megid said as it began to fly off.
…
"Fascinating! So not only did Homura found out about and got admitted to the Sword of Logos, but her friends got admitted as well!" Tassel then frowned "But I must admit, it is rather disappointing we didn't see more of Homura fighting against the Megid."
"Well Master, that's the thing with stories. There's ups and downs." Aryeh sighed as he answered his master's desillusions
"Oh well, it is what it is. But now, Homura and the girls have Yukio and Liseth as classmates now! Just what's gonna happen to them?!" Tassel said, shrieking.
"We'll wait and see Master." Scheherazade said as she began to smile once again at her master's antics.
Great Red could only groan "Can't believe I saw this whole thing just to see a bunch of humans."
"Special humans Red, special humans." Tassel clarified before drinking his tea and gaining a dark expression. "But what really worries me is the plan the megids have in mind."
…
Special Thanks to itspowertime and DragoKnightSR for helping with the chapter. You guys rock!
Now, this chapter was more about exposition and such, so the fight scene with Calibur can be considered this chapter's fight. But don't worry, we'll see the Pages and Sword of Logos riders in action as they take on the Bee Megid next chapter!