Chapter 4

Author's Note: We're getting closer and closer to the introduction of Rias and her Peerage, and I find myself wondering. Should we have Yuuto Kiba, or Yumi Kiba? Male or Female? And if female who's harem do you want her in?

The week passed by in a blur, and just like that tomorrow was Sunday. Both Leo and Cornelia had spent the time preparing to shadow the date by memorizing the various maps that Azazel had given them, as well as walking around the city.

They had done their best to plant a listening spell on Issei, but after the first night hearing him 'take care' of himself, they removed it. The same problem happened when they tried to scry him, Cornelia swore that she would kill the boy when she heard him and his friends making plans to peep on the kendo club which she had joined. Attempts to follow him yielded much better results, as they saw him visiting various shops and attractions that primarily catered to couples. They had hit the poor boy with so many tracking charms, that they'd be able to locate him across the globe with pinpoint accuracy.

Right now both mercenaries were in the dining room, peering over a map of the city. Dozens of clay markers were positioned on the map, marking locations that Issei had visited. The markers were color coded by reviews that people online had given them, red being highly recommended and most likely to be used and as such were marked as high priority, yellow as a possibility, medium priority, and finally green as a maybe, and thus low priority. There were also black pieces but these were spread out across the city and were highly unlikely to be used due to being on the outskirts and lack of public transportation to get there.

Tomorrow Cornelia would deploy dozens of humanoid golems to the different sites in order to keep watch should Issei decide to visit them. In addition Leo had lent her his mask, and she would be tailing the boy personally. While this was going on he'd take the high ground, moving from roof to roof ready to intervene should something happen.

What preparations could be done was done that night, as they wanted to go to sleep early and get their 8 hours in. Blades were honed to a fine edge, Leo's pistol and rifle underwent maintenance, enchantments checked over and fixed to maintain their potency, nondescript clothing was laid out for Cornelia, and finally belts of ammunition were prepared.

The next morning the two moved with relaxed ease, this wasn't something new to them, and they were veterans. Cornelia ate some toast, something that had no chance of upsetting her stomach, while Leo dug into simple oatmeal. Nothing ruined a mission like an upset stomach, and being forced to hold it in or possibly lose your target while you were in the bathroom.

Cornelia dressed in a common blouse and jeans, kissed him before donning the mask. Instantly her form shifted, her maroon hair turning blonde and styled in ringlets that touched her shoulders. Her face took on a more angular look, a severe expression that seemed to be stuck in a perpetual frown. Her clothing changed as well turning into a long black skirt, sensible flats, and a white button down shirt.

"Good luck." She said, disappearing in a flash. She had teleported herself several blocks away from Issei just in case Raynare was close enough to sense a teleportation circle. Cornelia was taking no chances of detection and had opted to double up on power suppressants, as she would be in close proximity to the targets. 5 minutes later after doing final checks on his gear he teleported to the roof of a nearby building.

Wrapping his cloak around himself and pulling up the hood he activated the invisibility charm and faded from view. Removing the cover from the rifle's scope he placed the bipod against the edge of the roof, and activated his earpiece. "Overlord-actual to Shadow-one. Comm check. 1, 2. Repeat. Comm check. 1, 2."

"Shadow-one to Overlord-actual. Reading you Lima Charlie." Cornelia responded.

"Overlord-actual has eyes on target." Leo said, observing Issei through the lens of his rifle's scope. "Issei Hyoudou, designation HVT, is holding position 10 meters southwest of your current position. Time is now 0837, Yuuma Amano designation Crow-one is set to meet HVT at 1100."

"Shadow-one, moving to café 5 meters west of HVT."

"Understood." Leo answered, his posture never changing as he surveyed the area. He really wished that he had a spotter to help surveil the area, but he didn't so he was stuck sweeping the area in addition to maintaining eyes on target.

They remained like this, Leo was nibbling on some hardtack that he pulled from a pouch as he watched Issei fidget and pace. What did you expect when you came to the meeting point 3 hours early? Leo thought sweeping the area once more. It was now 0945 and the area was quickly filling with people, going about their business in the shopping district.

Cornelia had settled in at the café, sipping tea and eating small finger foods, acting like she was distracted by the magazine she was reading when really she was watching the HVT.

Overlord watched as hundreds of people flitted through the area, each one ignoring Issei, however one of them caught his eye. "Overlord-actual to Shadow-one, eyes on suspicious individual approaching HVT."

A young women in a red dress with cosplay black devil wings and a basket approached the HVT. He had the women's head in his crosshairs, years of training and practice compensating for wind and elevation. As the woman reached into the basket that she carried Leo's finger slowly squeezing the trigger of his rifle, halting as he felt the click of the two-stage trigger. If he didn't like what she pulled a single twitch and her head would be reduced to a fine mist.

"Shadow-one has eyes on suspicious individual, currently engaged with HVT. Listening spell active."

They both paused and heard what the woman was saying. "Here take this leaflet."

Issei looked at the piece of paper in his hand, noting the occult-like thing with a weird magic circle and a sentence written on it. "Your dream will be granted!" He whispered, though it was loud enough for the spell to pick up on his words. The slight compulsion spell on the paper took hold of him, and instead of throwing it away like he wanted to he ended up stuffing it into the pocket of his pants.

"That woman is a familiar." Cornelia said.

"Overlord agrees. Be aware of possible devil presence in the area."

"Roger." She answered as the familiar disappeared around a corner.

At 1030 their boredom was broken once more. "Overlord-actual to Shadow-one eyes on Crow-one. Approaching HVT from the North. Time is now 1030."

"Copy Overlord-actual. Shadow-one has eyes on target. HVT has made contact with Crow-one. Humanoid golems designated Golem-One to Golem-Thirty-Six activated, and are moving into position."

"Targets are currently conversing. Be ready to move." A minute later the two turned away from each other, and Issei gently grasped his date's hand.

"Targets are on the move." Leo said, watching them.

"Confirmed. Shadow-one is on the move." Cornelia left her spot at the café, throwing down a handful of bills and began to trail after them. "Is the HVT crying?" She asked in amazement.

"Overlord confirms tears." He responded in amusement. The poor boy looked like holding hands with her was such an amazing thing. "HVT and Crow-one have entered the clothing store. Overlord does not have eyes on target. I repeat no eyes on target."

"Acknowledged. Golems-three and seven are in position." Looking at the compact mirror he had he saw exactly what the golems were seeing. "Targets seem to be browsing the shop."

"Agreed." He replied, sweeping the street for any signs of trouble.

"Shadow-one changing disguise." Cornelia said ducking into an alley and coming out with a completely different body and look. This time she looked like an average housewife. "Targets are leaving the store."

"Overlord has reacquired targets." The statement proved to be true only for a few moments before the pair disappeared once more into a different shop, one that hadn't been on their list of places. "Targets have entered unsecured location. Repeat unsecured."

"Shadow-one, entering target location."

The cycle repeated itself several times, as the two moved between shops, sometimes entering them and other times just window browsing. Cornelia was always on their tail, though she changed her looks and clothes frequently. To further avoid suspicion she had different groups of golems sometimes follow the two lovebirds out, one positioned in front of them, one to the side and one to the back, and she herself was further back. The golems worked to corral them slightly, preventing them from entering some places. As they moved further and further away, his position as overwatch deteriorated as the street angle and he could no longer line up clear shots. He soon found himself slinging his rifle and teleporting from roof to roof, moving further and further away to prevent Raynare from detecting his magic. He still kept his eyes on them, though he was pushing the range on his rifle at almost 2000 yards. In fact the only reason that they weren't tiny pinpricks in his scope was because of his magically enhanced vision as well as an enchanted scope. At this range although he knew he could hit his target which was still amazing as at this range the bullet drop was almost 184 feet, but the guarantee of a kill from one round was up in the air. He needed to get closer.

The opportunity came when the pair decided to eat lunch. As the two entered a family restaurant, Leo couldn't suppress a smirk; there were so many windows that they might as well have not been in the building at all. Though glass always was a bitch to shoot through and played havoc with bullet trajectories even if they punched through, his .338 should make short work of it.

He took a single step and folded space underneath him, using the smallest amount of magic possible. Cornelia had shifted form for what must've been the tenth time that day and was eating in a booth not 10 feet from them, as he once more took overwatch. A part of him was envious at the chocolate parfait that she was eating, and unfortunately he was stuck once more nibbling on a piece of hardtack that he had baked last night. Even with his skills nothing could elevate the hard bread square and it remained the same hard, nutritious and nasty tasting biscuit that sailors during the Age of Discovery had lived on.

This mission was really starting to bore him, though he didn't struggle to maintain his focus as many of his jobs in the past were boring one minute and then next the situation had exploded. If things continued like this he would be happy, and he could report his findings to Azazel after making contact with the Grigori observation team.

Sadly things never seemed to want to go his way when they were important. It was sunset, and the two had been out on their date for most of the day. Issei had led them to the park, and they were currently watching the orange sky as the day's final light died down.

"Shadow-one to Overlord-actual. Be advised that Crow-one had erected a barrier around the park preventing normal humans from entering."

Leo paused, not liking where this was going. "Overlord-actual to Shadow-one. Understood, engage stealth and approach carefully. HVT safety is top priority."

Raynare had let go of Issei's hand her back to the fountain as she stared into his eyes. Bringing up the listening charms once more, he heard what Raynare was saying. "I had a great time today, Issei." She smiled a look that hinted at the malevolence obscured by the mask of civility. "Hey Ise-kun."

"What is it Yuuma-chan?" Issei asked. The pit in Leo's stomach grew larger as he continued to listen to the conversation.

"There is something I want to do to celebrate our first date. Can you listen to my wish?"

"What is it?" The boy foolishly asked.

"Will you die for me?" Raynare asked, smiling innocently.

"Eh?" He said dumbly. "I'm sorry can you repeat that I think that there's something wrong with my ears."

"Will you die for me?" She repeats, her body shifting from the innocent Yuuma persona to Raynare the Fallen Angel.

STAB!

Issei looked down to see a spear embedded in his stomach.

"SHIT!" Leo cursed. "Shadow-one extract HVT!"

The boy was still alive, his hands grasping at the haft of the spear. "It was fun. The short time I spent with you. It was like playing house with a little child." Raynare said.

"Overlord engaging." Leo said coldly, taking aim at Raynare. He wouldn't kill her as he needed her alive to interrogate, but she certainly wouldn't be unharmed.

"Sorry. You were a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early. If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you." The Fallen Angel sneered, taking to the air.

She would've said something else, except a 250 grain .338 lapua magnum round punched through both her wings causing her spin rapidly out of control and to crash headfirst into the fountain. "Crow-one is down. Repeat, Crow-one is down."

By this time Cornelia had moved to Issei's side and was checking his injury. With Raynare's concentration broken the light spear in his gut had faded away. "Overlord HVT is too critical to move."

"Roger. Emergency treatment incoming." Leo grimaced as he pulled out a different rifle from his dimensional storage. Unlike any of his others this one was designed to fire concepts in the form of magic bullets. It was a single shot break action long gun, the entire thing was an amalgamation of dozens of different magic formulas turning it into a potent magical focus.

Channeling power into his right arm he tapped into the magical crest that contained the store of his entire family's magical knowledge. Time slowed to a crawl as his mind moved past his body into the metaphysical realm. He was in a large library, grey and dreary with a single pedestal in the middle. It was here, using that pedestal that he was able to search and find the information that he wanted.

His father's family had all been some of the greatest item creators in history, blessed by Gods of different pantheons they had come to understand things beyond mortal comprehension. They had learned the greatest thing of all, to give concepts form. Over the years they had experimented with this ability until they were finally able to utilize it in their works. Even now though hundreds of years had passed they were still limited in the amount of concepts that they could replicate as understanding one took a lifetime. His forefathers had stored their knowledge in the crest hoping one day that a descendent would be able to utilize them all. Leo for all his talents and power, still had only managed to add a single concept to the crest, and that was Restoration.

Touching the pedestal he pulled all the necessary information to create a healing item. "Synthesizing concept."

"Hypothesizing basic structure." He imagined the stream of information that he was getting as molten metal, and he began to pour it into a mold shaping the concept and casting it into the form of a boolit.

"Creating composition material." Wrapping the 'core' of the concept in a hard layer of magic that would allow it to penetrate the target's skin and open up inside of them. Creating a primed brass case with gunpowder loaded.

"Imitating the skill of its making." He imagined his entire reloading bench. Taking the case he primed it, flared the mouth of the brass, put a charge of powder in, seated the 'boolit', and finally crimped the edges.

"Excelling every manufacturing process." Everything happened in a split second, as he withdrew from the metaphysical realm. In his hand he held what looked like any other bullet. Copper jacketed and brass cased you could've put it against any other factory ammo and no one would be able to tell the difference. That was until you looked at it with magic.

This was no mortal bullet, but a concept given form. In his hands he held the ultimate tool for healing, an item capable of bringing a person back from the brink of death. So the question remained why didn't he sell them or mass produce them?

The problem was he couldn't. The amount of energy that each one drained from him was staggering such that he could only make one or two a day. If word got out that his items surpassed Phoenix Tears he'd be hunted down by all factions and pantheons. Not to mention the fact that snatching a person back from the jaws of Death tended to piss off the Death God who had claim over that person's soul. The last thing he wanted to do was to piss off the God/Goddess that had dominion over his afterlife.

Unlocking the action he loaded the single concept into the gun. Closing it with a satisfied click he lowered the hammer and took aim at Issei's body. He fired and a moment later the boolit struck Issei, piercing his skin and dumping pure energy into him. Powerful magics flooded his system working to restore the damage that Raynare had done to him. The effect was just as fast as Phoenix Tears only instead of working on a single wound at a time it worked through the whole body. The boy's wounds closed in an instant, though the strain from the overwhelming influx of magic drove him towards Hypnos' embrace.

To Issei thing had spiraled drastically out of control. In his mind he was dying, his hand coated in his crimson blood. It reminded him of the girl that he had seen at school, the beauty with crimson hair. Every time he had seen her, his eyes had always drifted to her hair.

If he was going to die, he was going to do it in the arms of a girl like that.

"I don't want to die a virgin." He whispered, his desire triggering the magic circle that the devil familiar had given him.

"Shadow-one be advised Devils incoming. Grab the HVT and fall back to the safe house." Leo ordered, dismissing his conceptual rifle and getting behind the lapua once more.

He could see the crimson circle with the crest of Gremory beginning to form, before it deposited two young women who he recognized from school. Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. Both parties met, and stared at each other for a moment. Cornelia had Issei slung over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes as Rias and Akeno looked on in disbelief. They had come to hear the dying wish of their kohai before Rias would reincarnate the boy into her servant. Fate had other plans that night, as Cornelia took off with speed that surpassed a knight. Leo opened fire as soon as his partner was in the clear, the first shot purposefully striking the ground in front of the two devils stopping them from advancing. In response the two called upon their power creating shields in front of them, not that it worked.

Leo wasn't shooting just any ammunition, but match grade tungsten carbide penetrators hand loaded to +P+ velocities. Each bullet had been imbued with the concept of piercing and a small amount of light. The brass cases reinforced to their utmost to handle the increased energy from his custom powder. He could make these conceptual bullets easily as they took nowhere near the amount of magic to create as his restoration boolits. This was because he had used runic arrays to add the effect to the bullet itself something he couldn't do with Restoration bullets as it would mean shooting the person with live ammunition rather than a magical concept in the form of a boolit.

His second shot pierced through Gremory's defense and nicked her shoulder. The third nicked Akeno's cheek, and it was only then that they got the message, sprinting from their current position and running towards the tree line. Even with their superhuman abilities they weren't faster than a speeding bullet as he emptied the rest of his magazine, the remaining seven shots nicking them as they took cover behind trees. Reloading he cast a messenger spell towards where Raynare was pulling herself out of the fountain.

"GET MOVING!" The message screamed, as his rifle roared and began sending hot metal down range. She needed no more encouragement, running from the area, her wings still damaged. He held his position providing covering fire for her, instilling the fear of God in the two devils every time they popped their head around cover.

"Shadow-one to Overlord-actual. HVT secured in safehouse."

"Copy that Shadow. Overlord is Oscar Mike to your position." Finishing his magazine he slung his rifle over his shoulder and teleported himself to New York, from there he randomly teleported 32 different times before heading back to Azazel's house.

There he met Cornelia who had already stripped off the clothing she had worn for the mission and was in the process of reducing it to a fine ash. She didn't need to worry about leaving any trace evidence that could lead them to her as she had worn gloves that randomly shifted her finger prints, spelled her hair so that none would fall, and the clothes she wore had been of common make anyone might've owned. Her boots had just been purchased and had nothing that could lead to their location through mineralogy or by looking at soil samples.

"What's the status of the HVT?" Leo asked stripping and burning his clothes before putting his invisibility cloak back into his pocket dimension.

"Secured in a detention cell and unconscious."

"Good." Leo said. "Get over to the target's home and take care of the parents, then come back here. I'm going to go report this to Azazel."

Nodding she headed off to Issei's house, intent on cleaning up the loose ends that had resulted from the mission. Moving through the house he located Issei's unconscious form and hit him with a powerful sleeping spell guaranteed to keep him out of it for at least 8 hours. He was taking no chances with the suspected Longinus possessor as he secured the boy's wrists to his ankles with Uru shackles, and around his waist a reinforced belt attached to a metal chain anchored several feet into the wall. After that was done he shoved a gag into the boy's mouth just in case he was able to cast spells verbally, then blindfolded him with a thick black piece of cloth that he affixed with both magic and a large rubber band, lastly he enchanted a pair of earmuffs and fit it over the boys head so that he would be unable to hear anything. Now that Leo had sealed off all his senses he placed a collar around his neck, a suppressor he had taken from the Vatican used when handling dangerous criminals with sacred gears.

Being as paranoid as he was he hit the boy with a second sleep spell, knowing that those with Dragon gears were inherently resistant to magic due to the spirits they held in their souls. Vali had a bad habit of shrugging off everything but his heaviest spells, and the last thing he wanted was to face a rampaging dragon.

Once everything was done and he was reasonably certain that the boy wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, he left and secured the door with a dozen different locking charms several of which were created by him. Believing in no such thing as overkill he sealed off the entire room trapping it in a pocket dimension.

Taking a piece of paper from his pocket he triggered the circle that was on it, turning it red for high priority before throwing it onto the floor. A minute later Azazel appeared wearing a yukata and looking like he had been relaxing when Leo had called him.

"Yo." The Governor said, raising his hand in greeting.

"Azazel." Leo nodded. "Drink?"

"Please."

There was nothing more useful that dimensional storage as he pulled out a bottle of scotch and two glasses.

"How are you guys settling in?" He asked, sipping at his drink.

"It's been eventful." Leo said mysteriously.

"Really? Cause it hasn't even been a week since I last saw you." Azazel said. "How much trouble could you have gotten yourselves into already?"

"Let's see, killed a Pillar devil or at least shattered his mind, assaulted an heiress of another Pillar family the sister of Lucifer, shot her Queen, captured the supposed wielder of the Mid-Tier Longinus Boosted Gear." Leo counted off, waiting for Azazel to take another sip before saying. "And found a rogue element in the Grigori."

The governor choked a bit, before demanding "What?"

"The group that you stationed here has exceeded the orders that you gave them. They tried to kill Hyoudou Issei today."

"Who?"

"Raynare, light spear to the gut."

"That'll ruin anyone's day." Azazel mused, already over the fact that the group seemed to be overstepping their authority. "Is the boy-"

"Dead?" Leo asked raising a brow. The governor nodded, causing Leo to shake his head. "No, but it was a close thing, we almost lost him to the Devils who had given him one of their summoning slips. If I hadn't hit him with one of my healing bullets he'd have ended up being Gremory's newest servant. We've got him sedated and under lock and key at the moment."

"Can I see him?" Azazel, his inner scientist beginning to get the better of him, looked like a kid in a candy shop. "I've never gotten a chance to get up close to the Boosted Gear."

Leo looked at the eager puppy dog look that the man had before sighing and beginning to undo all the locks that he had put on the door. Twenty minutes later they were able to open it and enter the room. Leo went first his hand already firing off a sleep spell before he even crossed the threshold. This is probably not good for his health. Leo thought, but then dismissed it as it was better that the boy was asleep and unaware.

"Kinky." Azazel commented, seeing all the restraints placed on the boy.

"Cornelia likes it." Leo grinned, moving aside for the Governor to get a closer look.

"His magic power is abysmal." Azazel noted. "Physically he's weak, his only strength being in his legs. He's not even that fast considering that he always gets caught by the females he pervs on."

"Like you're one to talk."

""The difference between us, is that after I'm caught I'm not beaten by sticks." Azazel said, before grinning lewdly. "It's more like they're beating me off or I'm beating them with my stick."

"Shut up Pervert Governor." Cornelia said walking into the room. "Kinky."

Leo sighed at her comment, it seemed like perversion was ingrained in their very nature. "You know I kind of feel bad for him."

"Hello Cornelia, your mother says hello, and why's that?" Azazel asked.

"Because he has Vali as a rival." Cornelia snarked. "At her current strength she would be able to beat him with both her arms tied behind her back, her legs bound and blindfolded. That's without even entering Balance Break."

"Lia's right." Leo agreed. "A single spell from Vali and that would be the end of the fight."

"It's like casting pearls before swine." She said sadly. "You're better off extracting the gear from him and implanting it into a new host. It would probably be easier than trying to train him up to snuff."

"That research has been abandoned for a reason." Azazel said coldly, a change from his normal jovial behavior.

"Really? Because we've been hearing rumors recently."

"What rumors?" The Fallen asked.

"People with unawakened sacred gears have gone missing. Snatched in broad daylight and under cover of the night, at home and abroad no one is safe. Their bodies turn up a few weeks later, their gear having been violently ripped out." Cornelia answered. "Are you sure that the information is secure?"

"Positive, I destroyed all the prototypes myself and locked the documents up in the vaults." Azazel defended.

"Then maybe someone is trying to do what you refused." Leo said grimly. There was a lull in the conversation, as both parties thought about the consequences of such research. "What do you want us to do about the boy? I mean I could try and alter his memories, make him idolize you and follow your commands with zealous devotion."

"Release him." Azazel commanded. "The mission was to observe only, whatever he chooses is up to him."

"You know that because of Raynare the chances of him joining the Grigori are almost nonexistent."

"There was never a chance to begin with." Azazel said dryly. "Vali would've never accepted him, and I'm not going to alienate one of my best fighters on the gamble that Hyoudou can even be trained to our standard."

"How is she by the way?" Leo asked. "I got a text from her telling me that she would be ready should something happen, but that she couldn't be here right now."

"I've got her observing a target. It's an internal matter." Azazel responded dismissively.

Cornelia whistled. "Must be some target if you were able to convince her to stop training and just watch a person. If I were you I'd be careful she might get the idea to fabricate evidence so that you would order her to engage."

He opened his mouth, only to close it a moment later. That was something that Vali would do.

"Anyways I'm sure that Raynare has already wiped any traces of her existence as Yuuma Amano out, so we need to locate where they're holed up."

"There's only one place that they'd be." Leo said theatrically. "The abandoned church."

"Or you could've just read the location in the packet I gave you." Azazel sweatdropped.

"Cornelia would you mind releasing Issei later on tonight, seeing as you need to escort him home and restore his parents to full health."

"After dinner." She answered. "Azazel will you be eating with us tonight?"

"Can't, I have too much paperwork building up, it seems like our Chief Secretary has gotten fed up with me dumping all my work on her. She tried to spear me as I left to come here." With that, Azazel moved to get ready to leave. "Try not to kill any of my subordinates."

"No promises on the stray exorcists that you have there, but I'll try to keep the Grigori alive." Leo said. Azazel nodded and disappeared with a *whump* and a flurry of feathers. "Come on Lia, let's go get dinner."

"Takeout?"

"Pizza. I'm feeling Chicago deep dish." Leo said.

"The restaurants aren't even open yet." Cornelia pointed towards the clock."

Looking at it for a moment he groaned. "I hate being in different time zones."

She laughed. "Come on I'm sure that Azazel's got something in the fridge that can be whipped up quick. Besides we still have some work to do tonight and eating a heavy meal before a battle isn't good for your health."

"Neither is the nightly marathon sex necessary to keep you sated." Leo said.

"Really? Perhaps we should stop that then." She threatened with a raised brow.

"Shutting up." He grumbled.

"Thought so." She smiled before giving him a kiss. "I'm only doing this because I want you to live a long life with me."

Dinner that night consisted of simple sandwiches assembled from whatever was left in the fridge. It wasn't amazing but it certainly took the edge off their hunger. I'll write a note and have the maids purchase some more things so that we can cook for ourselves when we're hungry."

"Ok. Would you mind giving me a hand in releasing our captive?"

Together they approached the room that they were holding their school mate hostage. "You know, since he's currently unconscious and all, it wouldn't be that hard to mess with his mind." Leo remarked. "10 minutes or so and I can have him be as celibate as a priest without a single lustful thought."

Cornelia paused, seriously considering his offer, but ultimately she shook her head. "No need, if he peeks on me I'll see if classical conditioning still works." There was a hint of malice in her voice as her eyes took on a devilish light. He shivered as she moved her hand as if she were gripping a sword.

Undoing the various seals on the door he once again hit the boy with a sleep spell before beginning to undo the various restraints. Almost an hour later he had managed to remove everything but the shackles on his wrists, the blindfold, and the earmuffs. He purposefully left those on just in case the boy woke up while Cornelia was transporting him. "I'll see you when I get back." Leo said giving her a quick kiss.

"Don't take too long." She said lovingly, but then added seriously. "Don't let Kala lure you to her bed."

"I love you." He reassured.

"Yes and several women would love nothing more for you to love them too." She grumbled. "Remember what I said. I expect to be number 1 in your heart, and if you take any to our bed, I better be there."

"You know if you wanted a threesome you could've just said so." He grinned, flinching as she pinched his side.

"My love is for you only." Saying that she once again slung Issei over her shoulder, and disappeared in a flash.

"That woman." Leo sighed massaging his side. "I really do love her." Making a note to do something special for her he once again withdrew the bronze key necessary to open up his workshop.

After entering the dimensionally isolated room, he took a turn and opened the door to the armory. Racks of weapons ranging from simple swords to elaborately detailed warhammers, pistols and rifles from all ages and all levels of technology, and even a cabinet dedicated to his more energetic weapons. Of course the last one was kept under lock and key for no other reason that the stuff made composition-four look like a firecracker. In addition to weapons there were a variety of clothing suitable for different missions and functions.

He wasn't expecting trouble, but you never really knew what you might run into. the suit that he was wearing was of the same style as the one that he had worn when first visiting Kuoh. Black double-breasted jacket with silver trimmings, black pants, and polished black brogue shoes, over a grey vest and white shirt topped with a blue cravat with gold threads. He liked wearing suits as they had a certain elegance and refinement to them, not to mention the one that he was wearing had been made from the hide of a Nemean Lion. Not the giant one that Hercules had slain but one of its smaller offspring. It didn't have the same resilience as the legendary hide but it rivaled plate armor in strength and while offering impressive magic resistance.

Going over to one of the racks of clothing he pulled out his trusty great coat, made from heavy wool and imbued with hundreds of spells to help protect him. It was a dark grey double-breasted with silver buttons, and had a wide collar that could be turned out for extra warmth and to protect against rain. The coat fell almost to his ankles and his forwent the shoulder cape instead being split in the back allowing for ease of movement. Cornelia often made fun of his choice of wearing it, but he repeatedly told her that it completed his image. He may have been somewhat vain about his appearance but the coat was practical before it was stylish, and that was the only reason she let him keep it.

Flaring it open he checked to make sure all the straps were tight before taking a simple holy sword from one of the racks. While nowhere near as potent as a legendary blade like Durandal or Excalibur it was more than comparable to the power of something produced by Blade Blacksmith. Sheathing it at his waist, he left the armory and after putting down a request for materials on one of his note pads, exited his workshop.

Instead of teleporting directly into the church he appeared a few blocks away, and activated the concealment charms on his coat, just in case a normal person saw him.

The walk was quick and easy, as there was really no one out at this time. Arriving at the property line he shook his head, the fools hadn't even set a simple detection ward to warn them of intruders. Canceling the concealment charms on himself, he knocked on the door which resounded with a booming thud. Wonder if someone is actually going to open the door.

A minute later an elderly man dressed as a priest had opened the door, and stuck his head out. "Hello?"

"Hello Father." Leo said bowing his head in respect. "I find myself in the middle of a crisis and seek your guidance."

The man shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry but the church is currently undergoing repairs, and isn't in any state to host visitors."

"I'm sorry, is there nothing you can do? I have nowhere else to turn, and wish to talk." Leo said lacing his voice with a bit of hypnotism.

"Well maybe for a few minutes." The man said opening the door slightly.

"Thank you father." If he thought the exterior of the church was bad it had nothing on the interior. All around him were broken pews covered in dust, cracked stain glass and he could see starlight pouring in through a hole in the roof. The only thing that looked cared for was the altar which had a fresh cloth laid atop it with a golden chalice.

"What seems to be the problem my child?" The priest asked.

"Father I find myself in quite the predicament. You see I've been hired by a certain individual to check up on his subordinates who he is worried about. Except when I get there the subordinates are all still alive and have against his orders. My job is to make them fall in line. After all we can't have any crows flying free of the Grigori." Leo said lightly. "Don't try to reach into your robe, you won't get very far."

The man's hand which had been inching towards the saber hilt in his pocket stopped, seeing the saber hilt in Leo's hand poised to activate and sever his femoral artery. "What is it you want?" The man asked.

"I'm looking for Raynare."

"Lady Raynare is not to be disturbed." The Fallen Priest said mechanically.

"Trust me, she'll make an exception for me."

Just as the man was about the respond someone decided to kick the doors of the church in. A young man around his age dressed in clerical clothing with short white hair and red eyes. He had a disturbing smile plastered on his face as he loudly proclaimed. "Honey I'm Home!"