Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts
Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.
Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) ~Communicator~ *Technique* {Magical Item}
Excalibur Rising Part 2
The majority of the ORC was going over a map of Kuoh as they were plotting a search pattern. Kiba had called in after his job and said he'd give a full report in the morning. Rias had chalked it up as him being tired after his summoning. It sometimes happened with more demanding task. However, it was well past noon of the following day and Kiba hadn't even called in. Considering there was a threat in town, she was not taking any chances.
"Kaichou sent me to help out with the search for Kiba." Saji Genshirou announced as he entered the room. On seeing Xander he paled and nearly backed out of the room, obviously in a panic.
"Xander-koi, why did Saji-san react to you like that?" Rias asked in a dangerous tone as she addressed her fiancé. While her favorite servant was extremely popular with the girls of the Academy, a good third of the boys were utterly terrified of him. In most cases it was due rather violent reaction to open perverts. Motohama and Matsuda were the only ones who didn't seem to cower away from him, unless they were caught in the act. "As far as I know he isn't one of the campus perverts."
"Relax Saji-san, Sona-Kaichou vouched for what you were doing for her Queen." Xander tried to give his best apologetic look as he addressed the young man. "It won't happen again, I promise. And I am really sorry about the beating."
"You're sorry? I had to have two of my teeth regrown by healers. Do you know how painful that is?" Saji shouted out as he glared at Xander. "It's like having your wisdom teeth pulled without Novocain. I ought to break my foot off in your ass."
"He's the one you pummeled for spying on the Naginata club." Raynare actually winced in sympathy for Saji. When going purely unarmed, fighting Xander was a painful and humiliating experience unless your name was Koneko. "You knocked out two of his teeth?"
"He manifested that chameleon thing on his arm. I shoved it in his mouth before he could use it." Xander shrugged. "To be fair he wasn't in uniform and his hair was purple that day. You'd surprised how different he looks with that hair color. Have to say I haven't seen anyone take a beating that well since me in Sunnydale."
"That was a prank that someone pulled on me!" Saji groaned. "You know what the worst part was. You beat the crap out me like Nappa on Yamcha and who does Kaichou get mad at? Me. I was told she expected a better showing from me."
"That blows." Koneko muttered in sympathy for Saji.
Xander actually cringed at that. Sona struck him as the super strict type, but to be that cold was another thing. "I'll have some words with her. It's not fair to compare a high-schooler to me in combat ability… unless you're a student of Xavier's. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
"Unless you are willing to teach me…" Saji started.
"Done, I'll train you up, no problem." Xander grinned widely as he offered his hand to the other devil.
"Xander-koi, you should be asking me before you offer to train someone else's servant." Rias lightly reprimanded him. Her arms were crossed under her bust showing she wasn't pleased with being bypassed like that. "And if I agreed, you would have to have to ask Sona-chan for her blessing as well."
"Ara ara, is Xander-kun going to be punished again so soon." Akeno's eyes lit up in unholy delight at the possibility. "I believe this time it would be corporeal punishment."
"Well, technically I will have to punish him for harming another Devil's Servant and the extension of the offer as well." Rias said as she stroked her chin. "One thousand strokes enough?"
"My hands are going to cramp so much." Xander groaned.
"Why would your hands cramp?" Saji was confused. If he heard one thousand strokes from Sona his butt would clench so hard it would make steel weep in envy. Magically enhanced spankings were no joke. "Spankings are on the ass."
"I've been combing her hair every night since we started bathing together. One hundred strokes." Xander explained. "Asia was added to that when she moved in with me. Raynare joined in latter and just a week ago Akeno and Koneko each get a turn too. Rias is saying one thousand strokes for each of them, probably on the same night."
Saji took a moment to look at each of the girl's smiling faces and then at their hair. Koneko's only hung to her shoulder, but other than her the shortest hair of the women in the ORC was Raynare with her butt length hair. "I'd rather take the spanking."
Xenovia Quarta struggled to open her eyes. Only one would obey her commands, the other was swollen shut. Sitting up was painful, but she managed it after a minute. She had been lying on the floor of the kitchenette where she had been struck down while she had been heating some cup ramen. 'If that Gremory Knight…' Her thoughts of what she would do to Kiba died on her lips as she saw his battered form lying among the ruins of the entertainment center. He'd obviously tried to put up a fight, but had been knocked out. Quickly looking around, Xenovia was searching for Irina but could see no sign of her friend and partner.
It took some effort but she managed to reach one of pouches in her suit. Pulling out the foil pack she opened up and poured the {Manna} into her mouth and chewed. In a matter of moments her ringing headache vanished and her swollen eye healed. Surging to her feet, Xenovia went to the closet where she had stashed {Excaliber Destruction} and let out a sigh of relief that it was there. "But where is Irina?"
"Gaaaggh!" Xander covered his left eye as it throbbed unexpectedly. It was just on the edge of being painful and definitely wasn't something that he could ignore. He'd just been in the middle of adjusting his SafeLife FRAS vest when it happened. "Damned eye."
"What's wrong? Is your eye socket inflamed?" Asia was instantly at Xander's side. While she didn't have formal training as a Doctor, years of healing all sorts of ailments and injuries gave her a lot of medical knowledge. "Here let me heal it."
Asia raised her hands towards Xander's face preparing to use [Twilight Healing] to help her crush. However, as her hands came near his face, Xander cringed in near pain again. This time there was a metallic reverberation that everyone in the clubroom heard.
"What was that?" Rias frowned as she pinpointed the sound as coming from Xander left eye. "That sounded oddly familiar."
Xander mentally deactivated the illusion covering his left eye as the throbbing happened again. This time he was almost driven to his knees as the sensation was painful. As with the previous pulse what could only be described as a warning buzz resonated through the clubroom. What Xander couldn't see was that the now five point star in his eye glowed brightly as it buzzed.
"Nooo." Rias muttered in disbelief. "Hephaestus-dono wouldn't do that… would he?"
"To another God… no." Akeno shook her head in negation, but then nodded to Xander and continued. "To Xander-kun… in a heartbeat."
"What did Hephaestus-dono do?" Asia asked even as she was using [Twilight Healing] in the attempt to heal damage what just wasn't happening.
"Thundercats Ho." Koneko deadpanned as she tightened the straps on her fighting gloves.
"Oh that fucker! I am going to prank him so hard." Xander half growled as he straightened up. "{Eye of Omen} give me sight beyond sight!"
"Just keep running, Irina. They are after the swords. You need to get to Xander-dono." Irina whispered to herself. The Exorcist was running as fast as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. She had good reason as a several Fallen Angels were gliding through the air trying to impale her with *Light Spears*. Not for the first time, Irina was thankful that becoming an Exorcist meant receiving a *Blessing* from the Church that made her a bit more than human. Sure, she wasn't quite equal to even a lesser Angel, but it still gave her a great deal of enhancement making her just slightly superhuman. Unfortunately she had been running all night. The Fallen Angels cut her off from any source of aid and never let her rest for more than a few minutes. She'd been skilled enough to avoid capture, but hunger and fatigue were taking their toll.
Unfortunately even with her enhancements, Irina could not dodge every *Light Spear*. Luckily the one that did tag her was only a graze, until it exploded sending her tumbling along the garden path. The loyal Exorcist tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. Her combat suit was little more than tatters that didn't even preserve her modesty. Thankfully it had done the job of keeping her injuries to just bruises and scrapes. Still she was exhausted, she had been sprinting for over two three miles.
"Well. Well. Well. Look what we have here: a slutty Exorcist with her tits and ass just begging for some punishment." Freed Sellzen stepped out of the shadows. "You made me chase you all over through this shitty town. I am going to take it out in your ass."
"Don't panic. Just keep moving." Irina spoke under her breath as she crawled along the ground a bit. She made the attempt to get to her feet, but a heavy boot stepped down on her back forcing her into the ground. "Hopefully Xenovia-chan and Kiba-san escaped."
"It was naughty of you to grab the other bitch's sword and run." The sadist Stray Exorcist chided the woman he was literally standing on. "I was going to kill that pussy devil then have some fun with the two of you but you spoiled it all. It things like that make me think you hate me." Freed actually sounded hurt as he said that. "I'm sure that even a stuck up prude like you couldn't hate someone who is out there killing shitty Devils."
"You'd be wrong." Irina spat out. "Hate isn't strong enough a word for how I feel about you."
"Oh well, I was going to be gentle, but if that's the case I am really going to tear you a new one."
"I am going to rip that bastard in half!" Xander growled as the vision faded away. Bundling the memory and the sensation involved he sent it to Rias. At the same time he manifested [Boosted Gear]. "How quick can you get us there, Rias-hime?"
"It'll take just a minute, Xander-koi." Rias responded as she threw her arms wide. Creating a *Transportation Circle* to and from the Clubroom was not hard as long as the location was in Kuoh. Of course such quick transports only allowed her to move those carrying the mark of her House, whether that mark was a permanent one like her servants or a flier like Saji and Raynare. It helped that the vision that Xander shared with her included precise coordinates.
The circle was being formed as everyone readied themselves for battle. Akeno had triggered the transformation that exchanged her casual clothes for her Miko attire. At the same time she released the [Yumi no Raiden] from it's bracelet form. Raynare finished the adjustments on fer own FRAS and quickly enchanted it to be transparant. Asia clasped her hands together and the eight chains of {Protective Chains of Prometheus} emerged from her back ready to act.
"*Boost!*" [Boosted Gear] announced as Xander was already powering up.
"Just what is the D-Bag doing?" Koneko asked as she saw all sense of humor and mercy bleed from Xander's eyes. It reminded her of the look he'd had when he killed Caleb.
"He's planning to rape Irina-chan." Xander growled out as the circle fully formed.
Freed grabbed Irina's hair and began dragging her towards the nearest bench laughing at her feeble attempts to pull away before she gave into the pain. Without even a single care he tossed her on it. Before she could try to get up his left hand was gripping her throat as he leaned in and licked her cheek.
"It's such a shame that a hot piece of ass like you stays loyal to the Church. We could have had a lot of fun butchering Devils and then fucking like animals." Freed leered over Irina's body. "Ah well, that's life and at least you'll get your cherry popped before you die."
"Rape is the only way you can get a girl, you bastard." Irina spat out literally, a globule of blood splattered across Freed's face. "I'll bet you're too small to even tear my hymen." Normally Irina would never say anything like that, but at the moment she just didn't want to face the fact she was going to be raped. She was praying that angering Freed enough would mean he'd just kill her.
"Wow. That is quite the mouth on you for a good Church girl." Freed smiled as if impressed. Even as he was speaking he tightens his grip on her throat. "Too bad it's written a check your body can't cash."
"Maybe so… but I'm one of Xander's Girls… he'll honor it." Irina gasped out as she tried to dislodge Freed's hand to no avail.
"You'll be dead before he tries." Freed grinned evilly. "It'll be fun to present your head to him and see his tears before I cut him to pieces."
"To quote Giles: Not bloody likely, Pillock." Xander said as he started stomping his way towards Freed. "If you are really lucky I'll kill you before I rip your spine out."
"*Boost!*" [Boosted Gear] intoned as the gem glowed again.
The majority of the ORC arrived via *Transportation Circle* just thirty feet behind Freed. Rias and Akeno immediately began weaving a *Concealment Barrier*. Koneko took a protect stance in front of Asia. Raynare created a *Light Spear* and was ready to act. Asia for her part had sent two of her chains in preparation to scoop up Irina the moment that Freed released her.
"Well fuck me, speak of a Devil and he does appear." Freed muttered in an impressed tone. "No weapons. Psycho-kun?"
"Death will be a release when I am done with you!" Xander growled as he surged forward with intent to see if he could create a reenactment of the Black Knight scene in Monty Python by ripping off Freed's limbs one at a time.
He never connected. Freed had released Irina and moved with astonishing speed out of the way. The Exorcist drew a wicked looking sword from under this smock. "Too slow Psycho-kun." The priest chirped happily before taking a swing at Xander's head only to find the devil blocking it with the [Boosted Gear]. "Hmm something is wrong here. {Excalibur Rapidly} should be hurting you even through that whack gauntlet."
"Traded my arms away for the chance to beat a Phenex to death for threatening to rape my girls." Xander growled as he twisted his arm around to attempt to grab the blade, only to grasp empty air. Freed was now twenty feet away with a smirk on his face. "Damn, a sword that gives you superspeed? That just sucks balls."
Asia acted quickly wrapping Irina in her chains and activating {Twilight Healing} on the battered Exorcist. She was just in time too as a blinding white *Light Spear* bounced off the cocoon of chains. Before she could warn anyone, three more chains moved to protect her from more *Light Spears*.
Hovering above everyone were four Fallen Angels males dressed in black chainmail and wearing stylized iron masks marking them as the foot soldiers of the Grigori. All four of them were preparing more *Light Spears* to hurl.
"Koneko-chan, Saji-san help Xander-kun." Rias called out battle orders. "Akeno-chan, Raynare-san let's give the Fallen Angels a taste of what we can do."
Koneko nodded before she launched herself towards Freed. The tiny girl leapt through the air almost appearing to fly without her wings. Coming down like a meteorite she planned on crushing Freed with one blow. Unfortunately she missed, her small fist creating a fifteen foot wide crater in the hard earth.
"Right!" Saji thrust his left arm forward as the [Absorption Line] manifested. "*Capture Line* go!" he called out. The chameleon like mouth of the sacred gear lashed out and wrapped around Freed's leg. "I got him. Put him down!"
"As you wish, Buchou." Akeno raised the [Yumi no Raiden] and gripped where there should be a string, as she pulled back a string of purple energy appeared. "*Lightning Bolt*" The Priestess of Thunder proclaimed as arrow composed of crackling lightning appeared. With a smile on her face she released the string. A bolt of lightning the size of a javelin was launched through the air with unerring accuracy. One of the Fallen Angels screamed before his chest cavity was completely vaporized. 'I love this bow.'
"My pleasure, Buchou!" Raynare unfurled her wings as she took to the air charging another Fallen Angel who was honestly too surprised by being action to even attempt to dodge. The jagged purple *Light Spear* tore through the chainmail and Fallen Angel's stomach with astonishing ease.
"Lady Raynare? Why?" The Fallen Angel gasped out as he began to dissolve away into feathers.
Rias for her part simply raised a hand and unleashed a wave of *Power of Destruction*. She wasn't bothering with any fancy technique or artistry. The Crimson Princess of Ruin was just unleashing a massive amount of power. While she was enjoying coming up with new ways to use her power, every once in a while she just liked to let go. The two remaining Fallen Angels tried to create *Shields* in order to defend themselves but it was pointless. In moments there was nothing but feathers as evidence they ever existed.
"What fresh hell is this thing?" Freed muttered as he tried to move only to find his leg was restrained. He sword with *Excalibur Rapidly* but the line refused to be severed. "Hey, what gives? Oh shit, I'm fucked."
"*Boost!*" [Boosted Gear] intoned again.
Xander reached Freed and delivered a roundhouse blow with every bit of his might. Considering that Xander was roughly was now five times as powerful as the strongest normal human on Earth and the [Boosted Gear] had doubled that three times. Xander's punch would have clocked in fifty thousand foot pounds or the equivalent of fifteen kilograms of TNT. If the blow had connected with an average human's head the skull would be powdered and the brain liquefied. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Xander's gauntlet covered fist struck a glowing white sigil with an incredibly loud bang. The feedback actually knocked Xander back into a charging Koneko as the force of his blow was reversed.
"Freed, my son, you are always getting in over your head." A short rotund man in full priestly raiment of a bishop stepped out from behind an ancient willow tree. "Whatever have you done to anger the Red Dragon Emperor? And why have you let yourself be entangled by the [Absorption Line]? What have I told you about playing with filthy dragons?"
Akeno had not hesitated drawing energy string back again she fired off another *Lightning Bolt* that simply hit another white sigil. The *Lightning Bolt* had rebounded and Asia's chains were forced to form a caged around her to ground out the attack.
"Yadda. Yadda. Blah. Blah. Give it a rest Old Man Valper. I was just having a bit of fun with that Exorcist after retrieving her sword when Psycho-kun and his bitches showed up." Freed back-talked the old man. "How the fuck do I cut this line so we can make like a pair of dykes and leave lickety split."
"Just concentrate your holy energy through the sword and you'll be able to free yourself." Valper rolled his eyes at fuming Stray Exorcist. "I will apologize for our rudeness. It is terribly bad manners to flee from a battle without resolving it, but I am afraid we have prior appointments. I shall leave you with three of my {Clay Martyrs} to entertain you."
As he spoke three transport circles formed between him and the Devils. Each circle was disgorging a massive nine foot tall terracotta statue of a human. Two of them were males in the regalia of a Catholic priest, and the remaining was a woman in Nun's habit.
Freed grinned as he did just as Valper had instructed. The glowing Holy Sword had sliced through the *Capture Line* of [Absorption Line] with little effort. "Well, it's a shame I can't watch you all be brutally murdered, but we have things to do. Toodles!" With that the insane exorcist detonated a {Light Grenade} forcing the gathered devils to cover their eyes.
"Water?" Kiba gasped out after the swallowed down the {Manna} Xenovia had practically force fed him. He remembered the foodstuff from his time in the Holy Sword project. It was an alchemically crafted substance that provided all the nutrition a person could need in a day as well as rapidly healing minor wounds and ailments. While it was tasty, it was extremely dry, which is why most people ate it as a cereal or porridge.
"We don't have any normal water. I hope milk will suffice." Xenovia retrieved a bottle of strawberry flavored milk, a guilty pleasure of hers and tossed it to Kiba. "As soon as you're able to move we need report to Gremory-dono."
"Thank you, Xenovia-san." Kiba caught the bottle and drank the quart down in a few swallows. Normally he would have savored it, but they had to get going. "We'll keep an eye out for your partner as well. She obviously led our attackers away."
"You are right, she did. Although, I do not understand how she got them to abandon {Excalibur Destruction}." Xenovia mused as she reached for her cloak. "Since you have superior knowledge of the area, I will follow your lead."
"Okay the crazy preacher has clay golems." Xander groaned as saw the {Clay Martyrs}. "Does anybody know what these are, let alone how to take them out?"
"The {Clay Martyrs} are an abomination of Alchemy. Clay mixed with the bones and blood of fallen Exorcists is used to create a devil killing automaton." Rias explained as she started gathering power. Her personal seal formed under her feet as her body began to glow with a crimson black aura, her hair and clothing being swept around by a fierce wind coming from the sigil. "When you kill one, let the rest of us know how."
Akeno drew back the string of the [Yumi no Raiden] forming a *Lightning Bolt* that was much larger than her previous attacks. Taking careful aim she released the string. The *Lighting Bolt* was a thirty feet long and three feet wide. It struck the lead {Clay Martyr} in a bright shower of sparks and a crack of thunder. When everyone could see the terra cotta priest their hearts stopped. Aside from some blackening of the surface the only effect the *Lightning Bolt* has was causing the {Clay Martyr} to skid backwards for a few feet.
"Well Lightning is out." Xander muttered as tried to formulate a plan. When he heard the *Boost!* of his sacred gear go off he decided to attempt brute force. (Rias-hime, Rook me!)
"Pawn promotion to Rook." Rias intoned as she channeled just a slight of power into her link to the Peerage. The slight distraction was not enough to affect her plan. Channeling a sizeable fraction of her personal power she formed an array of three seals and channeling the *Power of Destruction* through them. The blast of power she unleashed briefly took the form of a dragon before it drove into the nun shaped {Clay Martyr}. The automaton was enveloped in a doom of red-black energy fifteen feet diameter for a few seconds. When that dome fade away it revealed that the nun golem had only lost it left arm as it lay in the center of a pit gouged out of the Earth. 'That was an eighth of my reserves! There shouldn't have been anything left.'
Xander's form was superimposed with a crimson rook for the briefest of moment. Feeling the flood of physical power seeping into his sinews Xander grinned as he dashed forward. Gauntleted fist struck the closest {Clay Martyr} with a resounding boom. Cracks had actually formed in the [Boosted Gear], but the automaton was only staggered a bit. The retaliating attack was a clumsy upper cut from the {Clay Martyr's} the blow caught Xander in the chin and launched him through the air and through the trunk of an elm tree.
Seeing Xander's attack fail, Koneko tried a different tack. Closing with the same {Clay Martyr} she deftly dodged a few clumsy swings from the golem before she acted. Grabbing the golem's wrist she used her superior strength to bend it's arm behind it's back. The plan worked a little too well as the limb just distorted like soft clay under the slow pressure.
At the same time Asia had decided to attempt to restrain the other priest shaped golem. Four of her chains had wrapped around the automaton practically mummifying it. Tightening the chains caused the {Clay Martyr} to deform like play dough.
Akeno had been shocked by her attack simply being shrugged off and could see that Rias had been similarly shocked that she hadn't done more damage. She watched as Xander's blow was simply resisted like the {Clay Martyr} was just invulnerable. However Koneko and Asia's efforts showed that they Golems were malleable as modeling clay. Something in her mind clicked as she remembered a chemistry lesson. "THEY'RE LIKE OOBLECK!"
Rias's eye widened at the realization. It was suddenly very clear why no Devil had ever successfully destroyed a {Clay Martyr. The harder you hit them the higher their defenses increased. Almost all Devils would just use more powerful attacks. The Bael clan's *Power of Destruction* was a counter to this, but it seemed to take a phenomenal amount of power to even wound one of them. The amount of Devil Power she had put into her attack would have leveled several city blocks if she hadn't concentrated into a small globe.
"I can hold this one in place for now, but it keeps reforming. I'll get tire before it does." Asia called out as she directed her chains to keep applying the powerful but slow pressure that kept smooshing the {Clay Martyr}. "And Xander-kun isn't moving."
(Xander?) Rias reached out into the bond and found he was dazed but would be recovering in a minute. "He'll be okay. We need to concentrate on figuring out how to contain them." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the {Clay Martyr} she had damage was reforming it's arm. "And quickly."
"Let's make mud." Koneko suggested as she hoisted her {Clay Martyr} and threw them into the pit Rias had created.
"Excellent idea, Koneko-chan." Rias responded as she got the gist of the idea. Using smaller amounts of power he kept a steady barrage of attack on the {Clay Martyr} in the pit that was designed to do nothing more than keep them off balance. "Asia-chan, throw yours in the pit as well and then try to hold them in there. Saji-San see if your line can't help her. Akeno I need you to fill it with water."
In just a matter of moments the three {Clay Martyrs} were thrashing around in the pit. Asia used six of her chains in an effort to keep the golems in place by constantly deforming their legs so they could not even stand. Saji shot out a *Capture Line* wrapping it around the waists of the three Golem and exerting enough pressure to keep them solid. Then the deluge of water came down from a sigil above the crater. It didn't take too long for the struggling Golems to turn the pristine water muddy.
"Damn, looks like you guys have it almost handled." Xander chuckled as he approached the rest of the group. "So how were you planning on baking them so they can't move after the water drains away?"
"Thermite." Koneko said calmly. "Figured you had it."
"I 've got something better than thermite." Xander chuckled. "If someone would be so kind as to freeze the top, I have a nice barrel of Chlorine Triflouride we can use. Cause nothing says dangerous like something even the Nazis were too afraid to use."
Author Note: If you want to know about Chlorine Triflouride you can google it or you can look up the video "5 of the World's Most Dangerous Chemicals" on youtube. I fully suggest the second as the guy is as funny as he is educational.