I'm in something like shock.

Excalibur.

As in Excalibur.

The Sword of Promised Victory.

Broken into seven pieces, and each of those forged into seven new holy swords, each of which carried one power of the original... at least that's what I recall from my halfhearted watching of Highschool DxD. Which doesn't really match anything like what I recall from my understanding of Arthurian Myth.

Honestly the Excaliburs of the anime were kind of underwhelming. The original Excalibur would have been even more so if all it had were the accumulated powers of the modern Excaliburs. Especially here in High School DxD, I really don't see how destruction, shape shifting (of the weapon mind), speed, and invisibility, even all together could add up to promised victory. Sure it might make somebody very dangerous in a duel. My understanding of 'Promised Victory' though, is more that when a leader takes the field carrying this sword their army wins, not them. Arthur ended up dead and Camlen after all, his army won, but he sure as hell didn't. It just didn't...

"Can I speak with Ericka for a moment before we keep going?" Pua's question cuts through my thoughts, jerking me back to the present. Not quickly enough to hear or see Vivain's response, but Pua beckoning me to follow her pretty much told me what it was.

I follow her out of the forge and a little ways down stream. Once I catch up with her, Pua reaches into a pocket and pulls out a glass vial of some powder that she spills in a circle around us. A few muttered words in what I think is Greek and suddenly all the sound from outside her circle vanishes. It feels kinda like I have to pop my ears, and just can't for whatever reason.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Pua asks me seriously, "Now that you have an idea of what she's asking for?"

I sigh, honestly on some level I expected something like this since Vivain had shown up. Maybe not this specifically, but something to do with one of the swords attributed to her. Prying all the pieces of Excalibur away from those who have them at the moment is definitely not on any hypothetical list of payments I came up with. Though now that oversight seems kind of foolish. Still, "It's a tall order, maybe not as tall as she thinks it is, but still tall. Do you think you can get something that'll be worth the effort out of her?"

Pua snorts, "Don't worry about that, worry about whether or not you'll be able to deliver." She hisses the last at me, "You do not want to default on a debt with any fae, but especially not an old and powerful one. Which the Lady of the Lake most certainly is. So do you think you can pull it off?"

I scratch my eyebrow as I think, "Well I know where five of the pieces will be in about two years. They'll be involved in enough chaos that just picking them up shouldn't be too hard. If I can live through what's happening. Hell I might be able to convince the exorcists that have the things when the dust settles to just give them to me. They'll be pretty disillusioned with the church at that point. Pretty sure they both end up as devils actually." I frown as I try to dredge up details about something I'd watched halfheartedly a literal lifetime ago, "I know where the sixth one is, though getting it will be more challenging."

"Which leaves only the seventh unaccounted for." Pua said deep in thought, "Who's got number six?"

"Arthur Pendragon." I admit and Pua winced.

"Any idea how to get it away from him?" Which is a fair question. Pendragon is considered a candidate for the title of 'strongest human alive' for a reason.

"Off the top of my head? Challenge him to a duel for it. Make sure he has the thing where we fight. Then cheat like a mother fucker, and run like hell." The wry twist to my lips shows what a high opinion I have of that plan. Pua arches an eyebrow at me and I shrug, "Honor is for picking battles, not fighting them."

Pua pulls another face that shows she agrees with me. Both with my sentiment about honor and the quality of that plan, "Are you sure you want to do this? You'll piss off a lot of people."

"I was always going to piss off a lot of people, but I don't think it'll be as bad as you think it'll be. Of the three biblical factions, I think only the church will be really mad at me, and if I have to pick one of the big three factions to piss, off the church is the one I'd pick. The devils will probably throw me a party for making six or seven of the most powerful holy swords in the world disappear, and I can't see where the Fallen would give a shit. Added to that, the church's soldiers are almost entirely Exorcists. I think I can take an Exorcist or two, at least they're human. I'm not so sure about fighting a fallen angel, never mind a peerage of devils." I shrug, "Also remember that I'm leaving. My plan always involved pissing off everybody I'm going to as close together as possible, and then ditching the universe before they can catch up with me." Pua just stares at me for a long moment or two, so I keep going, "And aside from all of that, where else would I get weapons and armor of the quality and power being offered here? Not to mention with the unusual properties that I need?"

Pua groans, "All I can think of is either the dwarves of Svartálfaheimr, though I have no idea how you would get there, or what you could offer them. That or Buddhist Asuras Titans, who are supposed to forge their weapons out of elemental destruction, and I'm not even sure they exist. Hephaestus could probably do the work, but you're even less likely to be able to afford him than the dwarves. There may have been a cyclops or two that could pull it off, but nobody's seen one of them in centuries." I cock my head in question at her and Pua grimaces, "They kept on pissing off gods by out performing them."

"What about whoever forged Kusanagi?" I ask trying to think of other magic swords in the world and who made them.

"Susano'o found Kusanagi in an eight headed snake's ass. Nobody knows where the hell it came from."

I sigh, "So this is it."

"This is it." She agrees with a very put upon sigh of her own, "All right, lets go get the better end of this deal."

###

Listening to an experienced and powerful Kahuna and an ancient Fae negotiate is the auditory and intellectual equivalent of an Escher painting. I can mostly track what's going on at any given moment but how it's happening, I have no idea.

Still when all is said and done, I think it turns out pretty well. In layman's terms what's agreed upon is this:

For three shards of the True Excalibur, I will receive a sword with the potential to equal The Sword of Promised Victory. Explicitly what the Lady of the Lake had forged, and not the replicas that the Church is so proud of. This blade will be one that will continue to function as intended no matter where I end up, will be unable to be permanently destroyed, damaged or lost, and will always be a boon to me in combat. Never a hindrance, no matter what powers I gain or how powerful I become.

For two shards of the True Excalibur, I will receive a suit of armor. Armor that will, similarly to the sword, continue to function as intended no matter where I go, will be unable to be permanently destroyed, damaged or lost, and will always be a boon to me in combat, never a hindrance, no matter what powers I gain or how powerful I become.

For one shard of the True Excalibur, I will receive an Athame made to the highest standards of fae forging. It will contain the perfected version of the Script I've been testing with my knives, be unable to be permanently destroyed, damaged or lost, and be usable in combat.

For one shard of the True Excalibur I will receive some trinket of equal value to the Athame. Exactly what that trinket will be will be determined, and delivered, when and if I can actually find and retrieve the last damn shard.

None of these will have any backdoors built into them, nor would any form of control be added to their nature. What is delivered to me will be loyal to me and me alone.

On my end, upon the agreed upon items being completed, examined, and vouched for by a third party, in this case Pua, I will swear thrice to deliver the shards owed. So six of them at least. Then I'll then get the weapons and armor.

There's no time limit on delivery as long as I'm making some reasonable effort to pay my debt. Waiting for specific circumstances to occur counted, as long as there's an actual definite event I'm waiting for. Planning and gathering information are also considered reasonable efforts.

I am not required to do anything that will be guaranteed to result in my death or permanent maiming. Nor is paying off my debt required to be my only activity during this time, again as long as I'm still making an effort to do so.

At the same time I'm not allowed to stall, or artificially delay delivery. Waiting for the best opportunity is fine, making up reasons to delay payment is not.

All in all a pretty sweet deal.

###

I sort of expect forging to begin immediately after the agreement is made, but that's not what happens. First measurements are taken, to make the armor fit perfectly. I also have to actually make the finished version of the trait theft script. Something that takes me another week with Pua, and surprisingly Vivain's help.

Once all that is done we find ourselves back in Vivain's forge. The Lady herself looks over the notes she's made about my proportions, and what each item will be required to actually do. Something she hasn't let me look at, but Pua assures me it will be everything promised.

Finally Vivain sets the notes aside, "Very well, well let us begin." She turns to me looking very serious, which makes me more than a little nervous, "I'm going to extract two portions of your soul. These pieces will be forged into the sword and armor making them part of you. They will repair themselves, and even regrow in your soul should they be destroyed entirely. You may even be able to learn a way to store them in your soul so they will always be at hand."

I turned to look at Pua trying to project my the only thought in my head, 'Are you fucking serious?' at her as hard as I can.

Her only response is to nod.

I sigh to hide the small kernel of panic that's growing in me and nodded at Vivain, "All right. Let's do this." Before I come to my senses and think better of this.

Vivain nods back to me, and steps forward. Without warning she plunges both her hands into my chest like I'm a pool of water. Only Pua grabbing my shoulder keeps me from jerking away from her. Vivain's face screws up in concentration, as she pushes her arms deeper into my chest, almost up to her shoulders. Deep inside me I feel her grab something that I bet most people would never recognize. I know what it is though, because it's the same thing that's altered every time I steal a trait.

The Lady of the Lake solidifies her grip and begins to feel up my soul, looking for something specific. I would have felt profoundly violated if I hadn't agreed to this, or hadn't been told what's happening. As it is I just feel profoundly uncomfortable. Finally she finds what she wants, she grips harder, and pulls.

The feeling is a literally soul deep ache that only gets worse as whatever part Vivain has a hold of pulls free. One of her arms comes out of my chest holding something that shines in colors that don't exist and is a shape that simply isn't.

At the same time it looks so very much like me that I almost reach for it, only Pua pushing my arm down stops me. As Vivain slips that piece of me into a gourd that Pua offers to her I feel like I'm losing something precious. The moment the gourd is corked, the fae turns back to me and plunges her arm back into my chest to start the whole process over again.

The second piece takes less time to find, and removing it only makes me ache worse. The moment Vivain finishes and removes her arms from me exhaustion lands on me like a ton of bricks. I just feel so much less than I was a moment ago. My legs buckle, and my vision fuzzes as I become too tired to focus. The only reason I don't collapse entirely is Pua catching me. The tiny Kahuna grunts in strain as my large form collapses against her, but she manages to brace me enough for me to keep my feet.

"Come on." Pua grunts, "Let's get you someplace to lie down." It's all I can do to nod and stagger towards not here with her help.

"Before you go!" Vivain calls out behind us and I nearly brake down into tears, I'm so tired, "Were you planning on any major physical changes in the near future?" The fae asks, "On the same scale as your increase in size?"

Changes?

Right, I had plans for things I would kill and steal traits from. Would any of them change me physically now that I've gotten the Script right? I don't think so... Plans have changed though. I'm stealing Excalibur bits, so I'm going to be hanging around at least a few acceptable targets with wings for a while. Just the thought of everything I'm going to have to do in the near future makes me even more tired.

Still, that is the plan.

"Wings." I mutter trying not to slur my words, "I'm going to get a pair of wings."

"From?" Vivain prompts.

"Angel." I manage to get out, swaying on my feet even with Pua bracing me, "From a fallen angel."

###

I wake from the sun hitting me in the face. Which is unusual, normally I'm up and working long before the sun gets to the point where it can get through my window. I roll over with a groan wishing I could sleep longer. Whatever happened yesterday really took it out of me.

I groan again and try to get out of bed, and instead hit the ground with a thud. My legs are made of water, and refuse to hold me up without sufficient warning. My everything is sore, which is something I haven't experienced since getting my troll healing.

Still habit drags me through my morning workout routine, refilling my mana, and into the shower. The closest to dressed I can bring myself to achieve though are sweat pants and a tank top. I stumble down the stairs to find Pua, Ku, and Thea sitting around the breakfast table.

All three of them have various flavors of concern painted across their expressions. Thea has the general look of concern that she actually has a lot while looking at me. It's almost kind of motherly, like she's worried that I'm not eating enough. As though reading my mind she pops to her feet as I come in and starts fussing and getting me something to eat.

Ku's concern smells more like dread... sort of. Like he's watching a train wreck and is waiting for the body count.

Pua is more resigned, she knows what's wrong and is getting ready to deal with the fall out, rather than worry about what has already happened.

I slump into a chair at the table, and plant my forehead on the table top, "How are you feeling?" Pua asks.

"I'm sore, which I thought I wasn't capable of being any more, so I'm also a little upset about that. I'm tired, and I'm hungry..." A plate of food is placed in front of me, "Thank you, oh goddess of the kitchen." I mutter and dig into the full English breakfast Thea has given me.

"You slept in," Ku says cautiously, prompting me to look up at him curiously, "After you eat, are you going to want to get in some practice? You've got a new sword coming, focusing on your swordsmanship might be a good idea. Especially since I bet that we could get Vivain to at least admit what kind of sword it'll be."

I open my mouth to agree, then pause as what that would involve hits me. Ku would beat the crap out of me until I'm out of mana from my regeneration working. Then I'd overfill my network to just shy the point of damage to try and speed up it's growth, which would also hurt. Then we'd start the process all over again. I know I'm improving, but right now it just doesn't seem worth it. I'm already sore, and avoiding pain seems like a great idea right now.

"Not really?" Everybody stares at me. Which is fair, I don't think I've ever not jumped at training before. Never mind actively avoided it, "What? I had two pieces of my soul ripped out yesterday." Even as I say it, it sounds wrong.

This really isn't like me at all.

Nobody says anything as I finish eating. I stand to put away my dishes, but Thea steals them out of my hands with a smile, "So what are you going to do if you're not training?" Pua asks as I'm left standing with my hands still outstretched where they'd had a plate a moment ago.

"I'm..." I stall out again. What am I going to do? Training and exercising are right out. Both sound like work and I just don't have the energy for it. I could try to figure out some of the holes in my future plans, like how to survive the Gap... but that sounds like work too. The only thing I do that sounds even vaguely like a hobby is drawing, and Sarah was right all those years ago. Drawing isn't really a hobby, I don't do it for fun, "...I don't know..."

Feeling more than a little bit lost I wander upstairs to change into something more appropriate for a nice Hawaiian day, then back down stairs, out of the door and then I just keep wandering.

###

I end up on the beach after almost an hour of going everywhere else. The field where I practice with Ku, the larger field where I taught munchkins how to fling themselves through the air and at the ground without dying. I even pause for several long minutes by the fish pond, where I stare at the forge and listen to the ringing sounds of hammer on steel. Or whatever more exotic material Vivain is actually using. I can't imagine soul alloying well with mundane metals.

But eventually I find myself on the beach. The sun warm, and the sands pale, the smell of salt water filling the air. The waves crashing on the reef in the distance provide a constant low roaring background to the shrill cries of sea birds.

Gentle swells roll onto the beach, lapping against the feet and legs of the younger members of the village playing in them. The kids have already bounced back from the invasion, and are splashing and playing in the relative safety of the shallows of the shielded bay.

A gaggle of somewhat older kids are being taught how to surf by a woman who looks about my age. She's wearing a very brief bikini showing off her dark pacific islands complexion, and softly defined feminine muscle.

She gives me something very nice to look at while my mind runs in circles. From the occasional glance in my direction, and shy smiles she doesn't really seem upset about my ogling her. Still, I try to keep my staring to the environment she happens to be in rather than at her specifically.

My mind is in turmoil though. It's becoming increasingly clear to me that I haven't done anything but drive myself into preparing for the supernatural world, and escaping it, since literally the day of my birth. When was the last time I read a book or seen a movie that wasn't required for a class? Have I ever watched TV or played a video game?

I don't think I ever have, not in this life.

I used to.

In my last life I'd been a nearly obsessive reader. My friends used to joke that I had a book addiction from the pace I went through them. Apparently a full length novel a day is unusual.

I'd watched movies, and TV, it's how I know anything about where I am now at all. Since I've been reborn though...

Nothing but driving myself at a goal that's probably impossible. Anything that might have even the slightest chance of working, I pursue and damn the consequences.

God, the only time I slowed down is when I've been injured, and I only stopped when Sarah made me. Even then it was more for her than because it was something I enjoyed.

I should really go visit her at some point. Suddenly the idea of taking a break to go to a club and actually try to enjoy myself doesn't sound so bad. It would be different at least. It occures to me that right now I'm not actually much of a person. I'm more a biological machine and that...

"Hey!" I'm yanked out of my thoughts and look up to find the pretty surfing instructor, looking even better fresh from the sea, standing over me with a slightly awkward smile, "Um... I noticed you sitting here and you seem kinda upset," I'm sure we've been introduced before, what is her name? "and I don't really know you well enough to ask you what's wrong, but surfing always makes me feel better, so I thought I'd see if you wanted to join us, and maybe it would help you at least feel better even if it doesn't actually help solve whatever the problem is?" She speaks in a rush, her decidedly run on sentence ends in a squeak. Like she ran out of air at the end there, and had been determined to finish before she took a breath anyway.

Her name is... "Leimomi right?"

Leimomi beams at me and nods her head, "That's right." She sounds thrilled, "You can call me Lei though. Leimomi is kind of a mouthful for constant use." She visibly snaps her mouth shut to keep from continuing on.

"I don't really have a swim suit..." Which is kind of odd now that I think about it. Who the hell comes to Hawaii without a swimsuit?

Somebody who has no idea what fun is that's who. Wow, that's depressing. I'm not the only one who thinks so either.

Lei gapes at me as though I just told her that I keep my extra head in my room, and normally just walk around with the two.

"You what?" She squeaks, "Why don't you have..." Lei shakes herself, "Not important. Here stand up." She holds out her hands, and without really thinking I take them, then carefully get myself up without pulling her down on me. I may not weigh as much as I did just after killing the trolls, when I was at nine feet tall, but I'm still six foot plus of super dense bone and muscle. Even if them being mostly made of carbon means I'm not as heavy as one might think, if I just pull on her she'll end up in my lap.

...

Something to think about later.

The top of Lei's head is even with my collarbone, so she ends up face to chest with me. Swallowing hard she takes a quick step back, and looks me over, "Well I don't think anything of mine is going to fit you." No kidding, not only am I taller than her, but broader in both the shoulders and the hips, "Well... Do you have a sports bra on?" She asks looking down at the shorts I threw on before leaving Pua's house. I actually ended up owning a few pairs of board shorts simply because they're the easiest and cheapest thing to find in Hawaii. So after being in the islands as long as I have I ended up with a lot of them.

"Yeah..." I nod wondering where she's going with this.

"Well in this case of emergency you could just take your shirt off and use the sports bra as a top, assuming it won't turn transparent." Lei offers with a smile.

I think about that for a moment, looking back at the beach and the water. The water does look pretty nice. With a shrug I pull my tank top over my head, tossing it onto a spot out of the sun where I'll be able to find it again easily. When I look back at her, Lei is staring at my stomach with her mouth open slightly. A cough from me is enough to snap her out of whatever trance she was in, and when she looks back up at my face, which takes a moment longer than I would have expected, she's blushing hard enough for me to see the red through her complexion.

After a moment of awkward silence I decide to point out something that might end up being important pretty soon, "I have no idea how to surf. Never done it before."

Lei's blush fades slightly as she gives me the brightest smile I've seen since the first time I called Sarah my best friend when we were six.

"That's okay! I'll teach you!"

###

Surfing ends up being a lot of fun and not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Granted I have excellent balance and an unreasonable degree of kinesthesia. Balancing on the board isn't exactly hard, and I don't try anything too difficult. Between the two I think I do pretty well for a first time.

My instructor giving me so much personal attention can't have hurt either. I'm worried that she's neglecting her other students for a few moments. Looking at the teen's she had been teaching though, they're either ignoring us or watching with big smiles and copious giggles.

They seem fine, so I just shrug and ignore them, focusing instead on following the advice that my surfing instructor is giving me. Lei really is very attentive, even when I'm not doing anything wrong.

Lei and I finally called it quits long after the rest of her students have given up and wandered off to do other things, and only then because the sun began to set. She's tireless and could have clearly kept going longer, proving she's a born and bred surfer girl. I can only keep up for so long because I have more endurance than is probably good for me. An artifact of giving up anything that might resemble a life for more training time.

Lei definitely wants to stick around on the beach longer, and invites me to go night swimming with her while she blushes hard enough to be visible even in the fading light. I turn her down, swimming has become an adventure for me since my muscles and bones became stupidly dense. I don't really float all that well any more, it's something that's on my list of things to find a way to work around. In all that copious free time I have.

Honestly I'm kind of surprised the surfboard floated with me on it.

Lei seems disappointed but not really upset. So bid her goodnight, and get a shy hug for my troubles, which I gently return. Then I head back to Pua's house. I'm still sore, but the day surfing has proven that it isn't really a physical soreness.

Probably something to do with getting a couple of chunks of my soul torn out.

Still, a diner that Thea had left out for me, feeding my mana needs, and a shower, and I'm ready to crash.

Much later that night I sit bolt upright in bed as several things about the day line up and snap together into a complete picture.

"Holy shit... Lei was hitting on me!"