Awake And Alive
Chapter 6
Author's Notes:Welcome to the sixth chapter of Awake And Alive. In this chapter, I will use the TYPE-MOON version of many recurrent characters; such as the Knights of the Round Table. I decided to do so since it's easier for me to look for information as needed. There is little to no information about characters from actual Arthurian Mythology and not their descendants or Heroic reincarnations, in the High School DxD wiki. I also slightly modified the summoning chant used in Fate/Apocrypha to summon the Servants of the Black Faction so it would suit my needs better. This is your one and only warning, trolls, purists and dissenters alike will be thoroughly ignored. This story is a crossover ladies and gentlemen, you have to play somewhat fast and loose on the rules and you have to give and take on the lore to make the story work. Oh well, now let's get this show on the road.
While Sona had gotten the metaphorical short end of the stick by having to explain to a rather upset Susanoo what exactly had transpired here, Rias took advantage of her messenger girl duty. In regular circumstances, you could not travel to and from the Underworld by way of the teleportation circles. Well not so much as couldn't, but it was heavily frowned upon since travelling that way bypassed the customs. You needed, in regular circumstances, to schedule your travel plans in advance via the transdimensional train station closest to your location in the Human world. But with a geas on her enforced by Manannan Mac Lir of all people, the Gremory Heiress felt that the circumstances were enough of an emergency to forgo the usual protocol.
Which was why, when she got into her clubroom, she rushed to the ritual circle embedded in the floor and lost no time sending her power through it. Strangely, the connection took less time than usual. It was only when she was about to be transported that Rias recognized the feel of her older brother's power. When she was through the Dimensional Void and in the Underworld proper, she realized rather quickly that she wasn't at the Gremory Estate, but in her elder brother's private mansion. Rias had little time to brace herself when a boisterous voice was heard out loud
«Ria-tan!»
It was all she could do before she was picked from the ground and twirled around by her boisterous elder sibling. And of course, they weren't alone. Nearby, at the ready, were a full phalanx of heavily armed soldiers. Great, just great. Sirzechs Lucifer, formerly Gremory, was a tall man with crimson red hair and blue-green eyes. In fact, both siblings had inherited their father, Zeoticus', eyes. He was rather handsome and looked to be in his early twenties. While generally laid back and preferring to talk his way out of problems, Sirzechs could be very ruthless and even cruel if the occasion called for it. He was a man who lived and loved hard. His deep love for his younger sister and son were very well known. In fact, Sirzechs loved his sister so much that he was rightly labelled as a sis-con…
«Oh, Ria-tan! Big brother was so, so, sooo worried! When I learned about that old grouch Kokabiel attacking your school, I blew off my meeting with Lord Barbatos, and burst out of my office while calling for my Peerage and the Army to assemble immediately! But that meany Falbium only gave me a single phalanx! He said the rest was needed to protect the Underworld! I was just about to go to the Human world to save you when I felt you coming in! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you want me to kiss it better?»
Rias could only moan internally at her brother's embarrassing ramblings. She should have stayed in the Human world and dealt with Susanoo-dono instead…
Devils were natural born polyglots, so it stood to reason that they would borrow forms of respect from multiple languages. The Japanese tongue was favored by Rias' for multiple reasons, hence why she addressed the Shinto deity as she had in her mind.
She was saved from further embarrassment by her sister-in-law, who was also her brother's Queen. Grayfia Lucifuge was, in one word, beautiful. She was a young woman appearing to be in her early twenties with back-length silver hair that features a long braid on each side with small blue bows at the ends, while the rest is let down which ends in twin braids and silver eyes. The most telling thing, though, was that she was dressed in a modified French Maid uniform. But no one was foolish enough to question the Strongest Queen's fashion sense out loud. She only had to speak in a quasi-emotionless tone for Sirzechs to seize up in abject fear.
«Sirzechs-sama, if you would be so kind as to put Rias-sama down so we could get to the bottom of this affair?»
Sirzechs Lucifer, the Maou of Internal affairs, leader of the Underworld, arguably the most powerful pureblood Devil alive and decorated veteran of the Devil Civil War, gulped loudly in fear and robotically put his younger sister down. His wife was terrifying…
After confirming that, yes, Kokabiel had indeed attacked them and that, yes, he had been soundly defeated and that no one was injured to the point that her relatively new Bishop Asia Argento couldn't handle things with her Sacred Gear Twilight Healing; Grayfia dismissed the Phalanx but kept the rest of Sirzechs' Peerage on stand-by, just in case. They adjourned to a nearby sitting room, where Rias almost collapsed on the couch due to the adrenaline leaving her system. After Grayfia served her a cup of tea, the story of the last few days' events all came pouring out. The Exorcists sent by the Vatican, the stray Exorcist, Freed Sellzen, the excommunicated Archbishop, Valper Galilei, and the shards of Excalibur, then being saved from certain death by Manannan Mac Lir of all people! And if only to add another unreal event on top of another, the Celtic god had invoked Contract magic by asking them trivial things in order to repay him their life debts! And talking about that…
Before Rias could bring out the letters for the Four Great Devil Kings, Sirzechs had suddenly stopped pacing while listening to her tale. Grayfia, in her corner, visibly stiffened. Now very serious, which wasn't something the Gremory heiress saw very often, the current Lucifer asked for clarifications
«Rias, it's very important. Are you absolutely certain that it was Manannan Mac Lir who saved you? I'm not doubting your word, but could you have mistaken him with another deity? And you said that he invoked a geas as payment for the life debts owed to him by Sona and you?»
She answered quickly
«It was Sona-chan who deduced the god's identity, Onii-sama. As a water-aligned Devil, she is more than capable of recognizing fresh or saltwater pagan deities. Then after the fight was over, he confirmed it himself. But I don't understand. If what Sona had said was right, the history books we studied all say that the old pagan gods of the British Isles disappeared thousands of years ago. So either the books are all wrong or there's something else that wasn't to be spoken about. Like the «little» secret about the God from the Bible dying in the Great War with the original four Maous?»
Sirzechs kept his silence for a short while, having a silent conversation with his wife, before his shoulders fell a bit.
«The information I'm about to share with you is considered a State secret. If you ever speak about it, even if only once, to anyone else outside this room without my express permission or the permission of another Maou, you will be severely and harshly punished. And no Rias, batting your eyes at me and whining my name in that overly cute way you used to do when you really wanted something won't work this time. I will hate it and myself for doing such a thing to you, but I will still proceed. No one is above the law in our society, little sister. No one. Not even me. Consider yourself to be duly warned.
It was decided between the Leaders of the three Biblical Factions to keep the deaths of the Biblical God and the original Maous from the regular populace. Heaven was the worst affected by the demise of their creator, but letting the news out would have created more conflicts among the other Factions that we could do without. As for the subject of the Tuatha Dé Danann, that pantheon had always kept to themselves more than any other.
You have to understand Ria-tan, many of their members were battle maniacs like our cousin Sairaorg, but to an even worse degree. More fighting prowess than common sense really. Others were womanizers to a similar or perhaps even a higher level than Azazel himself. That old stereotype about lush, pub brawlers and drunken Irishmen? It came from the well earned reputation of the Tuatha Dé. They were also very liberal with their curses.
They weren't particularly warmongering compared to say, the Norse or the Romans in the old days, but they weren't all that helpful in building stability and any kind of lasting peace either. So when they vanished without prior warning, which was before my time, mind you, we, that is the Leaders of the Three Biblical Factions, didn't try very hard to find them and simply took over their past holdings. Our historians likely decided to write that they were gone and we didn't try all that hard to discourage their way of seeing things. In fact, we would have preferred they stay gone, but it's just wishful thinking. The Tuatha Dé are awake now and we will just have to adapt to their presence and deal with it.»
Brother and sister kept discussing various things, until Rias had the occasion of giving her brother the invitation she had been contractually required to bring him. Normally she would have taken him up on his offer to distribute the rest of the invitations to the other Maous, but the task fell to her and her alone if she wanted to square her debt. Sirzechs frowned a bit, but didn't say anything more on the subject. Mac Lir had let the girls off rather easily. A Life Debt was not something a Devil could shrug off easily after all. He inspected the invitation again, analysing it deeper with the help of his magical senses. Maou Lucifer easily detected the mild compulsions on the letter and was once again forced to admit, if only to himself, that the Lord of Capes had played things very straight. Which was rather unusual for a Celtic god. In the end, Sirzechs told his sister
«Go rest for a few hours, Rias. I will call the other Satans here so you can deliver the invitations when you will wake up.»
She fired back quickly
«But Onii-sama, what about my friends? And what about Sona and her own family?»
Grayfia intervened in her King and husband's favor
«About your Peerage, I will go to the Human world and fetch them myself, Rias-sama. We will send them to join your rest as soon as they arrive and will simply debrief them later. We need to start dealing with the fallout of Kokabiel's attack. As for Sona-sama, I will inquire about her plans when I next see her; but you should be aware that it is very possible that Leviathan-sama has already made arrangements for her younger sister and her own Peerage.»
In the end, Rias folded. She was reassured, exhausted and out of valid arguments.
XxX
On the Isle of the Blessed, Harry and Scáthach were unloading their precious cargo. Kokabiel was still unconscious, but it wouldn't be a state that would last long. Already they were signs that pointed to the fact that he would regain consciousness relatively soon. Which was why Harry was now using his powers to either find or create some amounts of Faery food. Once you ate even a nibble of it, you were cursed to subsist only on that form of sustenance. And if you tried to leave the Faery Realms, you would quickly age to a level that would make an ancient Egyptian mummy look young and vigorous. There were two exceptions to this rule. You had to either be a Fae or a member of the Tuatha Dé. Kokabiel was neither. After force feeding their prisoner some Faerie broth, he decided to keep the Fallen unconscious for a while longer.
Harry pointed an index finger at the prone Kokabiel and with ease, he declared
«Stupefy.»
A bolt of brilliant red light escaped his finger and slammed into the prisoner's chest, sending him back into blissful unconsciousness for a few more hours. Harry no longer had the need to say the incantations out loud, but it was still a habit he was trying to break. You would think that Wizarding magic wouldn't work on a Fallen Angel, but with the caster being so much more powerful than the target, it was easy to bypass the normal magic resistance of angelic beings. No longer caring if the ex-cadre broke free from his restraints or not, Harry enchanted a pebble he had previously picked from the shore into a portkey with a quick muttered
»Portus.»
He then tossed the now enchanted pebble on his prisoner's chest, only for him to vanish in a flash of blue light. Expecting Scáthach's question, he told her with a small smile before she could ask
«I merely sent him away further inland. After force feeding him some Faerie food he can no longer leave the Isle of the Blessed alive. I will execute him in front of the Leaders of the Three Biblical Factions and the young Devils, but that's not for two more weeks. And since I don't want Kokabiel to get too comfortable, I intend to call for some help to «entertain» him. Vivian held her part of our deal, since I can now access the souls of the Knights of the Round Table. She surely felt it when I destroyed the shards of the Excalibur replica. I will summon the Knights into the forms of Heroic Spirits and I will task them to keep Kokabiel on his toes until it's time to bring him in for his sentence.»
His girlfriend graced him with a nod of the head and a beautiful smile which did funny things to his insides. Spirits, he was really falling in love wasn't he? Harry shook his head to get back into the game. He could have his wicked way with her once he was done here.
Since he was Lord and Master here, it was child's play for Harry to use his godly powers to modify the physical aspect of the Isle of the Blessed to create a clearing big enough to carve the massively sized ritual circle he would need. Without magic, it would have taken hours to carve all the needed lines and runes. But since he was magical, it took Harry around forty minutes to complete everything. Of course, during that time he had willed away his divine armor, prefering to wear bermuda shorts, sandals and a simple sleeveless t-shirt in this summer climate. He then filled the carved Ritual circle with Féth Fíada infused water to serve as a reactive agent. Everything was now ready.
He took a long breath, held it in for a while and then let it leave him slowly. Harry then closed his eyes for a moment and said to his lover
«Luv, you should get ready. I'm going to throw the floodgates of my power wide open. For a summoning like this, I'll need to get serious.»
Scáthach gave him the infamous «Are you an idiot?» stare that women worldwide gave their other halves when they said or did something stupid in their presence, but she hadn't needed to say anything to get her point across. Harry had the grace of giving her a sheepish smile. His girlfriend was a God-slayer. She could withstand the pressures caused by a deity letting his power roam wild easily. The only reason he had managed to overwhelm her with his divine aura when he ascended was because she had been unprepared and somewhat tired from the previous hours of nonstop combat. It had been centuries since she had last fought against a god before Harry after all. It wouldn't happen again.
When Harry's eyes finally shot open, they were now glowing brightly from the inside. A great sense of power started flowing from him and he started to chant, first softly, then with an increasingly strong voice
«Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time. Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. I am the great Master Manannan Mac Lir who is the Ferryman. Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall. Close the four cardinal gates. Come out from the crown. Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom.»
The massive Ritual Circle had started glowing with a soft ethereal blue light, becoming brighter by the second. An unnaturally powerful wind coming from the sea had risen, and the animals were strangely quiet, likely knowing by instinct that something unnatural was going on. While the nature around the pagan god and the immortal was reacting to the former's actions, Harry was still chanting and going strong, now with the palm of his dominant hand pointing towards the Ritual Circle.
«– I shall declare here. Your bodies shall serve under me. My fate shall be with your swords. Submit to the beckoning from the Blessed Otherworld. If you will submit to this will and this reason… then answer!»
The Ritual circle's glow was now so intense that Scáthach had to raise an arm to protect her eyes. The strength of the wind had also increased, not to the point of being able to blow them away yet but close.
«– An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell! – From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protectors of the Balance!»
There was a powerful and blinding flash of light coming from the Ritual circle, before it died down. When Harry and his lady love could see properly again, it was to see thirteen different persons kneeling on one knee. They were all wearing rather ornate armour and most had a sword at the ready. In one voice, they all said
«We are the Knights of the Round Table. You who have summoned us, we ask of you; are you our Master?»
Harry was quick to say
«Arise, Sir Knights. I'm Manannan Mac Lir and yes, it does seem that I'm your master.»
He could feel their collective disbelief. He understood them really, he wasn't exactly dressed to impress after all. With nothing but a simple flex of his will, Fragarach appeared in his hands, taking its preferred form of a bastard sword. It might not look like much, but even a total neophyte could tell that there was something more about that blade. A shorter knight with a full face horned helm and a silver armor with some red said
«Oi, I thought the old gods of the isles were either gone or dead, what with Christianity aggressively taking over?»
Harry turned to faced the Knight who had spoken and he told them with a little secretive smile
«Most of us had decided that it was time for a good long nap. The mortals were no longer as entertaining as they had been in ages past, even before the Romans conquered the Isles, bringing with them their Hellenistic gods. The Tuatha Dé are now making a big comeback. And let me tell you, messing around with the uptight Pillar Devils is rather fun. I even made a prank call to Heaven the other day. I wonder how that went?»
There was something vicious passing through the young looking man's emerald green eyes. Something that told everyone who had sharp enough senses that he was much more dangerous than he looked like. His sharp smile was also another clue. Harry was quick to take back control of the conversation before Bedivere or Agravain could speak. He loudly clapped his hands together and said
«Right. Let's get to the purpose of your summoning. A few hours ago, I defeated, in single combat, the Fallen Angel Kokabiel and took him prisoner. The problem is that he's an insane warmonger and he just tried to restart the Great War between the Grigori, the Underworld and Heaven by killing the relatives of the current leaders of the Devils and two Exorcists sponsored by the Church, who just happened to be Holy Swordswomen. I invited the leaders of the Three Biblical Factions to join me here in two weeks time for Kokabiel's execution. Your task, for now, is to harass him. Feel very free to hunt him down and beat him to a pulp, but I need him alive and with all his limbs attached. Other than that? It's your decision. I force fed him some Faery food earlier, so he can't escape the Isle of the Blessed alive. I sent him further inland after stunning him and I didn't bother to remove the cold iron chains I trussed him up with. Any questions?»
The Knights started to talk under low tones to each other, some groups of two or three forming. But it was Sir Lancelot who spoke
«Hum, Lord… Mac Lir? I was wondering, where is the King? Haven't you summoned them yet?»
Harry answered honestly the Knight of the Lake with a shrug of his shoulders
«I can't summon the King of Knights because they are technically still alive. I can't summon someone who hasn't passed on to the Other Side. King Arthur is still sleeping like a log in Avalon. The thirteen of you were dead as doornails though. Your souls were held in stasis until recently by Lady Vivianne. We came to an agreement recently and after fulfilling my side of the deal, she released you in my care. Any other questions?»
When no other immediate questions came, Harry waved them off by saying
«Well, I wish you a good hunt guys and try to have some fun. I'll see you in a few days. Oh, before I forget!»
The Man of the Sea snapped his fingers and magically conjured a hunting horn. It was rather plain looking, but it would do its job. Then he gave it to Gawain. The blond knight gave him a nonplussed look and the sea god was quick to explain
«When I'm ready for the big show in two weeks, I'll sound off a similar hunting horn. I have the unshakable confidence in you all that you will have your quarry captured and restrained a day or two before his appointment with the Executioner's blade. So when I call you with my horn, you just have to answer me with yours and march to my position.»
The Knight of the Sun nodded in understanding and after politely thanking his summoner and taking the hunting horn with him, he went to join his fellow Knights in planning their Fallen Angel hunt. Harry and Scáthach then took their leave. By the scorching looks they were giving each other, they both had the same idea… It was still to be decided if they would wait until they were in the privacy of their bedroom in Grimmauld Place or if they would succumb to the temptation of fornicating somewhere else… Having sex aboard his coracle was sounding more and more interesting…
XxX
After she and her Peerage rested for a few hours and they were debriefed about Kokabiel's attack, Rias was doing her utmost best to not wear a dent in the floor by pacing due to her nervousness. While she had often seen Leviathan-sama while growing up, what with being childhood and best friends with the Maou of Foreign Affairs' younger sister, she wasn't as well acquainted with the other two. There was some kind of rhythmic knock on the door, five quick knocks and two slower ones, which made Sirzechs smile in amusement before he called out loud
«Enter!»
The first to enter all the while skipping childishly was Sona's older sister, Serafall Leviathan. Then she was followed by both Ajuka Beelzebub and Falbium Asmodeus at a more sedate pace. Falbium was even now moving in a slouched position while Ajuka was typing something on his smartphone-like device.
To say that Rias was nervous was like saying that the ocean was wet and the sky vast. She was very nervous, but after closing her eyes and taking a gulp of air, she approached her superiors. When she was near enough, she bowed low at the waist and respectfully greeted her rulers.
«Leviathan-sama, Beelzebub-sama, Asmodeus-sama, thank you for coming on such short notice. Can I assume that you have been briefed on the circumstances?»
It was Falbium who spoke first, his tone somewhat dismissive and harsh
«Yeah, yeah. That old dusty crow Kokabiel attacked, was defeated and captured. But what I want to know is, are you telling the truth about the comeback of the Tuatha Dé Danann, girl? If you're lying, the consequences won't be pretty for you, sister of Sirzechs or not.»
Instead of retreating like a scared mouse from the moody and bald Maou, Rias squared her shoulders and answered Asmodeus while looking at him in the eyes
«Feel free to scan me magically for a geas if you wish for undeniable proof, Asmodeus-sama. I am not changing my story. Sona Sitri, our Peerages, the two Exorcists sent by the Vatican and myself were saved from certain death by Manannan Mac Lir. He was also accompanied by a redheaded and red eyed Spearswoman. We never heard her name, but Mac Lir was openly affectionate with her.»
Before Falbium could say something else, Ajuka spoke up all the while inspecting the young lady by walking around her, examining her more in depth with the help of his magical senses
«Falbium, my friend, calm down, will you? I can feel Celtic magic all over her without having to focus much. Young Rias here is telling the truth. That old boy Mac Lir sure lit the blue touch paper and ran like hell, didn't he? That's rather typical of him from what I've read and heard about the man. Well, when he wasn't acting like the stereotypical lush Irishman that is. It's clear that he had been much more lenient than expected of a Celtic god. My my, he really could have messed you up good with that Life Debt if he had wished for it, young lady. You were quite lucky.»
Rias was grateful for the intervention and lost no time in showing it. With another bow, she answered
«Thank you for your kind words, Beelzebub-sama.»
Ajuka waved her down but when he was about to speak again, he was interrupted by Serafall.
«It's a good thing that old Manny Mac Lir took Kokabiel away when he did. If he hadn't, I might have stormed my way to Grigori HQ to give Azazel a piece of my mind. And maybe some taste of a winter wonderland. It has been a while since I last used the Celcius Cross Trigger after all. That antediluvian black feathered grouch almost hurt my precious So-tan! Ooooh! What I wouldn't give to be able to wring that feather-duster's neck with my bare hands! But mom said I had to be res-pon-si-ble, ugh. Why did I accept this job again?»
While Rias had to make an effort to not react overtly at Serafall's displays of childishness, Sirzechs had no such compunction and let out an amused chuckle. His old friend's antics never ceased to amuse him. Before the meeting could devolve any further, the Crimson Satan took the lead
«My friends, you know why I called you here. Would you let Rias fulfill her duty so she can clear her debt? As genuine and straight forward as Mac Lir had been, I for one, don't wish for my younger sister to feel the penalties for dallying too long. We can speculate upon the Lord of Capes' motives and his fellow deities' reasons for awakening after so long, once she is done.»
The other three Satans finally accepted and Rias was now free to distribute the written invitations. Once done, she retreated at her brother's left side since Grayfia was standing vigil at his right. It was Falbium, who after carefully reading the invitation a few times, pointed the obvious
«Mac Lir most likely wishes to use Kokabiel's execution and our presence at his shindig as a way to make his big debut in the Supernatural world at large. By executing a known warmonger, he's marking himself as pro-peace, politically speaking. He's clearly acting on his own volition, since there is no mention of meeting with the Dagda or any other high ranking celtic gods. He might wish to form alliances or perhaps create a pact of non-aggression with us. It would explain why he was so straightforward and honest in his dealings with the young'uns. Now it remains to be seen if he's the kind of man to delegate the dirty work to his subordinates or if he's unafraid to get his own hands soaked in blood. Condemning a man to death and doing the deed himself are two different things after all.»
The other three Maous frowned as one, each considering what Falbium had said. But why would a member of the Tuatha Dé offer them olive branches now after being so isolationist for thousands of years? To be fair, the Devils of yore were not really good allies, but now? Something wasn't adding up. This time it was Serafall who spoke up, rather serious at the beginning but becoming more excited and somewhat childish by the end of her phrase
«I guess I will have to clear my schedule and attend the meeting in person if I want to know more, then. So-tan also told me that Mac Lir left an invitation to attend the event for her and her peerage and asked for permission to attend, and I told her yes. It seems that a field trip to London will be in the cards after all. I wonder if Manny will give us time to go visit Big Ben?»
XxX
Two weeks later, on the day in question, and about half an hour before the appointed time, Harry was waiting for his guests in Trafalgar Square. He was wearing a dark green tuxedo with a white shirt and a lighter green tie. He had managed to tame his hair somewhat and Fragarach was on one of his fingers in the form of a signet ring. Its current form meant nothing, Harry was able to fight even without his sword. Not that he was expecting a fight here, so close to Ten Downing Street. Alerting the general Muggle population of what truly lurked in the dark would be a foolish and idiotic move. Scáthach was near him, his right arm around her left. She was truly gorgeous today. She was wearing a thigh length black blouse, black sheer tights, knee high heeled boots, also black. To complete the look, she even had a black leather handbag and her long beautiful hair was left free as was her preference.
When he saw her dress like that this morning, it took every last bit of his willpower to not just throw her back onto their bed and have his way with her. And by the knowing look and the little crooked smile she gave him while slowly putting on a pair of panties, Scáthach knew exactly what she was doing to him. The minx. Harry had used Féth Fíada instead of a Muggle Repelling charm, since the magical mist could make them look utterly uninteresting instead of making everyone avoid their location, showing to more keen onlookers that something unusual was happening there.
The first to arrive were the angelic siblings Michael and Gabriel. Both had long blond hair and green eyes, a shade paler than his own. He was wearing a nice cream coloured tuxedo, with no wings or halo in sight for both of them. She was wearing a conservative knee length light blue sundress and a necklace with a small silver cross on it. While Michael's currently shorter hair was held in a low ponytail on his nape with a sky blue ribbon, Gabriel's was in a thick french braid hanging low on her back. The siblings were alone for a few minutes before Azazel and Shemhazai appeared. Contrary to his pure siblings who were wearing western style clothes, the Governor-General was wearing an informal navy blue kimono while the Vice-Governor had at least made an effort to look professional with a grey-blue tuxedo of his own. Michael and Azazel shared a look before they shared a nod and a sincere smile. Gabriel wasn't so restrained though. She took off from her position at Michael's side and lost no time in glomping onto her fallen brother. It had been three hundred years since they last saw each other in person after all.
Azazel was initially surprised by the hug, but a kind smile etched itself on his face before he tenderly embraced his younger sister. It was good to see her again after so long. Gabriel was about to give Shemhazai the same treatment as Azazel, but he simply shook his head in a negative fashion. No hugs for him. A few minutes later, the Devil contingent finally arrived. The younger Devils were chaperoned by the respective elder sibling of their King, while Ajuka was absently fiddling on a portable device of some kind while walking to their destination. Falbium was slowly, sluggishly trailing behind his tech-savvy friend, looking like he had just dragged himself out of bed. Once everyone was present, the leaders lost no time in greeting each other and making polite small talk. The younger Devils were more or less paralyzed with no small amount of awe, and a bit of fear. Well, except Issei, who was devouring Serafall and Gabriel's figures with his eyes.
Rias would have scolded him for his bad manners, but compared to his usual antics, Issei was rather restrained. So she chose to simply let it go and take his hand in hers. Her Pawn stopped ogling the female leaders to offer her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. She had asked him to be on his best behaviour for this event and he was clearly making efforts to keep his word since it was very important for her. The informal meet and greet came to a rather abrupt end when a thick mist heavy with magic rose suddenly without prior warning. It was Sona who broke the silence once again by gulping nervously and saying,
«… Féth Fíada… He's here…»
Sirzechs and Serafall practically teleported in front of their younger siblings, staring at their surroundings worryingly, while Rias and Sona's respective peerage closed ranks around their King in support. Falbium finally looked interested enough to no longer seem on the verge of falling asleep standing up, and Ajuka was poking with evident curiosity the banks of mist that came close to him. Azazel was looking at the same mist with an exasperated look, like he would have preferred to not see it at all, while Shemhazai was definitely nervous. The Vice Governor-General of the Grigori had a few previous encounters with the goddess Morrigan and he nearly didn't make it out alive after their last meeting! Gabriel and Michael were looking around calmly, wondering from which side the Irish sea god would arrive.
Harry let the suspense build for a few more minutes, before his beloved Scáthach nudged him lightly. It was show time. The celtic couple made their appearance by simply walking through the mist. As soon as they stepped through, it died down to an almost invisible level. While the adults weren't so entranced by Harry and Scáthach's looks, for the teens it was another thing entirely. Issei was openly drooling at the redheaded woman and even the stoic Sona felt herself beginning to blush at the sight of such a handsome young man looking so debonair in a tux! Even Saji and Kiba had to pinch their noses lest they get a nosebleed at seeing the god's companion!
Harry then said with a small but genuine half-smile
«Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming. I am Manannan Mac Lir and the lovely lady at my arm is Scáthach.»
Harry made a small pause, if only to observe the reactions of his guests at the name of his beloved. The Devils were either looking at her either with clueless expressions or with pensive frowns, Azazel and Shemhazai's eyes bugged out rather comically. Michael was now looking a bit pale and his hands were becoming sweaty. The most mind-blowing reaction, however, was Gabriel's,
«Wait a minute… Scáthach? The Queen of the Land of Shadows? The teacher of the Irish Hero Cú Chulainn? You're real! Oooh! I can't believe it!»
She snapped her fingers, making her handbag appear from a small magic circle, then started to look through it all the while mumbling under her breath. When the strongest woman in Heaven finally found what she was looking for, it was to brandish almost like a weapon a pen and a notepad in both hands and then say sweetly
«Please, may I have your autograph? You're my personal hero!»
The bubbly Seraph's actions were enough to break the sudden rise in tension, letting the adults chuckle at the angel's antics and the spearswoman's dumbfounded looks. Deciding to let the women sort themselves after Serafall joined Gabriel and Scáthach, Harry approached the Governor-General of the Grigori slowly but deliberately. He then offered his hand to shake to the Fallen Angel, while politely greeting him
«Sir Azazel. I'm glad to find you in good health.»
With a small put-upon sigh, Azazel gave his hand to the polite Celtic deity, only to be pleasantly surprised to receive a warrior's handshake rather than a modern one, since Mac Lir had grabbed his wrist instead. Bemused, and amused, Azazel reciprocated and answered with a half grin
«Lord Mac Lir. Peachy seeing you again.»
Harry made his rounds around the men until it was time to greet the ladies. Since Serafall was closer to him than Gabriel, he started with her. But instead of offering her the warrior's handshake like he did with the men, Mac Lir bowed deep at the waist and deposited a galant kiss on the knuckles of Maou Leviathan's right hand while greeting her
«Your Grace Leviathan.»
After he was done greeting her, Serafall lost no time in wiping her hand against the skirt of her business suit while exclaiming,
«Eww, gross! Boy cooties!»
Harry was slightly taken aback from that kind of reaction, until Shemhazai of all people, exaggerated a cough while saying the word
«Chūnibyō…»
It took a moment for Harry's mind to translate the word and it's meanings, but when it did, he answered with a nod of the head and a simple,
«Ah.»
So Serafall Leviathan was afflicted with an eighth-grader syndrome. That would explain why Vivianne thought that this particular Maou was insane. Harry finished his round of greetings and was it amusing to see the Seraph Gabriel blush and stutter like the young ladies did after the traditional kiss on the knuckles? Clapping his hands loudly to make everyone pay attention to him, Harry said to his guests
«Right, now that the formalities are taken care of, it's time to get to the main event. If you will follow me? I will guide you through the path leading to our final destination. I set up a door by the fountain nearby. Water makes an excellent medium for transdimensional journeys. Well, it does when you're a sea god.»
He finished with an amused smile. He was trying to make his guests feel more at ease and he wasn't sure if it was working or not. Even Serafall had an excellent poker face at the moment. He found the kids interesting, but they weren't in a position of power in their government. Not yet. So their opinions didn't matter as much as the adults, for now. Harry didn't want to join the Biblical Factions so much as he wanted to build a cordial relationship with them.
They were among the biggest players of the modern supernatural world after all. Once everyone was assembled near the fountain, the Man of the Sea snapped his fingers, but the sound produced a bigger than normal echo. A few seconds after his action, the fountain's jets stopped entirely and the water already inside it somehow solidified without turning into ice to form a stairway going down, bypassing the bottom of the structure and everything that should be underneath. There were also a few banks of mist now floating around the stairway.
Seeing the incredulous looks of everyone except his girlfriend, Harry suddenly felt a bit on the defensive, and exclaimed,
«What? It's either that or we take a trip on the Thames aboard my coracle. In the end, it's your choice. But trust me when I say that this stairway is the fastest way to get to our destination.»
In the end it was Azazel who took the initiative, all the while mumbling something about going down the Rabbit Hole. Being British, Harry recognised the quote coming from Alice in Wonderland and found it rather appropriate. After a bit of hesitation, the kids followed between their elders, with Harry and his lady love closing the march. The trip down the stairs lasted for only a few minutes before they emerged on dry land near the cliffs overlooking the Sea of Eden, crashing in great waves at their bases.
More precisely they were on the western side of the Isle of the Blessed, where he had planned to hold the execution. Once everyone was out of the stairway, it vanished like it had never been here in the first place. Seeing the wary looks on the various leaders' faces, Harry was quick to answer
«I apologize for closing the way back so suddenly, but we're no longer on Earth and the last thing I want is to be responsible for a Zombie Apocalypse. So I've gotten into the habit of closing the door behind me each time I travel between the World of the Living and the World of the Dead. Once we're done here I will bring you back. I'm willing to swear an Oath if needed.»
Scáthach, bless her kind heart, came to his rescue by adding
«I can vouch for Manannan. He's a man of his word. He will bring you all back to the World of the Living after we're done here or he won't be getting any tonight.»
She finished with an amused smirk, which made the tension which had escalated over the past several minutes take an immediate nosedive. So what if he was the subject of a few mocking jibes? That was nothing compared to when his name came out of the Goblet of Fire during his fourth year of schooling at Hogwarts. He was about to lead the way to the cliffs but a timid voice interrupted his action
«Ano… Lord… Mac Lir? Where exactly are we? It's so beautiful and serene!»
It was the blonde girl at the Red Dragon Emperor's side that had spoken. She had introduced herself previously as Asia Argento. Keeping his tone calm and amiable, he answered her
«Well, Miss Argento, we are currently on the Isle of the Blessed. It is one of the many Celtic Otherworlds running parallel to Earth. We are at the very frontier between the World of the Living and the various Afterlives. This island is the final destination for the souls under my jurisdiction that I ferry. From there, they go to their respective afterlives on their own. Now excuse me, please. I need to speak to everyone.»
After walking ahead of everyone, Harry explained
«Our destination is nearer to the cliffs. It's a five minute walk from here. Please don't be alarmed, I will sound off a hunting horn as soon as we arrive so my assistants know to bring in the prisoner. I intend to get rid of the bad business before leading with the good.»
From one moment to another, Harry's tux changed into his divine armor, without the helmet and Fragarach appeared, sheathed at his left hip. Once at the destination, he did as previously stated. A normal looking hunting horn suddenly appeared in his hand, and he brought it up to his lips; and after taking a breath, blew forth so that the sound of the horn was heard for kilometres around. Just as the sounds of the primeval nature around them took back their rights, another hunting horn was heard coming from the south. Soon the sounds of soldiers marching towards them could be heard, louder and louder, until the Knights of the Round Table were seen in all their martial glory. Sirs Bedivere and Agravain were at the head of the procession, with a rather roughed up Kokabiel securely held by Gawain and Lancelot with the rest of the Knights closing the march.
With anger tarnishing her handsome face and her voice after she saw people who were supposed to be long dead, Gabriel turned toward the pagan god and almost snarled at him
«What did you do, you fool?! Have you taken leave of your common sense?! You resurrected people who have been dead for hundreds of years! You, who is a Ferryman of the Dead, should know the importance of the balance between life and death! You must fix this mess quickly! They all need to go back to their eternal slumber, now!»
Before Harry could say anything in his defense except raising an incredulous eyebrow, Michael's soothing voice was heard, defusing his younger sister's rising temper
«Peace, Gabriel. Look deeper with your magical senses open, little sister. Those knights aren't alive per see. They are in fact Heroic Spirits if I'm not mistaken. Also, It is not our place to tell deities from other pantheons what they can and cannot do. Not anymore. If Lord Mac Lir had chosen to resurrect the Knights of the Round Table, he would have been well within his rights to do Knights and their King had been claimed by the Fae Vivian since the creation of their order, thus their souls belonged to the Tuatha Dé Danann. Even if the King aligned their Kingdom with Heaven.»
Suddenly feeling very embarrassed after basically making a fool of herself in front of so many important people, Gabriel hid her flushed face in her hands and mumbled an apology. Not feeling slighted at all, Harry told her with a casual shrug of his shoulders and an amused smile
«My lady, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm not even upset. I think you should be more afraid of what Her Grace Leviathan might do with the knowledge of your rising temper rather than any reaction on my part.»
Gabriel let out a loud groan after seeing Serafall's wolfish smile, which brought an amused smile from the Pagan deity and the two free Fallen Angels. Clapping his hands together, Harry brought back the meeting to where it should go. With his game face on, he marched toward his prisoner and ordered the knights holding the now ex-Cadre
«Bring him to the executioner's block.»
Gawain and Lancelot were quick to obey but when Kokabiel started to struggle, Mordred appeared in front of him with a quick application of mana burst, only to shove their armored fist deep into the prisoner's solar plexus. The combination of being out of breath and being in debilitating pain due to the very powerful hit made the condemned easier to be moved. Suddenly, all the mirth was gone. The seriousness was back with a vengeance. Asia, the very gentle soul who absolutely despised hurting and seeing people get hurt, spoke up suddenly
« Lord Mac Lir? Why? Why does Kokabiel need to die? Can't he just be judged by a jury made of his peers and be sent to prison for his crimes?»
It was Bedivere who answered her with a sad smile and a sad voice
«Milady, there is no prison anywhere in the Human world that could hold him long enough for him to serve his just sentence. And being a Fallen Angel who can live for thousands of years, a lifetime of imprisonment would be simply too cruel. Better a quick and painless death than an eternity of suffering.»
Then it was Issei who spoke up for the first time
«Hum, is there an appointed executioner? And I don't see any gallows around…»
Modern Japan still applied the death penalty, not very often, but it still happenned. But those condemned to death were only ever hanged.
This time, it was Tristan who answered softly
«We, the Knights of the Round Table and Lord Mac Lir, are men of the Old World and of honour. We usually hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.»
Issei was many things, but an imbecile he was not. Not anymore. He understood quickly that they were about to see the ex-Grigori cadre be beheaded. He felt rather queasy at the idea, but he knew better than to speak his objections out loud. They were in Manannan's domain, where the international laws of the Human world and those of the Underworld had no hold. The Red Dragon Emperor was brought out of his musing by Mac Lir's voice
«Do you have any final words, Kokabiel?»
The battered and dirty Fallen Angel was on his knees, still flanked by Lancelot and Gawain and the rest of the Knights nearby on standby. When the warmonger said nothing, just seemingly seething in silence and plotting still, the Lord of Capes spoke up again
«You ate Faery food, Kokabiel. Even if you were to escape from your execution, you can no longer leave this Otherworld alive. So I repeat. Do you have any last words?»
When the condemned still stayed silent, Harry let out a quiet sigh and spoke up again
«Very well. Let's proceed.»
Lancelot and Gawain took the initiative to put the prisoner's head on the executioner's block while the Man of the Sea slowly drew Fragarach, who escaped her sheath with a quasi musical note, before it took the shape and the size of a Scottish claymore. With the blade pointing to the ground, the sea god spoke out loud with a tangible authority in his voice
«In the name of Manannan of the House of Lir, First of His Name, King of Tír na nÓg, Lord of Capes, and Protector of the British Islands, I, Harry of the House of Potter, Lord of the House of Black and Potter and Warden of Hogwarts, sentence you to die.»
Then, almost too swiftly for the young Devils to see, Mac Lir resolutely swung his sword and beheaded the condemned. Kokabiel, the Fallen Angel of Stars, was no more.