"So while you're here with me, your friends and allies are off hunting the stolen Excaliburs?" Azazel clarified curiously as he jerked and jumped his way through the minigame. "You sure that's entirely wise? I got the impression you were your group's heaviest hitter."
"Heaviest, but not best," Ryuko countered as she proceeded to thrash him in the minigame. "I can hit harder and faster than most, but I'm far from the most skilled. Besides, they've got some regenerating backup..."
Ira growled under his breath as he analyzed the situation, his arms crossed as he shielded his comrades.
Pro: they had found at least one of the Excalibur fragments.
Con: it had taken far longer than expected, as it was already nightfall.
Pro: in darkness, Devils were stronger.
"Is that all you got, you shitty devils!"
Con: Freed Selzan was using it against them.
"Enough!" Ira snapped as he backhanded the crazed rogue exorcist into a wall, leaving a bloody smear.
Pro: he wasn't that much better a fighter.
The bloody smear rapidly drew itself back together in the form of the mad exorcist, the sword still clutched in his hands, the wavy, spiked blade glowing with his crazed faith. "Ooh, are you gonna hit me again, shitty devil? Keep it coming!"
Con: he could apparently regenerate now.
"How in the hell is he able to do that?" Ravel screamed out as she raised a flame barrier to partially deflect the holy bullets Freed fired from the gun in his free hand.
"Oh, didn't you know?" Freed cackled madly as he - of all things - did a pirouette to smack away Yuuto, Irina, and Xenovia's three pronged assault while trying to hit the others with bullets, only for Ira to tank and deflect them. "My new backer found all sorts of abandoned projects when he was forced to flee the Vatican! He made use of all of them for this project, and this is just one of the tamer ones!"
Pro: he now seemed compelled to talk about himself and his new abilities, which distracted him from fighting more than his insane rambling usually did, and could possibly give them information on his new abilities.
"That project was discontinued because the only one to ever survive the process was rendered mentally unhinged and consumed with violent tendencies!" Xenovia snapped out angrily as she barely parried a blow with her own Excalibur fragment. "He made no distinction between those he hunted and anyone who happened to be in the area!"
...Ira wasn't entirely certain where to put that on the Pro/Con list...
"I know!" Freed declared ecstatically. "He was my hero!"
"Besides, I don't think there's been that much of a change," Yuuto growled under his breath, a brief moment of frustration managing to squeeze out around the overwhelming rage he barely controlled in the presence of the Excalibur Fragments he hated so much.
Point made, Ira thought silently.
The air around Freed suddenly seemed to blur. "Now taste the power granted me by my Excalibur Rapidly!" he declared as he seemingly vanished, Yuuto all but vanishing from sight as well as clashes of blades created sparks of light all across the battlefield.
Con, Ira growled irritably in his mind, his weapon lets him move at Knight speed, and our only present member with that speed has his judgement hindered by his overwhelming and uncontrolled wrath directed at holy swords.
"Absorption Line!" Saji suddenly declared, a small device that resembled of all things a Kabuto from Pokemon appearing on his wrist, opening its mouth, and shooting out a line to wrap around Freed's ankle, draining energy right out of him.
Pro, our allies have unexpected additions, Ira thought as he rushed forward in an attempt to flatten Freed even as Ravel launched bursts of homing flame around him.
"Oho," a calm, elderly voice observed as sacred glyphs appeared in the air, deflecting Ravel's fireballs and stopping Ira's charge as they caught him at the ankles. "A Fenex allied with Gremorys and Exorcists, what an unusual combination." A short, balding man in priest robes with a large mustache and glasses walked out of the shadows between stacks of shipping containers that bordered their battlefield.
"Valper Galilei!" Xenovia called out firmly. "You are under arrest! Surrender quietly and you will be taken in unharmed for trial for your crimes! Resist and we have clearance to purge you!"
"...Valper...!" Yuuto growled out, his voice suddenly being consumed by wrath as his eyes hardened almost to slits.
Con, Ira thought grimly as he saw that expression, our fastest swordsman and only real counter to Freed just found the focus of his vengeance and lost all reason.
"If you think this is enough to stop us, you are wrong!" Irina called out as she dodged around the glyphs, her Excalibur Mimic suddenly shifting from a katana to a whip as it lashed out...only for a stone fist to erupt from one of the containers and seize it.
"Oh don't worry," Valper observed with a smirk. "While Kokabiel may disdain the use of excessive subordinates because he feels his own power is enough for any conflict and despises weaklings, Freed did tell you that I brought many projects on this mission. This one was discontinued because once they started one, they couldn't make it stop..." The containers slowly opened, revealing stone constructs that appeared to be mockeries of the human form, each with three Hebrew letters engraved deep in the face before the stone closed around it, shielding the letters from damage. "But that's really only a concern if you care about collateral damage..." He chuckled as one of the golems slammed a fist into the ground and released a sacred energized shockwave that sent the Devils present falling back.
Con, Ira thought as he barely caught one of the golems in its charge, managing to push it back until a second hit him from another angle, forcing him to divide his strength, our foes are stupidly overprepared...
"I'm sure they can handle it..." Ryuko murmured thoughtfully, though for some reason she was suddenly far less sure of herself than she had been. "Well...short of having to face the guy behind it all."
"Oh?" Azazel asked in surprise. "You know who it is?"
"Somebody called Kokabiel," Ryuko replied before turning to Azazel. "He's one of yours, right?"
Azazel's smile disappeared. "Indeed..." he grumbled irritably. "Just what is that warmonger up to now...?"
"Satsuki thinks he wants to restart the Great War between Angels, Fallen Angels, and Demons," Ryuko pointed out thoughtfully.
"So she suggested was the motivation of whoever was behind it when I talked to her," Azazel replied absently. "But it actually being Kokabiel..."
"Wait, you're talking to Satsuki?" Ryuko asked in surprise.
"Of course!" Azazel answered easily. "You made her sound absolutely fascinating, and if I do make the decision we talked about, there needs to be some groundwork, right?"
Ryuko couldn't help but chuckle. "Geeze, Ojii-kun..."
Azazel thought silently for a time, then turned to Ryuko. "You want a crack at Kokabiel yourself, don't you?" he asked with a playful smirk.
"That obvious?" Ryuko joked playfully.
"I'll be sure to tell my agent not to interfere unless absolutely needed to keep someone important from dying," Azazel promised with a wide grin. "Whichever side that happens to apply to."
Ryuko laughed smugly. "Thanks, Ojii-kun! Think they'll actually listen?"
"Oh, they likely would have waited anyway," he replied, his eyes locked on her right hand. "They want a look at what you three can do, too...though they only expect two."
Feeling Ddraig pulse in response to that, Ryuko understood exactly what wasn't being said. "Really, now?" she asked eagerly. "I'll be sure to put on a show, then..."