Merlin sighed as the hot water rained down from the shower head, as the morning of the ball tournament and he needed to try and relax given what was running around inside his mind.

Since Erza had shown up he had started to work on a trying to find the Excalibur fragments with little luck. The magic council were after them as well which only caused him to worry more. He had become busy with his devil duties, making contracts, handing out leaflets on behalf of both peerages although the latter he was with Saeko.

The purple haired Knight had turned out to be wielder of a legendary blade of her own, the Sacred Gear Muramasa, although Merlin didn't see how something with a bloodthirsty history fitted with the respectable Saeko that he knew.

Finishing his shower he grasped a nearby towel before preparing to get ready for the active day.

…

Merlin looked up at the clear sky as he wondered if the weather report would be correct in that they would be getting rain. He'd just finished stretching in preparation for whatever the club sport would be although Sona had gone to find out that particular question as he noticed Tsubasa (Yura), Tomoe (Meguri), Reya (Kusaka) and Momo were stretching out on one of the mats that were nearby while Ruruko and Saji were looking through rule books for the possible games they could be playing.

Sona had something to deal with before the sports started and Tsubaki was checking what sport there club would be playing.

"Good luck for today" Reina spoke, drawing Merlin's attention as he remembered that the movie club was too new to be included in the festivities and with Saeko, Murayama and Katase being apart of the Kendo club as well it meant that they would have doubled up the amount of games they had to play for the day.

"Thanks…Sempai" Merlin spoke, noticing Yukihana was heading towards them. She was wearing a tight fitting white t-shirt and bloomers, Merlin blushing at the seductive smile on her face which Reina noticed looking annoyed at the black haired girl who spoke up

"We've got baseball first Merlin-kun as part of our class" Merlin nodded, catching Murayama and Katase heading towards them with smiles at the fact the inter class game would have them on the same team.

"Oh…what are you doing here Reina…?" Sona asked as she came back to the group, the blonde glancing away slightly embarrassed as she spoke up annoyed

"I just wanted to wish Merlin good luck"

"O…kay… The game will be dodgeball for the club games" Sona spoke up to the council, the members gathered around her for what other details they could find out from her.

…

Asia stood before a sitting Merlin after the finals of the club matches which had been the council against the Occult Research Club. A small part of the mage wanted to get Issei back for the near black eye he would've been sporting if it hadn't been for Asia's 'Twilight Healing'.

Sona had told off Issei for the shot which had caused her Rook's glasses to be broken, Rias joining in as Merlin had been the one to help Issei wake up for the engagement party.

"Merlin-san…are you going to get home alright?" Asia asked, wondering if he had a spare pair as the devil mage clicked his fingers, a purple framed pair appearing onto his face as he gave her a smile.

"Yeah…I should be…got dozens of pairs just in case" Merlin replied as he stood up, brushing down his PE uniform before heading back to find Issei sporting a large slap mark on his cheek as Reina now argued with Rias.

"What the…?" Merlin started only to jump as Saeko spoke up behind him, Merlin jumping as he turned towards her.

"Reina just found out about what Hyodo-kun did to you…and Rias is angry at her for disciplining him"

"Oh…" Merlin replied, looking oddly at the group as he shook his head

…

A few days had passed peacefully and it was Merlin's day off as he tried to get some extra sleep. He didn't notice that Saya had somehow got out the pocket dimension and was happily sleeping next to him, replacing Reina who had gone back to her parents for the day.

The ringing of his phone caused Merlin to stir, arching an eyebrow as he looked at Saya's annoyed face he groaned "Can you grab that for me?"

Saya sleepily nodded as she reached over to the bedside table picking it up before handing it to her master who quickly answered it "Hello?"

She looked confused at him as Merlin sat up, a confused look on his face as he asked "Saji? What do you mean Hyodo's called to meet you today?"

Merlin paused for a moment to listen to his reply before speaking up again "Yeah well what's this got to do with me…?"

"Fine…I'll come along if he thinks it's important" Merlin spoke with a sigh, nodding as he got the meeting details from Saji.

"What was that about?" Saya asked as she watched Merlin get out of bed, stretching for a few moments as he answered

"I've got to meet with Saji to find out what Hyodo wants" Saya nodded getting out of the bed before changing her clothes magically to a tan jacket, black tank top and a green skirt as she added

"Guess I should come with you to make sure nothing bad happens"

"Your choice…although how do you get out of my pocket dimension…?" Merlin asked as he changed into black jeans, a purple t-shirt and a blue sleeveless hooded jacket

"Oh that's easy…I am experienced with magic unlike those new born familiars" Saya replied with a superior smile as Merlin nodded understandingly.

…

Merlin and Saya arrived in front of the train station to see Saji waiting slightly annoyed over it all as he spoke "Hyodo's got a lot of nerve calling me out here on my day off…even getting me to call you as well"

"I know what you mean…" Merlin replied with a sigh, Saya crossing her arms under her chest as she spoke annoyed

"Looks like he's coming…and he's not alone"

A few seconds later, Issei came around the corner with Koneko holding onto the back of his shirt, Merlin smirking slightly as he spoke "At least he won't be a pervert today"

"What was the reason for you calling us?" Saji asked as the two stopped before them, Issei's eyes only momentarily looking over Saya before her scowl brought him back as Koneko added

"…He's right. What were you four trying to do?"

"I'm going to ask Shidou Irina and Xenovia to give me permission to destroy the holy-sword Excaliburs" Issei answered, Merlin looking surprised along with the others as Saya asked shocked

"You want to destroy a holy sword…?" Issei nodded as Saji started to shout

"Nooooo! I'm going home!" Koneko had quickly grabbed hold of Saji to stop him

"I will help as well. It's about Yuuto-sempai, right?" Koneko spoke up as she looked at Issei who nodded as Merlin sighed as he spoke

"You're asking a lot…I'll help you out considering there are others after them as well"

"Hyoudou! Why me!? It's your group's problem, right!? I belong to the House of Sitri! I shouldn't take part in this! Not at all!" Saji argued before Saya clouted him one on the head as she replied

"Baka! A Holy sword is everyone's problem if it gets into the wrong hands"

"Kaichou will punish us if she finds out we're doing without her permission" Saji argued as Merlin sighed before speaking

"How do you think about me…I've got Kaichou and Phenex-sama so I'll suffer double if we're found out?"

"Hey Koneko-chan. You know that Kiba is a victim of the "Holy-sword Project" and also harbors a grudge towards Excalibur, right?" Issei asked, Koneko nodding at the question before he continued

"When Irina and Xenovia came to us, they said this. [The Church decided that it would be better to eliminate all the Excaliburs rather than letting them be used by the fallen-angels. Our minimum objective is to get the Excaliburs away from the fallen-angels.] So in other words they have to destroy the stolen Excaliburs or retrieve them, right?"

"I see where you're going…" Merlin replied with a nod as Issei continued

"That's why I thought we could help them retrieve those. By making Kiba the main person. Three swords were stolen, so they won't mind if we retrieve or break one of them."

"…You want Yuuto-sempai to overcome Excalibur and to fulfil his wish, right?" Koneko asked

"Kiba wants to win against Excalibur and accomplish his and his former comrades' revenge. Xenovia and Irina want to retrieve the Excaliburs from the fallen-angels even if they have to destroy them. We have the same aim then. What's left is to see if those two will listen to the words of us devils."

"…It seems hard."

"Hmmmm yeah."

"…It's a secret from Buchou and the other members."

"…When we go and talk to them it might lead to a fight and the tension between us and them might get even worse."

"Don't worry about that now…if it happens I'll just have to give us the time to get away" Merlin replied

"Either way…that's why you can leave, Koneko-chan. Saji, Merlin. You can also run away if it gets dangerous."

"Let me run nowwww! That's the worst! I'd get killed by Kaichou if I do something like destroying the Excaliburs without her permission! She will definitely torture meeeeee!" Saji shouted, Merlin quickly chanting a spell to keep him silent which only caused Saji to try and shout more before he spoke

"The negotiation will be a success…if its not… I'll have enough information from there holy swords to be able to track them myself"

"I won't run away. It's for our comrade." Koneko spoke with determined eyes as Issei asked

"You could do that, Merlin?"

"Yeah…depends on how much I can get during the meeting without them noticing but with the basic holy aura understood I should be able to find the bigger sources easier" Merlin explained as the group started to look around the town, Saya and Koneko pulling along a silently crying Saji.

…

"Please give blessings to the lost lamb-"

"Please give charity to us on behalf of the father in heaven!" Two girls wearing white robes were praying on the road, standing out in more ways then one for Merlin who could pick up the Holy energy from them as well.

"How can this be? This is the reality of the developed country of Japan? That's why I don't like countries that don't have the smell of our beliefs."

"Don't say that, Xenovia. We lost all the money we had. So we have to rely on charity from these heretics or else we can't get food, you know? Aaah, we can't even buy a single loaf of bread!"

"Hmph. It all happened because you bought that fake looking painting." Xenovia pointed at a painting of a saint that was drawn really badly, a fake painting.

"What are you saying? This painting has the drawing of someone who looks like a saint! That's what the person in the exhibition said as well!"

"Then do you know who the person in the drawing is? I certainly don't."

The person in the picture certainly looked like a foreigner and was wearing poor clothing and had something on his head. There was also a baby angel on the background with a trumpet who was floating in the air.

"…I think it's…Saint…Peter…?"

"Don't mess around. Saint Peter wouldn't look like this."

"No, he must have looked like this! I'm sure about it!"

"Aaah, why did my partner have to be someone like you…God, is this also a trial?"

"Hey don't hold your head down. You really get depressed when you are down, don't you."

"Shut up! That's why the Protestants are called heretics! You guys have different beliefs than us Catholics! Show more respect to the saints!"

"What! What's wrong, it is Catholicism where they still abide by the old law!"

"What did you say, heretic?"

"What did you say, heretic!?"

Merlin rubbed the bridge of his nose as he watched them argue leaning towards Issei as he asked "Are these the people who the church sent…because they don't act like it"

"I know…they acted more mature yesterday" Issei replied as they watched them argue over cutting the painting with there swords.

…

The two girls were wolfing down there food as the group sat in the family restaurant

Delicious! Japanese cuisine is delicious!"

"Yes, yes! This is it! This is the taste of the food of my homeland!"

When they had seen them earlier, they looked at them with hungry eyes as Issei had asked "Ummm…we are going to eat now, so do you guys want to come as well?"

The two had accepted instantly back then but was now whispering amongst themselves.

[We sold our souls to the devils.]
[This is also to accomplish our mission.]

Merlin sighed as he lifted his cup of tea, a small magic circle working on his right hand which was under the table while Saya did the same next to him, Issei looking relieved that Koneko and Merlin had offered to help share out the bill.

"Phew. Now I'm calm. It's the end of the world to get helped by a devil." Xenovia said.

"Hey. We are treating you to food and that's what you say?" Issei said while holding down his emotions, Merlin keeping a straight face as he kept a wary eye on them both

"Pheeeew! Thank you for the meal. Aaaah God, please give charity to these devils." Irina said while using her cross.

At that moment the devils amongst the group got a headache, Merlin only wincing slightly compared to Saji, Koneko and Issei who were touching his head.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I did it without thinking." Irina smiled with a cute face while Xenovia drank a cup of water and took a deep breath. She then asked

"So, why did you come to us?"

"You two came to this country to retrieve the Excaliburs, right?" Merlin asked

"That's right. We already told you that before." Xenovia replied, keeping an wary eye as she asked

"Who are you…?"

"I'm holder of the Blue Dragon King" Merlin answered noticing that neither church girl was giving them any hostile intent.

"I want to help you destroy the Excaliburs." Issei added, bringing them back onto topic and surprising Irina and Xenovia who looked between each other. Issei gulping as he waited for there decision before Xenovia spoke up

"Yeah. Maybe it's okay leaving one sword to you guys. If you can destroy it, that is. But make sure that your identities aren't revealed. We also don't want our high-ups and enemies to think that we are connected to you guys."

"Hey Xenovia. Are you sure? Even if it's Ise-kun, he's still a devil, you know?" Irina raised an objection.

"Irina. To tell you the truth, it would really be tough to retrieve the three Excaliburs and to battle Kokabiel with only the two of us."

"I know that. But...!"

"The minimum objectives we have to achieve are destroying the three Excaliburs or take them back. If our Excaliburs are going to be stolen as well then we should break them before it happens. Even if we use the last resort, there's only a 30 percent chance that we will succeed in our mission and return home safely."

"Even so, we thought that the success rate was high enough to come to this country prepared to put our life on the line."

"Yeah. The high-ups also told us to continue with our mission as well and dispatched us to this country. It's almost self-sacrifice."

"And isn't that what we, the followers, desire for?"

"I changed my mind. My beliefs are flexible. So I can act in the best way."

"You! I have been thinking about it for a long time, but your faith is a bit weird!"

"I won't deny it. But I think that it's our duty to accomplish our mission and return safely. I'm going to live and continue fighting for God. Am I wrong?"

"…You are not wrong. But..."

"That's why we won't ask for help from the devils. Instead we ask for help from a dragon. The high-ups didn't tell us not to borrow the strength of two dragons." Xenovia then looked at Issei before turning her gaze to Merlin before turning back to Issei as she added joyfully

"I never thought that I would meet Sekiryutei in a distant country like this. Even if you turned into a devil, I see that the dragon power within you is still present. If it's like the legend says, then you can increase your power to that of a Maou, correct? If you gain a power to that of a Maou, then you can break the Excaliburs without a sweat. I also think that it was God's doing that we had this meeting."

"Ce…certainly they didn't tell us not to borrow the power of dragons… But you are just saying nonsense! Your belief is certainly weird!"

"Weird is fine with me. But, Irina. He's your childhood friend, right? Let's trust him. The power of a dragon." Irina became silent at Xenovia's words, but her expression showed that she was okay with it for now, Merlin glancing down at his hand to see the characters moving around before noticing Issei looking at him. Merlin nodded before Issei smiled as he spoke to the pair

"Okay. The negotiation is a success. We will lend you guys our dragons' power. Then can I call my partner for this cooperation, then?"

"I will also call mine…" Merlin replied, stopping the magic spell before retrieving his phone to call Erza while Issei called Kiba.

…

Merlin was stood outside of the restaurant waiting for Erza, Kiba was already inside and they were just waiting on her as she approached fast.

"So you have a lead…"

"More like a treaty with those the church sent…" Merlin replied, noticing her eyes narrow slightly as he added

"They're going to let us help them and for it we get to destroy one of the Excaliburs"

"That is good enough for now" Erza spoke as she followed Merlin into the restaurant both sitting down as Xenovia gave a pointed glare at the redhead

"What are you doing here?" Erza glared back as she spoke calmly

"Hunting Excaliburs what do you think…I thought I made that clear when I left" Xenovia continued glaring at her for a few moments before Kiba spoke up

"To tell the truth, I feel unsatisfied when the wielders of the Excaliburs are giving me the permission to destroy it."

"That's a rough way to speak. If you were an "exiled-devil", I would have cut you down without any time to spare."
Kiba and Xenovia glared at each other, Merlin feeling Erza's magic building as Irina spoke up

"So you do hold a grudge regarding the "Holy-sword Project". Against the church and the Excaliburs."

Kiba sharpened his eyes at Irina's words as he replied with a low and cold voice "Obviously."

"But Kiba-kun. Thanks to that project, the research on holy-sword users showed results. That's why it created people like Xenovia and I who can synchronise with the holy swords."

"It also wasted my life with there misunderstanding" Erza added as she looked seriously at Irina as Kiba added while looking at Irina with eyes filled with hate.

"Do you think it's a forgiving act to kill all the test subjects because the project was thought to be a failure?"

Xenovia then spoke up "That incident also became one of the worst cases among us and people felt disgusted about it. The person in charge of that project at that time was said to have a problem with his belief. So he was charged with heresy. Now he's one of those people on the fallen-angels side."

"On the fallen-angel's side? What's the name of that person?" Kiba took interest and asked Xenovia.

"…Balba Galilei. The man who is called the "Genocide Archbishop"."

"…If I go after fallen-angels, then can I reach him…" Kiba's eyes had the color of a new determination from just knowing his target.

"Then it looks like I have to share information as well. The other day I was attacked by a person who had the Excalibur. At that time, he killed a priest. The one who was killed is probably from your organization."

"The name of that person is Freed Zelzan. Does this name sound familiar?"

"I see. So it's him." Issei spoke up annoyed, Merlin looking curious as Erza started explaining

"Freed Zelzan. Former exorcist of the Vatican. The genius who became an exorcist at the age of 13. He had lots of big achievements because he kept on eliminating devils and mystical beasts."

Irina continued on from there "But he overdid it. He even killed his allies. Freed never had any beliefs towards our God from the start. The only thing he had was fighting instinct and killing intent towards monsters. And an abnormal obsession for battles. It was a matter of time that he'd be charged for heresy."

"Is that so? Freed used the Excalibur he stole to kill our fellow followers. For us to pay the price because the disposal group couldn't take care of him that time." Xenovia said it with hatred

"Anyway let's move onto the cooperation strategy." Merlin spoke up as Xenovia took out a pen and used it to write on a memo pad, giving Issei her contact details.

"If something happens, call this number."

"Thanks. Then we should also…" Issei replied about to start writing it as Irina spoke up

"We already received Ise-kun's number from oba-sama."

"Are you serious!? Mum!? She gave it without my permission!?"

"Then that's it then. I'll repay you for the meal another time, "Sekiryutei" Hyoudou Issei, "Blue Dragon King" Merlin" Xenovia said as she got up.

"Thanks for the meal, Ise-kun! Treat me again next time as well! Even if you are a devil, God will allow it if it's Ise-kun who treats me to a meal! It's okay if it's food!" Irina thanked him with a wink.

"…Ise-kun. Why did you do this?" Kiba asked him quietly.

"Well we are comrades. And we belong to the same group. And you helped me out before as well. It's not like I'm trying to repay you, but I thought I would give you a hand this time."

"If I act by myself, then I would cause trouble for Buchou. That's also the reason, right?"

"Of course. Buchou would get sad if you were to go around in a rampage. Well, the fact that I made this plan by myself will cause trouble to Buchou as well. But it's better than you becoming an "exiled", right? Well it turned out to be a success, since we made an agreement with those guys from the Church." Kiba replied still not looking satisfied before Koneko spoke looking sadly at him

"…Yuuto-sempai. I would get lonely…if sempai disappeared…I will help you…that's why please don't go." Kiba seemed troubled, but then put on a smiley face as he spoke

"Hahaha. I give up. If Koneko-chan says that to me, then I can't do reckless things. Okay. I will work with you. Thanks to Ise-kun, I know who my true enemy is. But since we are doing this, we are definitely going to defeat the Excalibur. " Koneko smiled because she felt relieved as Issei spoke up

"Okay! Now we have formed the group to destroy the Excalibur! Let's defeat the stolen Excalibur and that shit Freed!"

"Merlin-san, it seems that we have some unexpected allies" Erza spoke with a small smile as he nodded before replying

"Well numbers are helpful to overcome what we'll be facing"

"What do you know of the Magic Council's plans?" Erza asked, between sips of her tea as Merlin sighed before answering

"Nothing…everything I've tried to do to find out what they're planning hits dead ends"

"Magic Council…?" Saji asked, Merlin now noticing the rest looking at him as he spoke

"The Magic Council is a group of mages that are after me and Erza for whatever they're planning…they're also after the Excaliburs"

"So its not just fallen we'll have to deal with" Kiba spoke, seriously as Merlin nodded

"I pretty sure I can handle most of them it's just avoiding getting overwhelmed by them"

"As a group we could handle at least twenty with myself and Merlin-san's skills" Erza added as the other nodded, silence reigning for a few moments before Saji asked

"I mean, I'm totally uninvolved in this… After all, how are Kiba and Excalibur related?"

"…Let's talk a bit." Kiba spoke before starting to talk about his past after he drank the coffee. The project that the Catholic Church planned secretly. Project Holy-sword. The test to make lots of people who can use holy-swords was taking place in a certain institute. There were boys and girls who had talents at using swords and a possessor of Sacred Gear. Day after day, they were going through inhuman experiments. They were being experimented on and had their rights of freedom taken away. They weren't treated as humans and their lives were ignored. But they had a dream. To live on. They were forced to believe that they were loved by God, and they were just waiting for "that day" to come. They believed that they would become special beings. They believed that they could become people who could wield holy-swords. But the result was "disposal". Kiba and his comrades couldn't use the holy-swords.

"…Everyone died. They were killed. Killed by those who serve God. No one saved us. Just because we couldn't use the holy-swords. Other boys and girls were put under poisonous gas while still alive. They put poisonous gas on us while saying "amen". We vomited blood and suffered on the floor. Even so, we were seeking help from God." Kiba said as he finished telling his story, the others listening on silently as he added

"I want to accomplish my comrades' regrets. No, I don't want to make their deaths be in vain. I need to keep on living in their place, and I have to prove that I am stronger than Excalibur."

"Uuuuuuu…sob…" Saji was crying, Merlin slightly surprised at his reaction as the Pawn took Kiba's hand and said

"Kiba! It must have been horrible! It must have been painful! Damn it! There isn't any God or hope in this world! Right now I feel so much sympathy for you! Yeah, it's a horrible story! I understand why you hold a grudge against those people from the church and Excalibur! To tell you the truth, I didn't like you before because you were a good looking guy…But it's different now! I will also help! I'm willing to receive the punishment from Kaichou! But before that we have to destroy Excalibur! I will also work hard! You also have to live on! Don't ever betray Rias-senpai who saved you!"

Saji took a moment to calm himself before adding "Okay! It's a good time! I want you guys to hear my story! You guys should know about me if we are working together…! My dream is to…make Kaichou pregnant and marry her! But, you know… making a girl pregnant and marrying her is hard for an unpopular guy like me. There aren't any girls that I can make pregnant to begin with… But I will one day make her pregnant and marry her…"

Merlin arched an eyebrow at Saji's words, from what he'd seen Sona didn't think of Saji in that way although he wasn't going to say it aloud, Erza seemed annoyed at the tone that the conversation had taken as Issei cried as he spoke up "Saji! Listen to me! My aim is to grope Buchou's oppai…and then suck it!"

Saya reacted faster then Merlin, slapping the back of Issei's head as she shouted "Pervert!"

The pair not seeming to notice as Saji continued "Hyoudouuuu! Do you know what you are saying? Do you understand how hard that dream is, to touch the high-class devils oppai… To touch the oppai of your master?"

"Saji. You can touch it. You can touch the high-class devils oppai… You can touch your master's oppai! I actually groped Buchou's oppai with this hand."

"Shut up you perverts!" Erza shouted as she slammed both there heads into the table, Merlin sighing as he spoke

"Let's get out of here before we draw more attention" Saya and Erza nodded as the trio left, Kiba offering his apologies to them about Issei being a pervert while Merlin figured they should've been friends from the start.

…

Author's Notes

Another chap done and the group to destroy Excalibur has been made. Hoping I've managed to keep Erza in character but she deserves to punish the pair for being perverted. Also Saeko had Muramasa should be interesting to see later on while Murayama and Katase will probably have Holy-Demonic Swords once they get mass produced. Have also added in some of the girls' first names seeing as they're mentioned in Vol 14 of the Light Novels.

Anyway hope you enjoy it and please review.