Awake And Alive
Chapter 5
Harry and Scáthach stayed in Luna and Hermione's three bedroom apartment for a few days before they felt it was time to move on. There was a backlog of souls waiting for their last ferry and it was Harry's duty to bring them to the Other Side. Luna and Hermione were watching him work his magic in collecting every soul of the deceased and letting them embark aboard his coracle in an orderly fashion. Their appearances were fascinating for the young women. They were similar but different to the ghosts populating Hogwarts. Instead of being silvery-gray, they were an ethereal green colour. Sometimes some of them would temporarily lose their human shape to become flame-like before reverting back to normal. Once the spiritual passengers were all aboard, Harry turned around to look as his friends and lady love
«So, ladies, are you up for a small trip to the Other Side? So long as you stay aboard my boat, or have my blessing, there's absolutely no danger. I'm dropping those guys off, then I'm coming right back. It would be a trip of a few hours at most.»
Scáthach hummed in thought, wondering if it was worth it or not, while Harry's old friends were both rather disturbed by the notion and how… normal the new god made it seem to be able to go back and forth between the World of the Living and the World of the Dead. In the end, the girls all opted out for various reasons. So Harry shrugged his shoulders and didn't insist. After a quick kiss to his girlfriend, the young god hopped into his coracle with no care about whoever could be watching. Féth Fíada was always up to its job of hiding the supernatural from mundane eyes. The more he made use of the magical mist, the easier it became to command it subconsciously. Harry sailed farther away into the Bay before mentally commanding his vessel to dive. Since he was alone this time, he didn't bother with the dome to keep the water away. He could breathe underwater and shrug off the pressure like it was nothing after all.
Once he was far enough from dry land to not cause any potential problems, Mac Lir closed his eyes, gathered his power with a specific purpose, then opened the door leading to the World of the Dead. Once safely on the Other Side, he made sure to close said door behind him before continuing further. Even if it was something of a hassle to keep opening and closing these metaphysical doors, Harry didn't want to cause any accidents by being negligent. There would be no «Zombie Apocalypse» under his watch, thank you very much! After a pleasant and problem-free underwater cruise, Harry surfaced in what he had taken to calling the Sea of Eden since it had no official name. This entire primal ecosystem was at the very border between the Land of the Living and the various afterlives. In this land, anything could happen. The Man of the Sea would let his passengers go once he was safely moored at the pier he could see on the horizon.
It might be surprising, but there was land not too far from his current position. It was in fact the famed Isle of the Blessed. There was a massive mountain at the center of the island and inside that mountain, there existed multiple caverns all over the island by which you could access the various afterlives governed by the world's pagan Death Gods. Harry had also recently learned that if he really wished it, he could easily sail up into the Heaven of the Abrahamic faiths due to a number of past actions taken by Yahweh without Him knowing all the facts. Or perhaps He had known and simply decided it wasn't important? Who really knew except the Big Guy in question? On one hand, he was tempted to do so right now if only for the chaos he would cause in his wake and for the sheer entertainment the look of sheer stupefaction on the angels' faces would bring him.
But on the other hand, he didn't want to tickle a sleeping dragon either. Who knew how Michael and the other Great Seraphs would react to the unannounced presence of a pagan god in their home? From what little memories Harry had of the Archangel in his previous life, Michael wasn't exactly known for his sense of humor. In the end, Harry decided to make a compromise with himself. He would make the Angels sweat a little bit, but wouldn't show up there on a whim. After marshalling his happiest thoughts at the forefront of his mind, Harry extended his hand towards the currently calm sea and said aloud,
«Expecto Patronum!»
From his palm, a magnificent stag made of silvery light emerged. It was the spitting image of his late father's animagus form. Thinking about Animagi, perhaps he could devote time to become one? It was food for thoughts. Prongs trotted around Sguaba Tuinne, looking for threats. Its ethereal hooves were making the otherwise calm water ripple with each step it took. When it didn't find anything wrong, the Stag patronus looked at the young man curiously. Harry told his magical construct with a fond tone of voice and a kind smile on his face
«I need you to go to Heaven via the Caverns and speak to Michael. Simply tell him that Manannan Mac Lir says «hello» will you? Thanks, Prongs. You're the best.»
Prongs bowed its head, then in a move that would have been impossible if it had been a flesh and blood animal, it face vaulted on a dime and galloped, first on the water, then on the ground and back on the water all the way inside the seaside cavern on the eastern side of the Isle of the Blessed. A few seconds later and the construct of silvery light had vanished even from his godly vision.
«Now, I just need to wait for their reactions… But, better go back to the girls just in case Michael takes the message the wrong way and comes looking for the perpetrator of the «prank call» with a legion…»
Harry spoke aloud to himself. What the reborn sea god hadn't known at the time, was that until they received his patronus, the Archangel and the other great Seraphs had entirely forgotten about the existence of the hidden passageway leading to and from the Isle of the Blessed. It had been a very long time since the Tuatha Dé had been active enough to interact with the world after all. Also, like many of the leaders who were alive ever since the Great War, the top brass of Heaven had greatly mellowed over time. At the same time as Harry opened anew the door to go back to the World of the Living and sailed through, his Patronus had finally reached its destination.
XxX
Michael was currently in a meeting to discuss the current events happening on Earth with the other three Great Seraphs, when the magical construct of silvery light passed through the closed door of his office. The sheer feeling of positivity, hope and happiness radiating from the silvery ghost-like stag made everyone speechless. A few tears of joy even escaped from Gabriel's suddenly moist eyes! Then to add on an already surreal event, the ghostly stag opened its mouth and a voice belonging to a young man, with a British accent, spoke like it was a simple conversation between friends in a pub
«Manannan Mac Lir says «Hello», Michael.»
Then once its message was delivered, the luminous ghost-like stag slowly vanished like it had never been there in the first place.
A heavy silence fell down upon the occupants of the office, until it was broken by Gabriel's voice
«Manannan Mac Lir? The Celtic god of the sea? So what Azazel was saying the other day on the phone was true then. The Tuatha Dé Danann are now awake once more… ?»
Gabriel's incredulous tone in her voice was to be expected. The old gods of Éire had, for the most part, willingly gone to sleep long ago and let the Heavenly Father's Faith slowly take over their former territories. Why were they awakening now? Hadn't they been preparing to fade away or else, return to their own original world with the intent of never coming back?
Uriel and Raphael were now conversing together in low tones, finally understanding why their elder brother had slowly but surely put Heaven back on a War footing as a precaution and went to reinforce the Pearly Gates' inherent defenses by himself. Who really knew what those numbskulls would do if they got bored enough? Then something extraordinary happened. Michael, who had been entirely silent until now, was clearly struggling with something. Like he needed to say something but knew he simply couldn't in present company. Then Raphael called for his older brother's attention, distracting the Archangel from his inner struggle
«Michael? Are you alright? Is there something wrong?»
The mighty Archangel Michael, God's Strongest Soldier and current Leader of Heaven, exploded in a long litany of awe-inspiring swear words, with quite a few that hadn't been heard in millennia! It was so shocking, that it paralysed the three Seraphs present in the room until Michael was entirely spent, since he was currently panting heavily. The reactions of the Archangel's siblings couldn't have been more different. Raphael was stunned and entirely speechless, Gabriel, by her body language was clearly becoming more and more furious by the second and Uriel let out a low impressed whistle, but quickly silenced himself with an audible gulp when their younger sister's harsh glare left Michael for a few seconds to fall on him. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…
After what felt like forever but was instead a few minutes, Gabriel marched decisively to the other side of her eldest brother's desk, grabbed him by the ear while forcing him to get up. And the Strongest Woman in Heaven wasn't being gentle!
«I can't believe you! What kind of foul language is that?! You should be ashamed of letting such… such filth passes through your mouth! I thought I had made myself clear the other day, during your phone call with Azazel! I don't want to ever hear those kinds of words from you! Uriel! Raphael! Come with me! Right now! It's time to help our dearest big brother remember some of his manners! But first, we will wash your mouth thoroughly with sanctified soap and then you WILL purify yourself or so help me, I will do it for you!»
Uriel and Raphael were now stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they took Michael's side in this debacle, their sister's ire would fall on them; but on the other hand, Michael could be rather petty when feeling wronged. Who knows what he would do to get back at them? Missions all the way to the North and South poles were favourites of his… in the end, the other two Great Seraphs collectively decided that Gabriel was much scarier than Michael could ever hope to be and rushed to help her. Uriel got the door open in a hurry while Raphael used magic to make them all invisible and inaudible. It wouldn't do for the morale of their people to see their leaders in the middle of a sibling spat after all.
Michael was left entirely helpless. His baby sister had a very good grasp on his ear and wasn't letting go anytime soon. The pain he felt was so debilitating! In his mind though, he bemoaned
«Why, oh why have I inherited Father's motor-mouth syndrome of all things? It's not fair!»
Sometimes, being a leader and the eldest in the family really sucked. Michael was normally more than strong enough to free himself from his sister's hold, but some kind of mental block was stopping him from even trying. The Archangel would mentally bemoan his so-called fate during his entire punishment at the hands of his younger siblings.
XxX
Down in the Underworld, in the region controlled by the Fallen Angels, a somewhat similar but still different scene was unfolding. After promising his friends Shemhazai and Baraquiel, with his most sincere smile, that he would do his paperwork, Azazel managed to escape from his work by taking advantage of the naivety of his underlings. He had lost no time in running away once they had been gone long enough from his office. That is, until Penemue hunted him down like a prized stag, somehow managing to subdue him, and with the help of her assistant, tied his hands and feet to a wooden pole before parading him through their Headquarters and back to his office.
After having once again become a laughingstock of the Grigori, Azazel was currently being punished for his foolish ways. Baraquiel, with his superior physical strength, was holding his boss solidly under the Governor General's armpits while Shemhazai was venting off his frustrations on the eternal man-child by using him as a punching bag. Not that Azazel was taking the pounding seriously, since he couldn't help himself by still blowing away the importance of the bureaucracy and making comments between each of the hits he was receiving,
«Aww come on, Shem! Ouch! You know that kind of work is boring! Fuck, that one hurt like a bitch! You know that you and Barry are more than welcome to do the paperwork in my place? Wait! Wait! Wait! Not the face! Not the face! Gahh!»
Shemhazai was currently at his wit's end with their old friend. Increasingly more often these days, Baraquiel and he were forced to shoulder more and more responsibility in their Organisation with not even a «thank you» for their troubles. Azazel only did what little work interested him at the time before dropping everything and going back to either his Sacred Gear research or skirt chasing. And to add insult to injury, their ridiculous leader insisted on using annoying nicknames for them even when they kept telling him to stop doing it! It was almost a miracle that the Grigori hadn't collapsed in on itself by now! What Azazel, Shemhazai and Baraquiel hadn't noticed was that somebody else was in the room where Azazel was being punished for his idiocy. While he wasn't as strong as the other three, Kokabiel, the former Angel of Stars, could be quite stealthy when the mood took him. Hence why he could observe safely and discreetly that peace loving fool of a Governor General getting his just desserts for trying to abandon his work.
Seeing how things were falling apart in the Grigori vindicated him for the plans he already had put in motion. Soon, he would have his second Great War. It was time to leave the shadows and step into the light. Kokabiel watched Shemhazai vent his frustrations on Azazel for a while longer before leaving. He had things to do, pawns to move into place and a rather spectacular entrance to work on. He would slay the sisters of Lucifer and Leviathan, then Michael's pet Exorcists. They would all join Father in death. He had just phased through the door when he heard Azazel scream like a little girl. Kokabiel automatically winced in sympathy. No man, whatever their species, liked to be hit in the crotch area. Even if that oversexed, idiotic man-child had truly deserved it…
XxX
Rias Gremory, Heiress to the House of Gremory from the Seventy-Two Pillars of the Underworld was currently having an interesting time. In the Chinese curse sense of the words, in fact. She had hoped that managing to win her freedom from Riser Phenex in an unofficial Rating Game would have earned her Peerage some time off to relax and learn to work better as a single unit. For all that he possessed one of the thirteen Longinus Sacred Gears, her Pawn and now boyfriend Hyoudou Issei was still overly reliant on Ddraig's power and hadn't made much progress yet in training his own body. It didn't help that he simply had no control over his abnormal (even for a Devil) lust and everything under the sun made him react.
Her headache of the day? Two greenhorn exorcists, gifted with more fighting prowess than common sense. They had been sent by the Church to retrieve the missing Excalibur fragments stolen from the Vatican and Eastern Orthodox Church's headquarters by Fallen Angels. And of course, those same Fallen had «helpfully» left a trail of breadcrumbs for the Exorcists to follow all the way to her and Sona's territory. Then they had the sheer gall to demand, not ask mind you, but to DEMAND that her cute little servants and she stay out of their affairs.
The fact that both Church warriors had in their possession their own shards of the original Excalibur had also awoken Kiba's thirst for vengeance. Just what she needed. Maou dammit. And the cherry on the sundae? Shidou Irina was her darling Issei's childhood friend, who was clearly still carrying a torch for the perverted young man, even if Issei had originally thought his old friend was a boy…
Rias had the sinking feeling that the situation would go from simply headache inducing to a clusterfuck of biblical proportions. The beautiful and busty aqua eyed redhead had no idea how right she was until days later, the Exorcists, her Peerage and she were staring at a Cadre level Fallen Angel, a veteran of the Great War, the ten-winged Kokabiel. And she knew that if any back-up were to arrive, it would likely be too little, too late to be of any real help…
Sona Sitri, her fellow Heiress and King, with the help of her own peerage, were trying to contain Kokabiel and his immense power inside the Academy's campus with their strongest barrier spell. But would it really be enough? If a Devil could pray to the Almighty, Rias would most likely be doing it right now. Because they would certainly need a miracle to get out of this situation in one piece, never mind alive. Then as if something or someone had heard her thoughts, a fly in the ointment that represented the Fallen Angel of Stars' plans acted, right after the cadre dropped the bombshell that the God from the Bible had perished with the Original Satans in the Great War. Then Rias saw something she had never thought was possible before this very moment.
Something was overtaking Sona's barrier! A very large amount of water coming from who knows where was overwhelming and replacing the previous barrier at a rapid rhythm! In less than two minutes, a watery dome had formed itself over the Academy and the campus, sealing themselves in and keeping any would-be intruders out. When one was looking carefully at the watery barrier though, they could see a large amount of mist of all things floating inside the clearly magically infused life-giving liquid.
A few things happened at once. A large amount of water somehow fell from the barrier onto Kokabiel, forcing the Fallen to abort the formation of a titanic sized light spear so he could do his best to not crash on the solid ground and a smaller amount fell in front of the currently grounded Fallen, only to slowly take a humanoid appearance. The man, for it was clearly a man, was clad in gold and black armour, he was wearing a closed helmet shaped like a stylised fish, there were tassels of blue fabrics that reminded Rias of seafoam flying in the wind, a stylised belt buckle and a weapon in the form of a golden sword that had a similar shape to what she thought was a Dao.
Rias had absolutely no idea who this man was, but it was a gasp coming from Sona of all people, who had come down from the roof, since the control over the barrier had been taken from her, that gave away the most probable identity of the newcomer while stammering and sputtering nervously.
«Ma… Mana…Manannan… Mac Lir?! But… But… But that's…! That's impossible! The history books all say that the Tuatha Dé Danann faded from existence thousands of years ago!»
Trust a water aligned Devil like those from the Sitri clan to know about and be able to recognize both fresh and saltwater pagan deities at a glance. And Sona had finally learned to not always trust what was written in history books. History was often written by the winners after all. But by the Maous, what was an ancient Celtic god doing all the way in Japan?! The young Devils were so far out of their league it wasn't even funny…
XxX
Days before Kokabiel's assault on Kuoh Academy located in the eponymously named town in Japan, Harry and Scáthach had left Luna and Hermione's apartment to return to Grimmauld Place. Of course they would still stay in contact, but both Harry's old friends were due to go back to their jobs and the celtic couple felt it was time to leave to not abuse their friends' hospitality. Luna had taken over the running of The Quibbler from her father and Hermione was running her own bookstore catering to both worlds on the Isle of Man. The Isle had a relatively small magical community compared to the larger islands of Britain and Ireland, but Hermione prided herself in selling books that couldn't be found anywhere else in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
At their return home, Harry was forced to take care of something he had entirely forgotten about. His apotheosis had more than likely been felt all over the various Celtic otherworlds, so he should have known that other interested parties, other than the Phantom Queen or the local Devils, would come knocking sooner or later. The woman who appeared to them right after he disengaged the wards over Twelve Grimmauld Place was such a person. She was tall and graceful, and wore a beautiful flowing, shimmering, and sheer, ice blue dress lined with gold, designed to enhance the figure of the woman wearing it, while drawing in the gaze of everyone else around. Titillation abounded wherever she walked in this gauzy delight.
With her long blond hair, blue eyes and heart shaped face, she almost looked like a more mature version of his friend Luna. Harry's eyes were drawn for a moment to the sapphire resting at the center of her bust, before they flicked back up to her golden diadem. Even if he had never met this woman in his current life, he knew who she was immediately. After all, he had tried to bed her numerous times without success in his past life. She had been Merlin's girl through and through, the lucky bastard.
«Hello Vivian.»
Harry greeted her with a polite tone, but without formality. A small smile crossed her lips and she answered with the same informality
«It's good to see you again, Manannan. It has been a long time.»
Then her gaze fell on the Queen of the Land of Shadows at the side of the Irish God of the Sea and the Fae was visibly startled. This time, Harry was perceptive enough to understand that there was likely some past history between the two women, so he quickly invited his unexpected guest to follow them inside. His lady love, in an act of possessiveness, or perhaps to mark her territory, deliberately trapped his right arm against her bosom while giving Vivian a rather wary look. Yup there was definitely some bad blood between them. And he was now stuck between them, joy.
Once again, Harry's sitting room was hosting an august «mythological» character. First the goddess Morrigan in person and now the Lady of the Lake. After Kreacher served them all tea and took the Master and Mistress' dirty laundry away, Harry steepled his fingers together and took the plunge
«So, to what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of your presence, Vivian? I clearly remember you telling me that you never wanted to see me again the last time we met in person. With liberal threats to my manhood should I get the idea of defying your wishes again, I might add.»
Vivian flinched visibly at that and looked away guiltily. She had been foolish at the time to be so abrupt with a god. But his latest attempt to get her into his bed and his lack of interest for the turmoils plaguing Britain at the time had been the straw that broke the camel's back. Manannan had always been sour about the fact that the Once and Future King had aligned their kingdom with the Church and Heaven instead of with the old gods of the isles. But this was in the past. The previous Man of the Sea was gone, so she hoped that she had had a chance to fix things with this new incarnation. She had dressed to impress, thinking that showing a bit of cleavage would net her better results, but hadn't imagined that the young god would have already been in a committed and monogamous relationship. Not with Scáthach of all people!
Vivian would have much preferred that Fand hadn't chosen to fade. Manannan's late wife had been a good friend of hers and they could have likely come to a mutually beneficial arrangement with little to no problem. Then Fand could have convinced her husband to help the Lady of the Lake by bribing him with sex. Vivian couldn't use that method with the Witch of Dun Scaith… So with a fortifying breath, the Water Fae told her superior
«I… I need your help. The Three Biblical Factions are making a mess of things and fighting over my possessions. I loaned a very good replica of Excalibur to the Church after the King of Knights was laid to rest in Avalon; and it was shattered into seven parts during one of the last battles of the Great War. The shards were eventually reforged into seven Holy swords with each having a single ability of the original. I asked for the Church to give the Excaliburs back to me, but they categorically refused. Michael has been screening and ignoring my calls for years, the Devil in charge of foreign affairs is utterly insane, obsessed with Magical Girl shows and with her younger sister.
And the less I think about that perverted, overgrown man-child of a Fallen named Azazel, the better off I will be. I absolutely CAN'T stand the man! He's even worse than Merlin ever was! I would go get the shards myself if I could, but Takamagahara forbade me from entering their lands after an… incident a few decades ago. Which is why I came here to ask for your assistance. While I would prefer to get all the sword fragments intact, I can live with them being destroyed.»
It was Scáthach who took control of the conversation and Harry was all too happy to let her since it gave him some time to consider all of his options. She brought herself forwards from her previously relaxed sitting position and spoke
«Wait a minute. Are you telling us that you deliberately loaned a powerful Holy sword to the Vatican and simply expected them to give it back to you when asked? Are you really that gullible? You are such a foolish, scatterbrained Fae if that's the case. Then you have the nerve to come here with the intention of seducing my lover? And when that plan obviously fell through, you are now asking us to go all the way to the Forbidden East to clean up a mess of your own making? You truly are lucky that MY Harry is such a generous person. If it was only my decision to make, I would have told you no. We will consider helping you out, but it will cost you. What are you willing to pay for our intervention?»
The three of them haggled fiercely for a long time, never reaching a satisfying compromise until Harry finally had enough and put his foot down.
«Enough. I will go to Japan and try to retrieve the Holy swords or else I will do my utmost best to destroy them. But in exchange, I want irrevocable free access to Avalon, to the King of Knights and the souls of the Knights of the Round Table. They haven't reached their promised afterlives yet, I can feel it clearly now that I'm focusing on them. They are lingering still. I intend to give them the choice to either stay in the Land of the Living and enter my service or to move on. That's the price I want for my help. It's my final offer. Take it or leave it, Vivian.»
The Lady of the Lake bit her lower lip with clear indecision, a pensive frown etched on her beautiful face. Manannan was really driving a hard bargain. Frankly, she would have preferred to trade access to her body instead. But this new Man of the Sea wasn't the stereotypical lush Irishman like he had often been in his past life. The King and their Knights were her pet projects after all and it pained her greatly to allow anyone else access to them. In the end, she had no choice but to accept if she wanted to fix the problem. But she did put a reasonable condition.
«We have an agreement then. But I beg of you, for the sake of every woman the world over, please don't free Merlin from his prison!»
That had the result of making both Harry and his lady love erupt in peels of laughter. Ah, it seemed that the Cambion was still a pain in the ass even in this modern era.
XxX
Days later, Harry in his full divine armor was facing off against the Fallen Angel of Stars. Kokabiel had the appearance of a man with long black hair and red eyes, and unlike other Fallen Angels, he had odd pointed ears like the Elves in fantasy books. The Fallen Cadre possessed five pairs of pitch-black wings, proudly showing from his back. He was currently wearing a black robe with detailed accessories and purple shoulder pads, with gold streaks on the side. Normally, Kokabiel would have enjoyed a bit of banter, but against an opponent of this caliber, that would be a mistake he wouldn't survive to repeat. So when the Celtic god slowly raised his blade in a ready position, the Fallen Angel created himself one with the help of his Holy Light and entered a serious stance.
Both opponents faced each other in silence, then after an unknown and unseen signal, they lunged toward each other. Kokabiel gave himself a speed boost with the help of his wings, while Manannan conjured water out of thin air under the soles of his boots to do the same. Their blades clashed once, twice, thrice before deadlocking after the fourth hit. Kokabiel's eyes widened slightly when water appeared from seemingly nowhere to engulf Fragarach's blade, only for the Man of the Sea to send it his way as an extremely high-pressure liquid blade! The Fallen Cadre had no choice but to sacrifice his Light sword in order to block it so he wouldn't suffer a grievous injury, but he easily replaced the blade with another. So, the Celt was playing for keeps huh? Kokabiel would just have to get serious then. He cricked his neck, offered the helmeted pagan a mocking smile, before flapping his wings, sending towards his foe a rain of cutting feathers.
Harry didn't even flinch. But instead of simply conjuring more water to attack or defend with, he flexed his aura a bit and disturbed the flow of magic infusing the feathers, which had the effect of making them fall to the ground, seemingly inert. And since it never hurt to be careful, with a vague gesture of his free hand, he cast an overpowered and silent vanishing spell. In a blink, all the discarded feathers on the battlefield were now gone. Harry had memories of previous fights against both types of angels using their discarded feathers as a successful surprise ambush tactic in battle. He wouldn't fall prey to the same trick like he had a few times in his past life. Then the fight heated once again and he no longer had the luxury of stray thoughts. At first, it was like an unstoppable object crashed against an immovable force. Kokabiel and Mac Lir clashed repeatedly with no one seemingly being able to overwhelm their foe. But a seasoned veteran could eventually tell you that slowly but surely, the pagan deity was getting the upper hand on the Fallen Angel.
Harry was frowning under his helm, was this fight supposed to be so… easy? His adversary was a millenia old Fallen Angel with five pairs of wings. Kokabiel was a known veteran of innumerable conflicts across history. Were Manannan's own powers and skills so superior to those of the Fallen Angel? Or perhaps Kokabiel's skills had atrophied from being idle for too long? Harry didn't know the answers to these questions and it was bothering him something fierce. He also had a gut feeling that his foe wasn't holding back all that much, or maybe even not at all. Harry guessed he would just have to be careful and keep his guard up in case the Cadre still had a few nasty surprises in reserve.
While Harry was erring on the side of caution while fighting Kokabiel underneath the barrier, Scáthach was making good use of the blessing she received from her boyfriend prior to the battle. She was currently patrolling on top of the barrier, wearing her battle attire, walking on the water like it was solid ground. Kokabiel was a member of the Grigori, an organisation which governed most of the Fallen Angels in existence. So there was a very good chance that Azazel or another Cadre would send someone to retrieve their wayward member and put a stop to his rampage. Scáthach's goal was to stall the possible envoy long enough so her lover could have his fun without interruptions and complete the mission they accepted from Vivian. Just as she was thinking that there would be no fun for her until later in the bedroom, a rather strange silhouette came into being nearby. Her sharp red eyes saw the dragonic looking armor but stayed silent.
While his Sacred Gear in its current form (Her lover had explained what the Biblical God did to help protect Humanity from the Supernatural World's depravations.) gave him a height advantage, the Queen of the Land of Shadows was no fool. It was but a boy. What was wrong with this Era? Always sending a boy to do a man's work, really?
High in the sky, Vali Lucifer brutally stopped his advance almost against his will. While seeing a barrier made of gravity defying water was quite surprising, his instincts were screaming at him to be on his guard. The beautiful redheaded spearwoman standing on the watery dome was watching him and for the first time in a long time, he wasn't certain if he really wanted to fight. Just as he was about to dive-bomb towards the barrier's guardian to test the waters so to speak, his partner's voice, Albion,one of the two Heavenly Dragons and the White Dragon Emperor, was heard from the wings on his back
«Vali, whatever you do, you have to be extremely careful. That woman is much more than she appears. There is a very good possibility that her skills might even surpass yours entirely. In fact, she reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago… if she is THAT woman, then you would be wise not to engage…»
Vali wasn't usually the type of person to be overly cautious. He was a battle maniac at heart, always looking for his next challenge. The stronger the foe, the better in his opinion. But he wasn't an idiot for all that. Before committing to a decision, he felt it was wise to test the waters. So after an aerial somersault, he flew toward the Barrier's guardian at ludicrous speed, zigzagging at extremely high speed in every direction so she wouldn't be able to get him with a thrown weapon. He was therefore quite surprised when she actually stopped him in his tracks with the help of one spear, and gave him a glancing blow with the other! Normally, his Scale Mail would have tanked the blow, but the edge of her second blood red spear tore through his Balance Breaker like a hot knife through butter! It was either sheer luck, or a warning blow on her part, that saw the wound he received being superficial! As it was right now, most of the right side of his waist was without protection whatsoever! He was quick to return back high in the sky, out of range from her spears
«Vali! Vali! Are you alright? Damn, you're hurt! We have a big problem! The barrier's guardian is THAT woman! We need to retreat now before it's too late!»
«What are you talking about, Albion? It was a simple lucky shot. Together we can defeat her just like anyone else we've faced before!»
Vali asked his partner, feeling rather irritated.
«Vali, listen to me carefully! That woman is none other than Scáthach the Witch of Dun Scaith and she's a God-Slayer. Basically, she is a living, breathing Longinus Sacred Gear! Anything in her hands can be used to kill a god! Forget about Kokabiel or Azazel's instructions, we need to leave before she gets serious! She would kill you before you even finished the chant to activate Juggernaut Drive!»
And to rub salt on the wound, she told him loud and clear
«That was your one and only warning, boy. Stay right where you are or leave and don't come back. One false move on your part and you won't be getting out of here alive. I won't show you any mercy if you decide to fight me.»
In the end, Vali would have failed his objective no matter what. After seeing one opening too many in Kokabiel's guard, Harry had no other choice but to take it since he wanted to take his foe alive. The Fallen Angel was an exceptional swordsman, but a rather poor brawler. With a tremendous amount of power behind it, Harry delivered a Earth shaking punch in the Fallen's solar plexus, which had the effect of making Kokabiel fold himself in two due to the world shattering pain he was feeling,
Then another two high power fists to the temples had the Cadre falling unconscious on the ground.
«Is that it? Is that all there is? You could have been something much more, Kokabiel. Feh, what a waste.»
The god's voice was clearly distorted by his helmet, but the softness of the tone and the genuine disappointment were clearly heard by everyone present.
With nary but a snap of Manannnan's fingers, a torrent of water fell upon the unconscious Fallen Angel from the still active barrier to not only bind him with enchanted cold iron chains but also to generate a miniature version of the barrier that was still surrounding the campus. In a gravity defying way, the amount of water currently not in use to secure the prisoner took him back up through the barrier and deposited Kokabiel in the invisible Sguaba Tuinne that was hovering higher in the sky, where it wouldn't be in the way. With the foe beaten and taken into custody, Harry decided it was time to tie up the loose ends around here before leaving. He was certain that the local pantheon was now aware of his presence and he shouldn't tarry.
He approached the two exorcists first, the blue haired one still defiant and brandishing Durandal even if she was clearly on her last legs. The brown haired one had just regained consciousness but she was in no shape to fight either. He then told Xenovia
«Peace, girl. If I had wanted to hurt you or your friend, I would have done so already. The both of you owe me. I saved both of your lives when I clearly wasn't obligated to do so. My price to square these debts is the destruction of the Excalibur fragments and the delivery of two written letters to Michael and Gabriel. If the Archangel doesn't like it, simply tell him to take it up with Lady Vivian of the Lake and Lord Manannan Mac Lir..» .
Harry didn't wait for Xenovia's permission or reaction to the bombshells he had just dropped on her before summoning all the five fragments present on the battlefield in one neat pile before erecting a quick barrier to protect everyone from the backlash when he swung Fragarach with his full might. One blinding light show and powerful release of energy later, Harry used another overpowered and silent Vanishing charm to banish the remaining mess into non-being. Now five out of seven fragments of the Excalibur replica had been destroyed. Vivian would just have to look for the missing two fragments and handle them herself. He had upheld his part of the deal.
Once done with the now angry exorcists for the moment, Harry called up his lover
«Luv, the battle is over. I'm going to bring down the barrier in a moment. Do you want help coming down?»
Scáthach didn't answer him. She simply let herself fall into the barrier, let the current take her on the side and once she emerged from the liquid, stabbed a spear into the magical water to slow her descent toward the ground. Once on solid ground, Harry had to take a minute to admire how her wet suit accentuated her curves… Shaking his mind out of the gutter, Harry concentrated for an instant before willing the barrier away. The watery dome which until now had been entirely opaque first became transparent, before losing its tangibility and vanishing like it had never been here in the first place.
Harry then willed Fragarach away before approaching the Devils. Once he was near both Sona and Rias, in an admirable but ultimately foolish and futile move, both Saji and Issei dashed in front of their respective King with their Sacred Gear at the ready. The sight brought a hidden smile ouf of Harry. Those kids were really loyal. But they weren't a threat. In an over the top tone of voice, Harry boomed
«Miss Sitri! Miss Gremory! Front and center! Attend to me!»
After Sona and Rias had gotten their respective Pawns to stand down, they warily approached the Celtic god. To make them feel a bit more at ease, he deliberately let slip the snicker that had formed and been held back after trying to be bombastic, which had as a result of making Sona's right eye twitch in clear irritation and for Rias' lips to curl into a little amused smile. They stayed silent for a moment before Mac Lir took the reins of the conversation.
«The both of you owe me.»
Since they were pureblood Devils, both Rias and Sona were much more sensitive to the subtleties of contract magic than any of the others. The Celtic gods were known for theirgeas back in the day after all. In one voice, Rias and Sona answered
«We do, Lord Mac Lir.»
Harry's smile wasn't seen but he was proud of those two. They were really quite clever.
«I saved you both when I wasn't obligated to do so.»
Again the stereo answer came
«You did. We recognize our debt, Lord Mac Lir.»
«Then as repayment, one of you will deliver written letters to your leaders, the Yondai Maou and the other will explain to the Shinto god who will be here soon what exactly has transpired here.»
Again as one, both Sona and Rias said
«We hear and obey, Lord Mac Lir. I, Heiress Rias Gremory / I, Heiress Sona Sitri, swear to uphold our end of the contract.»
After a flash of light, both geas were sealed and then Sona and Rias had a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors to decide who would be doing what. The winner would be the delivery girl and the loser would have to play host.
Harry manifested all the letters he wanted to send with but a thought, all of which contained an invitation to attend Kokabiel's public execution in two weeks time. Mac Lir would meet them In London, in Trafalgar Square at nine o'clock in the morning, local time, before taking them to the exact location of the Execution. He made sure to put a strong compulsion on the letters to make sure they wouldn't be discarded, ignored and / or destroyed until they were read by their recipient. The Man of the Sea even sent one to Vali, who was still hovering where he had been ever since Scáthach stopped him in his tracks.
«Could you give that letter to Azazel in person, please? Thank you, young man. Oh, I would get the hell out of here if I were you. Another god is coming and I don't think he or she will be in a very good mood. Have a good day.»
Then he dismissed the White Dragon Emperor's presence entirely. On a whim, Harry decided to include the young Devils in the group of people that would be spectators for the Execution. Kokabiel had just tried to kill them after all. It was simply just desserts to let them have closure. With another snap of his fingers, The Man of the Sea manifested the invitations for Rias, Sona and their respective peerages and left them on their King's respective desks in their clubrooms. It was now time to leave and quickly, he could feel another divine presence quickly closing in. Harry put an arm around his lover's waist then in a swirl of mist, they vanished from the ground to appear back aboard Sguaba Tuinne. Harry had just enough time to open a door for the Other Side, quickly sail through it then close it back safely behind him when another powerful divine aura made itself known over Kuoh Academy. And by the powerful stormy feel of it, it was most likely Susanoo…