"If only it were that easy to convince others to listen." Saji said as he sat next to Asia, watching the two exorcists eat voraciously. The food was being served up by Kurin and his Fallen and Devil housemates.
"If only indeed." Kurin said from the kitchen as he delivered more food, to which the two gratefully accepted and devoured. "Good food is hard to come by, though." He joked.
Kurin had enlisted Sona's pawn, Saji, for some assistance in his plan to convince Xenovia and Irina to assist them in their mission. The blond pawn only relented thanks to Koneko's assistance (and persistence on getting his help) on the matter. Later on, they were joined by Asia, and despite thinking that it would be difficult finding them, it was actually pretty easy to spot them…
They were begging for alms. Kurin couldn't help but laugh internally at their predicament. He then had an idea in his head, and put it straight to work. The result, of course, is what was currently happening at this point.
Kurin offered to feed the two food, not yet telling them of his true intentions. Though he already suspected that they would piece it together anyway.
Koneko merely watched on in passive interest, choosing to not say a word.
"They must've been really hungry if they could eat so much." Asia noted, surprised at the speed they're going at.
"Which is why we're lucky Kurin always has time to market for food." Kalawarner said aloud.
"And the money he has in stock too!" Xuelan remarked.
"Speaking of which, how is it that you never seem to run out of money, Kurin-san?" Saji asked.
At first, nothing came from Kurin, until he came out with another batch of food, so busy with earlier that he wasn't able to answer immediately.
"Well, my aunt and uncle left me their will, bequeathing me all their wealth and belongings. There was also another will left for me...my parents'. When they died, it would be given to them. But now that they're gone too, I'm pretty much the sole owner of everything they owned. And...it's a lot, I'll just say. All the money is under a bank account to which only I can access." He explained.
"If that was the case, why didn't you go and buy a bigger house with all that money?" Irina asked, briefly pausing from her voracious satiation of hunger. Kurin looked back at her with a shake of his head.
"At the time, it wasn't like I had a reason to. I was alone in the house most of the time, I had enough space for everything I needed, and I don't need much at all. Not to mention I still own the house that belonged to my aunt and uncle, so most of their belongings are there under lock and key. Though with more and more staying at my house, clearly, I may have to reconsider..." He said.
"Kurin, thank you for all of this. We appreciate it. This is also really good." Xenovia said, bowing her head down.
Irina prayed to God for the generosity they had given, which in turn just gave everyone else but Kurin and Raynare headaches. Irina quickly apologized for her action. Force of habit, she explained. Kurin just chuckled, turning to Xenovia.
"Eh, you probably know why I'm also doing this." Kurin said.
"Why would you want to help us? I thought your president agreed not to be involved." Irina questioned.
"It's more about wanting to help Yumi-chan with her problem. She's so vengeance-riddled that clearly, she hadn't had much help in moving on with her past. Of course, we don't want to lose her, so we really want to help you guys with this. Also adding to that is the threat of the Excaliburs themselves. And of course, I have a bone to pick with Kokabiel." Kurin answered.
Both exorcists nodded in understanding.
"You said you know about Kokabiel. How?" Irina asked.
"Ray-chan and Kala-chan were once part of a group of four Fallen Angels who had been working under Azazel's authority here in Kuoh, observing over any humans who could possess a Sacred Gear. That human of course, was me. As for what happened after..." Kurin went on to explain the rest, from Asia's first meeting and involvement to the church battle where he fought Dohnaseek. All the while, both the exorcists and Saji were listening with rapt eyes and ears.
"To conclude, after I had dealt with Dohnaseek, I found out from his last words that Kokabiel was his master, Asia was then resurrected with Rias's bishop piece, Mittelt then left to report to Azazel, and of course, both Kala-chan and Ray-chan then stayed here with me. And things have been fine ever since then."
"Interesting. As usual, you've led a continuously interesting life after I was gone." Xenovia remarked, impressed.
"Wow, to think you had dealt with that Fallen Angel with ease." Irina voiced out. 'It would not be a bad thing to recruit his help...'
"Thanks, you two." Kurin said.
"Back to our main concern, does your president approve or is even aware of this?" Xenovia asked.
"Of course not." The boy quickly said, lightly laughing. It made the other boy cry out in anguish.
"I am so whipped." Saji cried. Asia just placed a hand on his back, trying to reassure him.
"I've also got help from Kala-chan and Xue-chan for this, just for more added backup." Kurin added.
"When do we strike?" Xuelan asked.
"But we haven't even gotten their answer yet!" Saji interrupted.
"We accept." Both exorcists said. "Admittedly, we knew we only had at least a 30% chance of coming out of this alive. We were both aware that we might die here. We were sent by the church to sacrifice ourselves, in basic terms." Xenovia explained.
"Hey, no one's gonna die here. Well, no one else aside from me, that is." Kurin joked. "None of you are going to die under my watch. I can promise you that."
Xenovia smiled. "Thank you, Kurin-kun."
Saji dropped his head to the table in comical fashion, muttering, "I'm dead...so dead." All the while Asia just continued to comfort the poor guy, Saji fearing for what his beloved King might do to him as punishment.
Kurin grinned. "Then its decided. We'll need to talk to Yumi-chan about this first, though. However, if we have to, we can't let Rias nor Sona know about it. Asia," He then turned to the blonde. "I'm sorry, but you can't go with us yet. You still haven't mastered the healing field I've been teaching you about."
She nodded. "I understand."
Once the two were done, Kurin took the plates and brought them to the kitchen, where he then cleaned them up. He was assisted by Xuelan and Raynare. Once finished with that, he went to find Xenovia. He eventually found her in his room.
"Honestly, I thought it'd take a lot more to convince you, Xen-chan." Kurin said as he entered. "What's up?"
Xenovia was silent for a few.
"I didn't think I'd see you again, to be honest. If this is my last chance to be with you, in this short time we'll have, I'll take that. Even if it means I might die here." She said, turning to him.
"Hey." The boy called out. He reached out and took her right hand and clasped with his,, creating a short lace that bound them together. "Remember this?" She slowly nodded. "Before you left, I promised to protect you and be alongside you when we meet again. This is a representation of that. I'm not going to let you go die for something like that. We can do this together."
Xenovia closed her hand around his. The memories all come back to her. She pulled his arm to wrap hers around his body in a tight embrace.
"I missed you." Kurin said.
"I know." She replied.
The plan was almost set.
"Both of you, enough." Kurin said, calming down Yumi and Xenovia after their initial exchange of words. "I'd rather we get this over with words than swords."
Both swordsmistresses looked at the other with their weapons.
"You're not the only one who despises the Holy Sword Project." Xenovia was the first to stop, releasing her grip on her sword.
"The church as a whole abhorred it. The project's leader was then branded a heretic and was exiled for good. Valper Galilei, that was the leader's name. The 'Archbishop of Massacre,' was what he was called. His ideals were in a direction completely opposite of the church's goals." Irina explained.
The name made Yumi scowl. "He had them all killed." She said.
"The information from our sources said that he was working with a stray exorcist. Freed Sellzen was his assistant." Xenovia said.
"As long as I get Valper, I'm okay with working with you two." She said.
Xenovia and Irina nodded. "Then it's done. We meet up later tonight." Both of them then left. "And Kurin...thank you, again." She lastly said.
"That went better than we expected." Raynare said.
"Better than we expected?! Guys, we might've almost started a war between the Church and the Devils!" Saji exclaimed.
"What matters is that it didn't happen. No war, we can do this as covert as we can. Right, Yumi?" Kurin replied, turning to the taller blonde girl. She just gripped her sword.
"Guys...don't. Please, for your sakes. I don't want you guys to get involved in this."
"Too late." Raynare chimed with a smile that meant, "No, nothing you can do about that."
Yumi sighed. "Are you sure?"
"Yup." Kurin finalized.
"But why? Why would you all go that far for me?" She asked.
"Do we need a reason why? Because you're our friend? Because I don't want to see you go in this path? Because we care about you so much? Yumi-chan, we're family, like Rias-chan said." Kurin gave.
"Family..." Yumi looked up, tears glistening. "Buchou gave me a reason to live."
"I know. I think it's time you tell us your story from your view. About the experiments. About what you went through. We're here to listen, right guys?" Kurin and Yumi saw the smiles on all of their faces, including Saji, who was doubtful at first, but as a friend of Kurin, he's willing too. Seeing this lit Yumi's heart.
"Alright. However, I'll keep it short but detailed."
The Holy Sword Experiment...it was a cruel and vile way to find out if we can be able to wield the Holy Swords. Day in and day out, they kept...experimenting on us. They did whatever it took to find out if we have the capability to do so.
We didn't have freedom. They took it from us. We were kept in an abandoned chapel that was turned into their laboratory, where we slept, where we ate, where we stayed put until we were called up. We were treated horribly like as if we weren't humans. Day by day, one by one, we were tested. We didn't like it. But we held onto the belief that we were chosen by God. With that belief, we all endured.
Until they decided to deem it a failure because none of us could use the swords. So they decided to kill all of us to hide everything about the experiments.
I could still remember the faces of all of them, suffering as they were slowly dying, as I was as well. We were all praying, begging for God's help. Of course it didn't really come. We were all crawling, desperate to get out.
But they wanted me to be free. I don't know why they chose me, but they grabbed onto all of them, and cried out for me to run.
"Run!"
"Get out of here!"
"Go! Leave us!"
"Remember us!"
I ran. I ran from that place as far as possible, remembering their cries of help, their pleas to get me to run away. I couldn't get away from that. I could still hear them. It would haunt me to the present. They were searching for me, and it just made me keep going.
I felt the effects of their poison on me, and I fell to my knees and coughed out blood, falling down on the snow, unable to move. I could hear footsteps in the snow, and I thought to myself, 'I can't...go out like this. I can't let their deaths be in vain. I can't die. I'm not going to die!'
It was then that I looked up to see the glowing red hair, shining in the moonlight of the snowy night. I could tell she was looking down at me.
"Live for me." She said.
Endure...and survive. Endure...and survive.
I would always be grateful to Rias-buchou for giving me new life and a new family. But I always knew that the only reason I escaped was because of my lost friends. I wanted to avenge them, for all the things they did to us.
"This is why I would've wanted to do this myself. I would use the grudges of my friends to power myself. To destroy the Holy Swords, that is my goal. I was the only one who survived, so I feel it is my responsibility for avenging them." Yumi finished.
Saji was in tears, while Asia and Xuelan were comforting the poor boy once he heard her story, though they were also slightly tearing up too. Raynare and Kalawarner frowned in sadness from the tragic past the swordsmistress held.
Kurin had took the girl in an embrace. "I understand your desire, Yumi. They'd want you to live for them." It wasn't too long ago that he himself wanted vengeance for the murder of his guardians. He knew what she was going through, but unlike him, she had people to support her.
For Kurin? From day one he didn't have anyone to support him, except for Sellorion, and even he couldn't really stop him. He didn't know any of the friends he had now, his parents were already dead years ago, and now without his guardians, the only one left was the embodiment of the Undying Remorse. However, as it was stated before, he couldn't stop him. Kurin was just consumed with depression from the deaths he witnessed. And of course, he took those same words he just said himself to his heart, and came out just a bit better than before.
But this is a story for another time, and more will come, for sure.
Saji wiped the tears from his face and showed a determined face. "I don't care what Sona-sama says! I will help you guys to the end!" He said.
Kurin smiled through the embrace. "That's the spirit, Saji."
"I'll also assist you." Koneko tugged at Yumi's sleeves on her blouse.
"Koneko-chan? You too?" Yumi's eyes grew wide.
"I don't want to lose you, Yumi-senpai."
"Heh. I can't go alone now, with all of you trying to stop me." Yumi chuckled.
Kurin smiled. "Then it's settled."
The afternoon had passed like a blur to the young human, and the moon was eventually up.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Asia asked as Kurin was the last to leave the house. Raynare, Xuelan, and Kalawarner were already outside, waiting for him.
Kurin flashed a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine, Asia. Just keep honing your healing field that we've been working on while we're gone. I know you're almost there."
Asia smiled back. "Alright, Kurin-kun. Stay safe." Asia closed the door, and Kurin turned to his three companions.
"Right, then. Shall we? We'll meet up with Koneko, Yumi, and the two at the abandoned church." Receiving nods from the three, they used their wings to fly and get there quicker.
"Mmhmm. So you think it's time? Alright. I wish you the best of luck, Kurin-san. I'll hold another game night for us soon. Do invite some of your friends next time." Azazel hung up the phone with a chuckle, returning to focus on his fishing.
"You have confidence they can pull it off?" A white-haired, blue-eyed woman in an elegant gray jacket and pants asked the blond Fallen leader. The moonlight reflected her beautiful form, and anyone would've been entranced by her. Not Azazel, though. This person was someone he regarded as his own kid.
"I believe they can, Vivian. Doesn't hurt to have backup, though, but that doesn't mean I don't have full confidence in him."
The White Dragon Empress smirked. "Ara ara, he's improved since we had last met, hasn't he?"
"Lots. If you fight him now, it would end in a draw." Azazel said as his hook caught one.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, he turned back to his friends. "Alright, we're good to go." Walking inside the church, they saw the two exorcists waiting for them.
Xenovia walked over and embraced Kurin. "Good to see you again."
"We just saw each other hours ago." He noted.
"I know. But I want to take every moment like it was my last."
"We'll make it through." The two released each other from their respective grip. "So, what do we do?"
Irina then threw them each a robe. "Church robes. We want you to disguise yourselves as priests and search the city for the swords."
As they all wore the robes, Xenovia added, "If there's anything useful you find, or if you're in danger, give either of us a call. We'll split up in groups. Me, Irina, and two of you will search on the East side. The others will search the West side."
They all nodded. Still, Xuelan couldn't help but note the situation they're in. "Isn't it pretty ironic that the Devils in this room are wearing church robes?" That statement didn't go unnoticed by any of them.
"True. But if this is the only way, then I'll do it to get my revenge." Yumi said, buttoning up her set of robes.
"I'll partner with the two exorcists." Kalawarner said as she finished up putting on the robe.
"I'll join them as well." Xuelan offered.
"Alright. Then that means we'll take the other route." Kurin said.
Once all of them finished putting on the robes, they all went and split.
[She's in this city. Keep your senses sharp, Kurin.] Sellorion warned.
'Got it.'
"Have you been talking with Sellorion again, Kurin-senpai?" Koneko called out.
He nodded. "Just gave me something to think about." He turned to Yumi. "I've also had my thoughts as to where they might be."
Yumi had an idea as to where they might be, and she led them to a familiar place to her teammates.
"This place, huh? This was where we first fought a stray devil together and killed her." Kurin said. 'Of course, I teleported her to a place in the underworld instead of killing her, and also purifying her of the corruption of her powers. I only hope she's recovering well.'
"You guys fought a stray devil?" Saji asked.
"Yeah. It was a bit of a way for me to learn what it's like being part of a peerage." Raynare answered as Koneko and Yumi stepped forward.
"Do you guys feel that?" Kurin asked. Even as a human, with his Gear he could feel the different auras being radiated around him, and it included the aura radiating from a Holy Sword (not belonging to him, of course, as each Sword holds a distinct aura different from one another).
"Up there!" They all looked up to see a familiar foe charging down at Yumi. She drew her sword to block the attack in time.
"Hello, Freed. How's life, you stupid bastard?" Kurin greeted.
"Why just fine and dandy, shitty little human. I got here this nice-looking Excalibur sword and I'm gonna gut you all with it! I thought I saw some fresh meat to feed my sword with, but it just turned out to be some stupid Devils and Fallen Angels cosplaying around." For added measure, Freed licked the blade of his Excalibur.
"So, which Excalibur is that, huh?" Kurin's body glowed purple before receding. Saji, Koneko, and Raynare took off their robes.
"Aww, five on one? I'm touched~" Freed giggled madly before them.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm your only opponent here!" Yumi leaped after him. Freed took a jump back. When the girl landed, he struck, bringing down his sword.
"To answer your question, you shit human, this is the Holy Sword of the Heavenly Flare, commonly known as Excalibur Rapidly. I just like to call it my chopper sword because it just chops, chops, CHOPS!" The stray exorcist explained as he clashed with Yumi in the night sky, colliding like bullets.
"Freed's as fast as Yumi-chan now. The speed's definitely coming from the sword. It's canceling out Yumi's speed boost as a Knight." Raynare observed.
"You'll all get your turn to die once I kill this bitch!" Freed called out, grinning like a madman as he continued to fight.
Sensing worse things to come, Koneko subtly contacted Irina for help.
"Any way we can help Kiba-san?" Saji asked.
"I'm hoping to use my new power, but they're too fast for me to use on Yumi-chan." Kurin replied.
Saji grinned. "Leave that to me. Line!" His right arm glowed a reddish purple, and on his arm was a small dragon-like wristband, shooting out a glowing blue cord that wrapped itself around Freed, plummeting him to the ground. "How do you like that? This is my Sacred Gear, Absorption Line!"
Freed tried to cut the bonds with his sword, but it wouldn't budge. "Another dragon artifact?! You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"
"Nice work, Saji-san!" Kurin congratulated. He turned to Yumi in the air as he wrote in the air the letters for his next move. Each letter would appear in front of him and glow purple like his body before.
"Empowered Amplification!" He pushed his hands on the two words, heading straight for Yumi, who absorbed the words' power. Immediately her body glowed purple as well.
"Let it rip, girl!" He called out.
"Then it's time! Sword Birth!" With the magic circle above her head, she slammed the Demonic Sword on the ground, and multiple swords popped out, quickly approaching the bound stray exorcist.
Panicking at the sight of the swords about to stab him, he quickly started cutting down the swords way too close to his liking.
"You can't keep this up forever, Freed!" Yumi called while pouring out all of her power in that one attack.
"You wanna bet on that, sword bitch?!"
"Hmm, Sword Birth." A new voice appeared, and the man in white robes walked out of the building. "In the right hands, it would be one of the most powerful Sacred Gears in existence." He looked up at the stray exorcist. "Freed, you haven't gotten used to using your Excalibur, have you?"
"Who's...you." Yumi rasped once she recognized the man below her. "Valper Galilei."
"So that's him." Kurin remarked.
Followed by Koneko's words, "This is the man behind the Holy Sword Experiment."
Freed grinned upon seeing the exiled priest. "Ah, Old man Valper! Well, I got a little tied up here, so to speak."
"Should be simple enough for you, then. Use the power within your body into the blade. The sword should glow and grow in power once you do."
His grin grew. "Ohhhh so that's how." Once his energy started coursing through the blade, it glowed a bright yellow. "THIS IS AWESOME!" He cut down the offending binding around his ankle, and Saji recoiled from the force of the cut. "To think it was just that simple as the old man said. Now..." He turned to Yumi. "TIME TO BLEED!" He leaped up and was about to bring down the sword…
...only to be interrupted by three blades: one from Xenovia's own Excalibur, a second from Kalawarner's special weapon, and a third from Kurin's armblades.
"Nice timing, you two." Kurin said, and they forced out Freed.
Irina and Xuelan arrived as well, taking off their own robes in favor of their battle clothes. Irina greeted the two Devils and Fallen Angel.
"How did they-" Saji was about to ask when Koneko answered him.
"I called them. That was the plan."
"Freed Sellzen, Valper Galilei," Xenovia called out. "For your crimes against the church and humanity, by the name of God, I will cut you down!"
"Do not...ever say that name...TO MY FACE!" Freed managed to overpower all three blades crossed against him. With the opening, he jumped back to Valper's side.
"Remember your mission, Freed. For now, we must retreat." He told him.
"Whatever you say, old geezer." He turned to Yumi and Xenovia. "Sorry to cut our fun, but it's a buh-bye from me!" He dropped a smoke bomb, and they were gone, despite the two girls' attempts to stop them.
"Irina, let's go!" Irina nodded, and the three gave chase.
Kurin and Raynare jumped down next to their other friends.
"Aren't we gonna chase them down too?" Saji asked.
Kurin shook his head. "Nope. I think they'll call us to let us know if anything came up. Not to mention...we've been found, haven't we," He turned around to see two familiar magic circles take shape. "Rias-chan?"
"You have a lot of explaining to do, Kurin-kun." Rias said, arms crossed.
"Kaichou!" Saji exclaimed in shock.
Sona was not happy. "You will explain yourself, Saji."
The poor blond pawn was gonna be whipped.
"You never told me Xenovia was once your student, Kurin-kun." Rias said.
Inside the old building, Kalawarner and Xuelan were leaning against the wall, while Kurin, Raynare, and Koneko were standing in front of their President and Vice President.
"It wasn't like it would impact what we would've done. In the end I still wanted to help Yumi-chan and steer her away from going down that road for good." Kurin explained. "The road paved with vengeance, though always with good intentions, was never gonna end well. I knew that better than most."
He turned to Saji, who was kneeling down in front of Sona, who was giving him a verbal lashing, and turned back to Rias. "Either way, pledging non-intervention forced my hand. Sure, there was the connection I had with Xenovia-chan that made the decision a bit easier to do, but I knew there was no way they were gonna survive without any help, especially against the one pulling the strings behind all of this: Kokabiel."
"Why do you think he's behind this?" Akeno asked.
He smirked. He knew what he was about to say next would raise a lot of questions, but he was ready for most, if not all of them. "Azazel and I had been investigating about it over time, and we knew the evidence, though not solid, points to him being the puppetmaster of these events."
That stopped everyone in their tracks. Sona stopped giving her punishment to Saji to turn to him, shocked as everyone else.
"AZAZEL?!" Everyone collectively gasped out.
"You had contact with Azazel-sama?!" The two Fallen Angels asked.
"Yup. He's also one of the people I'm holding a contract with."
"Does this mean the Fallen Angels as a whole have no desire for war?" Sona asked.
Kurin nodded. "True to a T. However, if Kokabiel succeeds in whatever his plan involving the Holy Swords are, then all three sides will have no choice but to go to war. What we had done now no doubt will affect your world, but it's gonna be more than what I've done now. We have to stop them."
"It's gonna be on Yumi-chan or Xenovia-chan to call us if anything comes up. I just hope they actually do." He continued. "For now...we might have to leave things be for tonight."
Everyone else nodded. "That is best suitable. Saji," Sona turned to her pawn. "We're not finished."
Saji just shook with fear, sweating bullets.
Rias sighed, turning to her group. "What will I do with you now?"
Kurin raised a hand. "Don't punish any one of them. They all just followed through in my plan. They all wanted to help. If you have to punish someone, then it should be me."
Rias thought about it for a few minutes, eventually giving her decision. "Alright, Kurin. A hundred cuts to your arms." She decreed, readying her magic.
Well, better to have bleeding arms than to have a pained butt like Saji, he supposed.
On the way back home, Kurin bandaged up his arms.
"Asia should be able to heal this up." He said.
The other girls looked at him in concern. "Are you sure?" Xuelan asked.
"I'll be fine. Dying frequently tends to make me shrug off this pain." He answered.
That only made them more worried. How many times had he died before being pulled into all of this?
He then felt a lot of weight on his whole body, and he realized that he was being embraced by all the girls. "Don't die on us, please." Rias said.
He shook his head. "Sorry, Rias-chan, everyone, but I can't do that. No matter what we do to prevent it, I am gonna die and revive on some occasions. It's just how it goes with me. I know it's hard seeing me like that again and again, but it just happens with me. But I'm not gonna go down without a fight, I'll tell you. I want to protect all of you with my life. You all mean something to me." He paused. "I'm glad you guys care about me. I'm happy with that."
They all saw the happy look he had facing them and released him from their respective embrace. They all continued walking back home. Opening the door, they were greeted by Asia, who had been wearing an apron on top of her clothes.
"Welcome back, everyone! I've been cooking dinner for all of you while you were gone. I just need some finishing touches. Kurin-kun, could you help, please?" She said.
They smiled. While Kurin was the best among them in cooking, Asia was a close second after being taught by him on top of her Healing Field training. This meant that they were gonna have really good food.
Kurin nodded. "Of course, Asia-chan. Have you been honing on your Field while we were gone? I hope the training and cooking didn't impact the other much."
She happily nodded back. "Yes! It's steadily improving, but the field still isn't big enough to cover a wide area myself. While I could cover up to ten meters amplified with your power share, I'd say I've only been able to cover up to almost three meters at this point."
Kurin patted Asia's head. "That's good progress, Asia, especially considering we only started it just a week ago. We'll be able to get that to eight to ten meters in a few weeks, and with my power share to amplify you, it would double that length."
"Hai! I'll keep going!" With that, both students went off to the kitchen.
The night went on with all of them sharing to Asia what had happened when they went off as they ate. The next afternoon, however, unfortunately didn't bring much good news.
The next meeting after classes had Yumi absent, as Asia, Raynare, and Kurin heard the news from their president.
"So, Yumi-chan still hasn't called." Kurin said.
"I was hoping that she was able to finish off that stray exorcist along with Xenovia-san and Irina-san, but I'm getting worried now." Rias told him.
"I am too. Have you sent a search party to scan?" Kurin asked.
Rias nodded. "We summoned our familiars to carry out that responsibility."
"How has it been?" Raynare asked.
"Not much, we still haven't-" The redhead's words were interrupted when one of the familiars sent out a signal for Rias to detect. "It looks like we've found someone." She made sure to leave Sona a message before departing with her team.
Appearing at the familiar's location, they all saw a downed Irina, whose clothes had been mostly shredded, covering up some of her vital parts.
"This isn't good. Asia, with me!" Kurin instructed. Both rushed to the injured exorcist. Immediately Asia applied her Twilight Healing on her, while Kurin wrote words as he did last night. Moments later, clothes were conjured, laid down beside her.
Once he noticed Irina stirring, he gently laid a hand on her arm. "Did Yumi and Xenovia make it out?"
She slowly nodded. "They...ran. I...tried to...buy them time, but...he's just...too strong." She hoarsely spoke. "Please...watch yourselves." She fell back to unconsciousness.
A white circle appeared on the ground, and Sona, her vice president Tsubaki, and her pawn Saji arrived as well.
"I came as soon as I got your message." The student council president said as she knelt down to check on Irina. "She's badly hurt. While it doesn't look much, she's suffered some injuries."
Asia nodded. "I healed her as best as I could, but it can't recover her lost energy."
"She can be brought back to my house. She can recuperate in the healing room I have there. Tsubaki, if you would."
"Of course." Tsubaki took Irina into her arms and stood up. Kurin stood, gently laying down the clothes on Irina's body.
"Take care of her. When she wakes up, tell her the clothes are from me." Kurin requested.
Tsubaki only nodded and disappeared from the field with Sona's magic.
"So, Xenovia and Kiba retreated. While I'm still concerned as to where they are, I'm a bit relieved they made it out okay, at least." Kurin said.
"How are your arms?" Saji asked.
"It's alright." He showed them, and they were clean as if they didn't undergo the punishment he received last night.
All the Devils then coiled over, holding their bodies in pain. Kurin and the two Fallen Angels readied their weapons. "Show yourself, Freed." Kurin said aloud.
"Found out already, eh?" Freed walked out, Holy Sword in hand. "So, you all got baited out. How nice."
"Enough talk." In mere moments, Kurin's fist was reaching Freed's face.
"W-wait, wait! Time out! I only came out here to talk to the red-haired girl!"
Kurin swept him off his feet instead. He pointed one of his armblades at his face. "You're lucky I decided not to punch you outright. Who wants to talk with her?"
"That would be me." The sky changed. The atmosphere felt different. All of them felt a spike of power coming from one person. Up above was a ten-winged Fallen Angel, floating with his wings.
'Kokabiel.' Kurin thought as he retreated back to his friends.
[This is him? I'm surprised. I thought he'd feel stronger than what I'm detecting.] Sellorion said.
'Easy now, Sel.'
"Rias Gremory. The heir to the House of Gremory. This would be the first time we've ever met, yes? I'm Kokabiel." The deranged leader greeted.
"Greetings to you, Kokabiel. What brings you here to our territory?"
"Cutting to the chase, are we? You are like your brother in a few ways, your hair being the most prevalent of them all. Your hair reminds me of him: Sirzechs, the Crimson Satan."
"What is the purpose of this meeting? It is uncommon for a leader of a faction to come out for a simple conversation."
He grinned. "Quite simple. I'd like to have some...fun in the area around Kuoh Academy, which just so happens to be your headquarters. Of course, if I do that, then your brother has to come. Only right for a brother to come to the aid of a sibling."
"If you do this, then you will trigger another war between all three factions once more." Rias warned.
He showed his teeth in his sadistic grin. "Is that not the point? I expected Michael to come after the Excaliburs, but he instead sent a pathetic exorcist and two women with Excaliburs of their own. Pitiful, really. But of course, it still doesn't make me satisfied."
"Then you really do want to start another war." Raynare realized.
"Correct, little traitors." Kokabiel stated to the two Fallen Angels. "You both were once in the little team I had sent to kill off any hindrances to my plan, but instead you two turned against me for this...this...this human. I'll make sure you both are the first casualties of this war."
Kurin stepped in front of the two, shielding them with his body. "You're not gonna get them." He said to himself, briefly glancing at the two before turning back to the ten-winged leader.
"Neither Azazel nor Shemhaza wanted another war. Instead, what Azazel wanted to do in this time of peace was collect and research these 'Sacred Gear', for whatever reason it is." He continued.
"You think Azazel wants those gear in exchange for war?" Kurin asked, though he already knew the answer to that.
"No, Kurin. As much as I do want to learn more about these, I would not desire to risk war for a few special trinkets." The Head of the Fallen Angels told him.
"He could be pretty fanatical over them, so it's possible." Kokabiel mused. "Anyways, though you might not have noticed it, but all three factions are at the brink of another war, no matter how peaceful things seem to look here. All I have to do is just give one more push, and then my desire can now be fulfilled."
"Huh, Azazel was right when he said you've gone insane." Kurin whispered to himself.
"This time, however, I will have you Devils start it, with the sister of Lucifer, Rias Gremory, and the sister of Leviathan, Sona Sitri. With your school holding massive amounts of magical energy, just think of the chaos that will engulf the whole field! It's the perfect battleground for the war!" He laughed once he finished.
Freed opened up his coat to reveal the Excaliburs that were in his possession. "He's pretty much the reason why I feel so elated with all of this happening! I'm able to use all of these swords." He took the ribbon on his arm, and it brandished into a sword. "I got this from the pig-tailed girl, if you were wondering."
'That's Irina's sword!' Kurin thought.
"Let's begin, shall we, Rias Gremory?" Kokabiel used his magic to blast away at them, but Sona, Rias, Kurin, and Akeno used their magics to shield everyone.
He and Freed were nowhere to be found soon after. They looked at the overarching view of the city.
"They're headed for the academy, no doubt, and Valper's already starting the process, I assume." Kurin said as he looked ahead at the city.
"A Fallen Angel of Kokabiel's level can easily erase this city, with their plans centered in the area around the academy as well. He really wants to start this off with a bang." Sona said.
"We're not gonna let that happen, right everyone?" Kurin asked.
They all nodded. "RIGHT!"
A ray of light beamed up from the track and field area near the academy, with both Yumi and Xenovia watching from separate places, spotted by Kurin as he flew towards the main school building, with the others on their way. They were gonna be on their way as well, and he knew they will.
"You understand the situation, right?...Yes, it's merely the work of one of the Fallen Angel Leaders, but it seems he's doing it as a rogue...You and I both know that neither Azazel nor Shemhaza would want to start another war...He's gone insane by the looks of it...Yes, I've confirmed he's acting out alone, with a few exiled church officials assisting him...an hour and a half, give us an hour and a half before you decide to intervene and help us. I'll let you know when we've finished this. Alright, thank you for your time, Grayfia-san, and I'm pretty sure Sirzechs-sama will be informed of this immediately. We'll make sure we can beat him, with or without your assistance...Have faith in us, Grayfia-san. We can do it."
As the sun sets, and the moon rises, Kurin only had one concerning thought:
'Vivian, when will you show yourself?'
AN: First, yes, I made Vali a girl. Vali and Kurin had some past before the start, and in the future, there's gonna be two more who had a part in Kurin's past/backstory, which will be out in the next arc. Will I pair her up with him? Maybe, leaning into yes, really, but I'll see where it goes.
Second, sorry for the long delay. I've been writing a lot more than this story, including my story in Fairy Tail, and one other story. What I'm trying to do is to write up all three a new chapter at the same time along with editing, so that means a longer delay. Hopefully when I write faster it means shorter delays. A bit hard without a beta reader, but I've gotten by this far.
So, if you can, as usual, leave a review.
