Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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37- The King's Sword: The Hunt II

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The day had started normally for the ORC, more normal than it had been for the last few weeks at least save for one or two hiccups. Even if their normal may be relative when compared with the majority of people, they just had some conflicts amongst themselves that were almost settled and things were starting to look up.

That was until a train of bad news started to appear one after the other, beginning with the potential arrival from an extremely poisonous sword for devils and some emissaries from the Church as a whole who came to collect it.

Not only that was already bad enough that most High Class devils would be worried on principle but there was also the problems that a particular member of the Gremory had with that sword.

There was a plan to make things easier, a plan that involved sending out those who weren't truly affected by the sword to collect either it or the criminal who was the real responsable for the Knight's problems. It was supposed to be simple, a way to help the young man to find some closure.

Unfortunately for the Gremory the situation escalated in an unpredictable way.

A whole organization called Order of Pendragon had, for all intents and purposes, infiltrated Fuyuki. The Order was apparently composed of normal humans with no magic that passed undetected by all the protections and security surrounding the city with two future leaders of the Underworld.

Usually normal humans aren't beings to be feared by anyone that had the minimum skill with magic or special skill since they could easily defeat any human that didn't break past the human limits. That usually included most if not all citizens of the moonlit world with few exceptions so there was little fear from those that didn't have a detectable presence or weren't already known in some way.

However, that was technically the second time something similar happened, a human organization taking root on the Fuyuki without the awareness of the owners.

It was enough for Rias to lose her patience. "Born To Be Wild!" The red spirit delivers a punch at a knight's chest before its other hand shoots bullets of mana that send five others flying.

Their screams impressed and concerned Rias' companions. "Shouldn't you help her?" The smaller one, the goddess Medusa, asked softly as another knight looked at her and fell to his knees in adoration.

"No. I believe Rias needs to," another round of screams almost interrupted the Queen, "vent a little." Akeno noticed at least four men prostrating themselves at Medusa's feet and asked with a chuckle "Do you need any help?"

"They are harmless." The former Gorgon said with a wave as another was ensnared by her presence. "But they may be useful to give us some information." Beaconing one of the knights to approach with a finger, Medusa picked the youngest one and clearly the less experienced. "What is your name?"

"Ti- ti- ti Timothy." The knight looked surprised that he actually spoke but the shouts of panic of his companions distracted him long enough for Medusa's charm to get a hold of him again.

The purple haired goddess turned to Akeno. "What should we ask?"

Akeno had to stop for a moment as she didn't think about that until that moment. Originally when they left the club they were racing with two goals in mind; warn those who needed to be warned about the potential threat of the Excaliburs and find Issei's group to take them home since the situation was proving to be much more dangerous than expected.

It wasn't that they didn't have faith that Kiba and Koneko couldn't take care of themselves and the rest but the scope of the Order of Pendragon was concerning and the three pretty much agreed that numbers had an advantage of their own.

Add that to Kiba's unstable condition, Issei, Saji and Asia's inexperience and the King of Gremory suddenly grew really concerned, trying repeatedly to call her Pawn's phone only to get no signal.

Then they stumbled on one of the bases that Shirou had described, a mostly empty building with an easy to detect boundary field surrounding it. The place was recently built and waited for its first tenants, a pattern that was still very common in an expanding city like Fuyuki.

Without wasting any time and with a fury that she almost forgot she had, Rias blew up a wall to reveal a bunch of startled knights and demanded their surrender with an aura that promised pain.

They didn't surrender and after five minutes most of them came to regret the fact.

The screams going around were proof enough of the regret they all had into not taking that option when it was available. Now it didn't matter how much some of them begged, Rias wasn't stopped until she felt better.

While impressed with her best friend's fury, Akeno tried to focus on the mission. "Can I ask the questions or you need to be the one asking?"

Tilting her head, Medusa turned to Timothy before ordering "Answer all her questions to the best of your capabilities."

The man practically threw himself to one knee before replying. "Yes, my lady." There was much less of a fight on the man now as he looked to be fully in a trance and the goddess motioned for the Queen to proceed.

"Thank you. This makes things much easier since Shirou-kun said that Rin failed at getting anything." Akeno took a step to the side and closer to Timothy before starting.

"The Charm of a Goddess is more than something as common as hypnosis. I may be weakened but that is something that I could do ever since I was born." Medusa's words carried no pride but had a certain degree of nostalgia. "My sisters were better at it."

'A goddess?' Whatever was left of Timothy's conscious mind managed to formulate as his mental defenses struggled and failed against the Charm. 'To think the devils had someone like that.'

Despite how good their mental protections were there was just no way that the leftovers of Merlin's knowledge could compete against the power of a god, especially against charm magic. It was well known that Merlin had an infatuation with women and fell to their charms on more than one occasion so his protection against it would always be somewhat weak even if they had the man himself helping them.

With his defenses denied and his will weak, Timothy's conscience started to retreat as Akeno asked her first question. "Do your Order have any relation with Valper Galilei?"

"Yes." When the knight said enthusiastically but nothing else, Akeno turned to Medusa who shrugged.

"Be more specific. At this point most of his mind is numb and not working properly, his head full of thoughts about me." Medusa motined to Timothy's frozen eyes and happy expression. "He won't know how to answer if you don't guide him properly."

"Right. I am not used to this." Akeno admitted before looking back at the knight, a glance to the side telling her that Rias was almost done. "Did your Order really steal the Excalibur Fragments?"

"Yes." Timothy replied with the same infatuated expression, his eyes never leaving Medusa.

"Are the swords here in Fuyuki?"

"Yes." Akeno had hoped for a negative but just by looking at the knight she could tell he was incapable of lying.

"Is Valper also here in Fuyuki?"

"Yes."

"Where either he or the swords are?" That was the most important part.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Akeno asked with some concern and curiosity.

"We weren't told where the Excaliburs are nor who has them." Timothy's face showed a frown for a second before returning to infatuation. "We also don't know where the murderer is."

Both ladies looked at each other and Medusa nodded to indicate the man was still under her charm. "Okay then, could you please tell me why you are working with someone like Valper?"

"To reforge Excalibur."

After giving the knight a moment Akeno asked, "That is it? How?"

"I don't know."

'This is becoming increasingly frustrating.' Akeno kept her composure and decided to try another question. "What do you know?"

That was the right thing to ask as Timothy spoke how almost every member of his Order, over 1200 people, moved to Fuyuki to begin preparations to claim the Excaliburs in the land where the Fragments could be fused together thanks to a strong ley line.

That was it, Timothy didn't know anything else. He didn't know where the other bases were or how many they are, all he knew was his post, the name of his comrades and the general goal of rebuilding Excalibur by using Fuyuki's ley line.

"But why here?" Medusa was the one who asked.

"I apologize my goddess but-"

"Quiet, I wasn't talking to you." With that the man was left to just admire Medusa as she looked at Akeno. "Why do all this in a city of devils?"

"So the Church can't attack in bulk?" Akeno offered an explanation. "This is one of the few cities with a ley line that they can't really touch, not freely at least. And with how rushed they were to recover the swords by sending the remaining Fragments, some of the few weapons that the Church has that can compete with the other Excaliburs, it makes sense to use a place like this."

"Something is missing." Medusa said back with a frown. "I don't know what it is but I feel like I am being played." She glared at the knight who kept looking at her with devotion. "I don't like being played."

A last explosion warned the two women that Rias was done as she was standing in the middle of the building by herself surrounded by dozens of defeated knights. After controlling herself a little more she called off her Stand and began to walk towards her companions.

"Got everything out of your system?" Akeno couldn't help but ask.

"No but I am better." Rias noticed Timothy kneeling before Medusa and raised an eyebrow. "I suppose the Charm worked. Did you get anything?"

"Most of what we already knew. But now we know they have at least 1200 people running around town." Akeno informed her with a smile.

"Lovely." Rias wanted to punch someone, badly. Still she contented herself by picking up her phone again and noticing there were no calls or messages sent her way. "Why isn't Issei picking his phone?"

"Maybe they found one of their bases." Medusa suggested. "The boundary field seems to get into the way of communication."

"He should have called in that case after they were done. Or not gone inside enemy territory in the first place" Rias tried Koneko's number and while it had a signal there was no response. "Koneko isn't either."

"Wasn't her bag back at the club?" Akeno suddenly remembered and Rias froze on that moment before letting out a groan.

After a second the redhead declared. "I am going to try Kiba." She didn't have much hope on that one. "Can we get anything else from them?"

Both turned to Medusa who shook her head. "I doubt it. Their wills are weak right now so I don't think they could hide anything and that one gave us all they had."

"Weak at the moment? Something we should know that could give us an advantage?" Rias asked with the phone in her ear.

"All those that I managed to charm are the ones that realized their goal isn't compatible with their methods. They clearly had some hesitation on their minds that made them vulnerable or else fighters like those would hold themselves a little better." Medusa analyzed by comparing them to those who still fought. "Even this one has some combat experience and will or else he wouldn't have shown the reactions he did."

"Were you even trying to charm them?" Akeno was interested in the answer.

Medusa shook her head. "As I said before, my sisters were better. Most of what I have is just because of my nature but I couldn't even 'try' because that is not what I am good at."

"And we all know you are pretty good at destruction." Akeno commented with a chuckle while Medusa kept her face neutral.

Rias let out a sigh of disappointment. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." WIth an aura of power around her, Rias began to tighten her grip on her phone and Akeno quickly moved to stop her.

"Calm down a little, Rias. If you lose the phone then Issei can't call you. Assuming that he can." The Queen's words were enough but it was still clear that the redhead was upset. "Now, what do we do with them?"

All look around to see a small bunch of knights worshiping Medusa while the rest are knocked around, imprinted in the wall and between consciousness and unconsciousness.

While the sorry state of many would scare a normal person Akeno was impressed how creative her friend got while decimating their numbers. "Should we just kill them?"

"No, I promise Shiro that we wouldn't." Rias revealed with a sigh.

"He is too nice sometimes." Medusa pointed out with a smile. "You still could get rid of them, we wouldn't tell."

"But I would feel guilty for lying." Rias admitted with a small blush.

"My, my Rias~ I am impressed. Is that why they all are still breathing?" Akeno was interrupted by a groan that indicated that some of the knights wished they weren't. "And with such restraint. A relationship really changed you."

Rias rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing. "They are just idiots that decided to put their trust in those they shouldn't. If we killed everyone that made a dumb mistake there wouldn't be enough graves on the planet for everybody. Or we would decimate all sentient species." She then spoke a little louder. "That won't stop me from ripping you all apart limb from limb if I ever see you in Fuyuki again! Am I clear?" A couple of groans were her answer. "Good!"

"Someone is in a bad mood~" Akeno was almost giggling at the grumpiness on Rias' face.

"This was supposed to be just a criminal, not an army." Rias massages her temples to try and relax. "And now we can't get a hold of the others. Yes, I am in a bad mood!"

"Are you sure it isn't because you didn't get to sleep with Shirou yesterday?" Medusa asked with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to be a bit, what is the word? Cranky was it?"

Rias could feel her eyebrow twitching with frustration. "No, that isn't it. I was prepared to not sleep with him and while I miss his body heat that was something I was ready to do sooner or later."

"What?" Akeno was surprised by the reveal.

"Considering how many girls are after him," and Rias made sure to raise an eyebrow in Akeno's direction, "I figured that something like that was going to happen sooner or later."

"What?" The Queen was shocked but Medusa wasn't.

"Have you talked to him about that?" Silently Rias turned her eyes to the small goddess who didn't bat an eyelash. "He is loyal. He won't just sleep with anyone else just because they are interested in him without your input." When the devil didn't give her an answer, Medusa almost smiled. "You didn't, did you?"

"It is on my list of things to do. I was planning to ease things up, starting with Yoruichi, but then this happened." She said while motioning to the downed knights in the empty building. When Medusa raised an eyebrow in reply Rias got even more defensive. "Is this even the time to have this discussion? We are in the middle of an emergency."

Once again Medusa barely reacted. "A bunch of half trained humans can hardly be qualified as an emergency." One of the knights tried to groan a protest but none of the three girls bothered to acknowledge him. "You don't need to worry. These guys are barely a threat."

"But if something goes wrong?" Rias began to pace in place. "If they get Asia or manage to hurt Issei or If Koneko is caught off guard by one of the Excaliburs or something like that?"

'Was that what Medusa was doing by going along with me? Trying to get Rias to unwind her concerns?' Akeno was legitimately trying to tease her friend since she wasn't worried, even if the knights had the Excalibur Fragments she doubted that they had anyone that could use them because of the quality of their warriors.

But that wasn't necessary since other things worried the goddess. "Are you done?" She asked the Heiress of Gremory who took a deep breath before nodding. "Good. I agree that you should be worried, something isn't right about this situation."

"A lot isn't right about this situation." Akeno shot back with a small smile only to receive a shake of her head.

"Maybe it is just my imagination but things look to be happening too fast even if everything was planned from the start." Medusa argued while observing the area.

Rias was happy to get back on business. "You mean how this place was prepared but was easy to find? Didn't we already know that this is all a trap?" She looked to Timothy, still waiting for Medusa's orders.

It was hard to consider the knights a threat when they could be dispatched so easily but the Rias was still worried because of the potential danger that the Excaliburs represent. All the Order needed was one competent swordsman and every devil in the vicinity would be in danger.

Those thoughts also passed on Akeno's mind, together with a more sinister one. "If you were making a trap like this to try and catch someone in constant movement, would you let your best fighter in the open like this?" The other two looked at the Queen to try and understand her words. "All of these bases are compromised positions, if someone with less morals that only cares about the Excaliburs were to attack there is nothing stopping them to just blow up the place and search the remains."

Horror colors Medusa's eyes as Rias comes to the same realization. "In that case we would have to intervene. The Church would as well once they heard." The King said with some fear. "And in the other case I would keep my main force ready in a place truly hard to find, only sending them out when I know the knights had exhausted the opposition." Rias kicked a knight to the side in anger. "They are just bait! The Excaliburs aren't in any of these places!"

"Just looking for the Excaliburs is a trap in and of itself." Medusa's features became neutral again as she looked at Rias. "How do you wish to proceed?"

What Rias wanted to do was grab her servants, lock them in her club and forget about the whole situation until it was over since the Exorcists showed that they had no intention of hurting Fuyuki.

There were just a few problems as the lack of response from Issei's phone reminded Rias that half of her peerage was unaccounted for. "Damned!" She almost destroyed the device but the hope of a call kept her power in check. "We have no choice but to keep attacking these places as well. Our priority is not the Excaliburs or Valper but the Kiba and the others." She turned to the knights. "Get rid of them, we got to go."

A silent nod later Medusa turned to those affected by her presence. "Sleep." To them her voice was the sweetest thing in the world, so gentle and soothing that they couldn't resist.

Like puppets with their strings cut, all knights under the goddess thrall fell in a deep sleep, some in uncomfortable poses while others managed to adjust themselves for some comfort. Their brains were so enamored with their goddess that they tricked the rest of the body completely to just sleep without reservations.

It was fascinating for the devils to watch as both taller women looked at the event intrigued. If it wasn't by the new urgency of the situation they would be admiring the power of the goddess that even reduced could technically knock out an army with a single command.

"They will probably wake up after a couple of hours and if someone tries to wake them up. If no one does then probably when they are hungry to the point of starvation." Medusa spoke not for the devils' benefit but for the few conscious knights who were still aware.

Revealing that much practically signaled that she was a goddess to those more knowledgeable but Medusa didn't care. Her friends, those she made after escaping her prison of solitude, were in danger and she learned to care for the devils enough that her priority wasn't her own security anymore.

And she was well aware of that. 'Looks like my protector habits are rubbing off on me.' It was a small excuse, denial she allowed herself for Medusa knew she was always a protector at heart; first to her followers, then her sisters and now for more people she grew to care for.

Shaking her head to get herself back on what was important, Rias began to leave the entrance she made. "Akeno, call Shiro, make sure he is up to par with everything Medusa got for us."

"Yes, Buchou." No more teasing or jokes, Akeno followed Rias while making the call with Medusa right behind.

"Are we going to leave them like this? I still don't like it." The purple haired goddess earned a glance from Rias before the Heiress kept walking.

"Want to tell Shiro that we killed twenty or so people for being stupid?" Silence was all the reply the pureblood needed. "We have to find the others before they stumble against whoever is using the Excaliburs. In the state of mind that Kiba is in, I doubt he will be capable of retreating."

Left unsaid that if Kiba didn't retreat then it would generate a cascade effect that would keep the rest of her peerage on a fight that they may all die, the worst case scenario for her in the current situation.

"Maybe they are following your orders and looking for the Exorcists?" Medusa offered as an alternative, one that Rias wanted to accept but had no choice but to deny it.

"Even if they are, or if they already found them, they all will be hunting the Excaliburs anyway." Rias bit a nail while she kept walking on the street, nobody noticing the damage to the building they made thanks to the Order's boundary field. "I should have been more careful. I didn't expect such a trap in my own backyard."

"Just finished giving Shirou-kun our intel." Akeno told her friend while turning off her phone and treating it on a magic circle. "None of them realized the full scope of the trap but were already keeping an eye for the others after finding their fourth group."

"The great numbers of small boundary fields also doesn't help." Medusa added after some thought. "Not even counting the usual ones around Fuyuki. They may get in the way."

All three knew that Fuyuki already had plenty of magical activity by itself with how many devils, yokais and magicians that lived in the city. Those had their own barriers and presence, all approved by Rias or Sona, not even counting the aware humans that made deals or pacts with their counterparts of the moonlit world for protections of some kind.

Fuyuki was just too big for a search of this kind to be anything but easy. The excellent ley line was always attracting more and more people to bask in its prosperity and the Order of Pendragon was using that to its advantage, not to start a business or build power but to hide themselves and execute their plans.

"Let's keep looking for the others. We see the Excaliburs, we blow them up." Rias ordered and the other two nod with no objections. She glances at the phone in her hand, wishing that one of her Pieces was making a call. 'Issei, if you don't have a good reason why your phone is not answering I will have Liz use you as a punch bag for a week.'

Issei felt his spine shiver for a moment for a reason he couldn't explain. It was an odd sensation that didn't match with the adrenaline running all over his body. "Issei-san, look out!"

The warning came just in time for Issei to block a sword coming at his left side with the Boosted Gear. "Thanks Asia!" He followed the block with a shove then a punch with the gauntlet hand. "Where the hell did these knights come from?!"

"I have no idea!" Kiba admitted with anger as he easily repealed one of the knights with just Holy Eraser. 'Weak. Are these the men you plan to give Excalibur to, Valper Galilei?!' He just cut the closest one down before shifting his weight to his feet and turning before cutting another and noticing the blood from his attack. "Their armors are weak. Hit them hard."

"That was the plan already!" The Red Dragon Emperor did just that.

Despite the words he traded with Ddraig previously, Kiba's anger still raged like a strong flame. But it was more tamed than it should be otherwise as he focused on repelling the knights trying to surround his friends, his anger not burning more than his loyalty as he stuck close to Asia to keep an eye on her while Issei dealt with any approaching threat.

Protecting a friend also helped him remember that he wasn't fighting alone, something that Kiba needed to keep his anger in check. It was an attitude that Kiba took early on in the fight and was helping him keep his priorities straight per Ddraig's advice.

And while the Boys of Gremory were busy protecting Asia their sole Rook was doing some fighting herself.

Koneko jumped high before dropping towards a group of knights with a hard kick that broke the floor around them while sending some flying. The former nekomata didn't stop as she rolled around the damaged terrain, something that didn't bother her Rook's defense, before approaching a knight and smacking him on the ground with a judo throw.

"Absorption Line!" Saji called for his sacred gear and a pale blue line flew from its mouth to tie a knight's hand. "Got you!"

"Bastard devil!" The knight's sword moved to cut the line only to fail. "Piece of garbage!" The man moves his arm frantically to cut the line while trying to break it with his tied hand. He managed to make try swings before feeling his body grow heavy. "What is going on?"

At another try from the knight, Genshirou began to laugh. "Aha! You better give up! Didn't you hear my sacred gear's name?" The line began to shine brighter and then the knight fell to the ground in exhaustion. "Thanks for the 'pick me up'. I feel like I didn't walk here at all."

"You-" The armored man didn't have time to complain as Saji pulled the rope hard and he fell face first on the ground. With his energy drained the armor wasn't a protection anymore but a prison and he lost consciousness with the impact.

"I did it." Saji said under his breath with a smile. It was his first victory against a human-like opponent all by himself that wasn't a spar with rules or something similar. "I did it! Guys I-" The Pawn of Sitri was greeted with an unbelievable sight.

Calm like a gentle breeze, Koneko was lifting up five knights in a pile over her head and throwing them to the side with ease as Kiba defeated the last one with a fast dodge and hit on the back, bodies all around the place.

Saji didn't realize that while he dealt with his single opponent most of the fighting was already over as the Gremory group beated most knights black and blue.

'Why am I here again?' Saji felt his eyebrow twitch as the small white haired girl threw another two knights close to Asia who began to take a look at their wounds. "Seriously, how are you guys so strong?"

"I think it's because we fought in a Rating Game." Issei commented with an embarrassed look. "Besides, these guys are not that tough."

"Not that- Are you kidding me? Took me five minutes to beat one!" Saji pulled the man forward to show his fellow Pawn his opponent before waving his arms around. "Took you guys the same time to beat everyone else!"

All Issei felt he could do was shrug as he didn't know the difference between them was so big. "I don't know what to say. We just started to fight because… Kiba, why were we fighting these guys again?"

"Because they are a bunch of armed men in our territory without permission." Kiba was checking their swords and testing their quality while Koneko moved closer to watch over the prisoners. "I also think they must have something to do with the Excaliburs."

"Why?" Saji nodded at Issei's question, also wondering how Kiba came to that conclusion.

It was Koneko who replied. "Bunch of strangers hiding behind a boundary field." She threw one on her shoulders but was so small that the guy's arms and legs were being dragged through the floor. "Suspicious." She stopped close to the one Saji had tied up. "Can you let him go?"

"Oh sure." Saji retrieved the blue line and Koneko easily put the knight on her other shoulder, not even bothered by the extra weight. "Anyone else find the fact that someone so small is so strong kinda weird?"

"You get used to it." Issei commented with another shrug as Kiba threw a sword to the side in anger. "Hey, Kiba, you alright?"

"None of these are Excalibur!" Kiba announced with irritation and all the devils stopped whatever they were doing to take a look at him.

"Dude, I think we would have felt them if they were anything like those from school." Saji pointed out and immediately Kiba began to calm down.

"Right, you are right." The Knight of Gremory noticed that everyone was still watching him. "Sorry guys."

"It is fine, Kiba-san. You didn't allow anger to rule you. That is all we can ask in the end." As the person closest to Kiba for the most part and the only one not taking an active part in the fighting, Asia turned most of her attention to watch Kiba and make sure nothing was upsetting him. "Does anyone have any wounds? I can heal you before treating them."

When Asia voiced her wish to take care of the invaders the nekomata was the first to protest. "Don't heal them. They are unknown elements." Koneko saw that the former nun didn't like what she said but remained stoic and uncaring by the conditions of the knights.

"Are we sure these guys have anything to do with the Excaliburs?" Issei asked with some caution. He felt a little bad for having beat up a bunch of strangers and only did it because Koneko said they were invading the town.

"Even if they don't, they shouldn't be here." Kiba quickly informed as he began to check the knights to try to find anyone awake. Neither he nor Koneko tried to kill the men but they didn't hold back either. "Every boundary field in town is properly registered and is much better than this one by default."

Koneko nodded her agreement with Yuuto's observation and quickly threw another knight right in front of Kiba. "This one is awake."

Everybody noticed the man flinching at being caught and tried to go for a sword on the ground only for Kiba to kick it away and grab the man by the front of his armor and drag him to a wall until they were eye to eye.

Now that his friends were safe and most of the opposition was dealt with, Kiba's anger wanted a target and the blond knight was happy to indulge on it. "Where are the Excaliburs?"

"I ain't telling you a thing!" The armored man may be shaking in fear but his words were firm. That was the wrong thing to say as Kiba's rage was ready to explode at that point.

The blond devil pulled the armored man from the wall and slammed him again but harder this time. "Is Valper in Fuyuki?! Are the Excaliburs in Fuyuki?! Answer me!"

Some of the other devils were beginning to get unnerved by how their friend was acting. They couldn't blame him but were still uncomfortable.

"Kiba, calm down!" The Red Dragon Emperor placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Remember what Ddraig said."

"But…" Kiba took a moment to relax while still holding the other man who stopped trembling to look at the Knight of Gremory up close.

At that point Koneko couldn't stay still and approached Kiba to the side to pull his white shirt gently to get his attention. "We know."

Two words was enough for the anger to grow weaker, to remind Kiba that his friends were there and they understood he was working through his issues. To also tell him that he shouldn't lose himself on that path and burn everyone else on his way.

Once again the loyalty to his friends won and Kiba began to relax his grip.

"Are you him, the one called Isaiah?" When the armored man said those words it had every devil looking at him with a mixture of shock and irritation, Kiba looking more confused than anything else. "You are him, aren't you?"

Kiba was too shocked to properly react, just looking at the eyes of the man through his helmet and trying to see if he also was a survivor of the Holy Sword Project, someone he once may have called family.

It was Saji who acted. "How do you know that name?" The blond Pawn approached with a glare of his own and pushed the knight fully back against the wall with his sacred gear ready for anything on his other arm. "Only Kiba's friends, his family, should know that name. How do you know?"

Genshirou had no idea why that triggered him so much but the use of Kiba's birth name just rubbed him the worst way possible and his whole posture screamed that he wanted to take the armor off from the guy and punch him.

The prisoner didn't react much to Saji but his voice carried a tone of regret that everyone could identify. "I am sorry." Those words could carry hundreds of meanings and explanations with every single one of them being more damning than the next.

"Sorry for what?" Now Saji was the more aggressive party as Kiba didn't know how to react either as the Pawn took off the man's helmet to reveal someone around his thirties with black hair. "Sorry for what? Are you one of the bastards that killed Kiba's family?!" That question had both Issei and Koneko ready to deliver retribution while Asia took a step back in shock and fear.

The face of the black haired man changed from shame and sadness to disgust. "No! Of course not! I would never!"

"Then how do you know my name?" Kiba finally recovered enough at seeing the defeated knight's face and noticing he couldn't be part of his family. 'He looks too old to have been one of us.'

Thinking critically helped Kiba focus more on the man and notice other inconsistencies that left him believing he couldn't have been part of the Holy Sword Project. The man was just too weak compared to even the guards of that place and Valper, who had the support of the Church at the time, didn't save expenses for the best trainers for the children and security.

"I know who he is because our superior briefed us on his identity, a reminder of the man we are working with. To not trust that murderer." The black haired man spoke clearly and Saji could feel some of his anger deflate.

"Are you involved with Valper or not?" Kiba asked more gently as the other man seemed willing to talk.

"We are the Order of Pendragon, followers of King Arthur. Our mission is to fix Excalibur to bring his majesty back."

And so the man revealed everything to the five devils about; how his Order had joined forces with the Archbishop of Genocide with the goal of retriving the Excalibur Fragments, how Fuyuki was chosen because of the devils' presence which should keep the main forces of the Church away, how they were spread around town as a trap for the Exorcists.

But the more important piece of information shocked everyone else. "Valper and the Excaliburs are really in town?" Now Kiba was the one trembling but the man just nodded his confirmation.

"Why tell us all this?" Koneko found the whole thing suspicious but the ashamed man didn't blame her.

"Our leader, Sir Gawain, told us about the murderer sins long before the operation began." The name wasn't familiar to anyone but Kiba who refrained from talking, letting the knight finish. "He explained to everyone in detail what was done and how the only survivor of that crime was turned into a devil who resided in the territory we were going to use to bring back Excalibur." His shame was visible to all but the black haired man took a deep breath before continuing. "Someone contacted our Order, I don't know who, too low on the totem pole to be told. That person put us in contact with the murderer and a plan was formed to finaly rebuilt Excalibur once for all."

"Why go along with this?" Issei stepped forward and the knight gave his attention. "If you knew from the start that man was a monster, why accept?"

Taking a moment to regard the brown haired devil, the knight looked back at Kiba to see the same question in his eyes. "Because we are tired."

"Tired?" Kiba couldn't believe his ears.

"For generations our Order has tolled on and on to rebuild Excalibur. We worked with the Church, with angels, magicians and always were betrayed or abandoned in the end. We are tired." The man looked down in shame. "My father, his father and his father's father. The Order of Pendragon is still mostly made from the descendents of those who lived in Camelot, of those who want to see that Utopia rebuilt." He raised his face to look at Kiba's. "Now we finally have a real chance. For the first time in centuries Excalibur is on our reach and our king can return."

"But what you are doing is wrong." Asia didn't know much about Excalibur or those who followed it but she couldn't approve of what they were doing. "You are working with someone who killed children."

"There was a vote." The man confessed after glancing at Asia before looking back at Kiba. "Those that didn't want to participate in the operation were given leave with honors. Hundreds of families chose to not partake in this operation." It was clear that it was personal for the knight, like he wanted to be with them. "The rest of us… the rest of us are here. Over 1000 people came to make sure that Excalibur can guide our way again and our king can return."

"All this just for King Arthur?" Kiba's tone was neutral and his eyes were stuck on the knight. "Asia is right. He would never approve of such an operation, not one that worked with a monster like Valper."

"As expected of a former candidate for the Excalibur Fragments. You know our king well." The smile the man gave Kiba was sad but the Knight of Gremory's face remained impassive. "You are right. We fully expect to give up our lives once he returns." Asia covered her mouth at the notion while Saji flinched. "But this is our best, maybe even our last chance to bring him back. That is why our Order is here. The Order of Pendragon is ready to die for our king."

The devils stayed silent for a moment to try and process all that the black haired man said. While the majority of them couldn't even understand the existence of something like the Order of Pendragon, neither Kiba or Koneko were shocked by that as they have more experience hearing about families and organizations hundreds of years old.

A part of Kiba actually expected an organization built and surrounding King Arthur's legend to exist. He dreamed of it since he was a child.

While the devils thought, the defeated knight felt he should tell Kiba something. "Isaiah, you must have known something. It isn't our interest to hurt you or any devil in this town. Especially you." That got their attention once again. "We know your story, your suffering, because of our inability to bring Excalibur back fast enough for it to not spill innocent blood. You are just the last in a long line of failures that our leaders reminded us that existed because we failed."

"Your leaders… you said the name of one was 'Gawain', right?" Kiba was trying to hold himself back and his voice indicated that he was trying to detach himself from the situation.

Regardless of the devil's situation, the knight replied. "He isn't descendent of the legendary sir Gawain if you are wondering. Only kings can name knights and so, even if we are using the proper armor, none of us is one." The man lamented that fact. "But our leaders must be knights, and must represent the king and the Round Table. For generations the most wise and strongest of us have been inheriting the names and titles from the founders of our Order."

"Survivors of the Round Table?" If Kiba's memory wasn't failing him he believed that not many of the knights of the Round had survived the Fall of Camelot.

"Unfortunately no, only Sir Gawain survived that past Camelot and was still loyal to his majesty. The other three names given are from some of his family members."

"Agravain, Gaheris and Gareth. All children of Morgan le Fay." Kiba said out loud and his prisoner nodded.

"Truly you know the story. That is correct, in honor to his deceased siblings killed by the traitors Lancelot," the name said with scorn, "our leaders are named as the knights who choose their king over their mother. The men who were loyal to his majesty until death to remind us of the examples we should follow."

"Absolute loyalty? Even to work with a monster?" Kiba asked gently and with something close to understanding.

"We are ready to pay with our lives, but none of us wants to drag you into this." That surprised Kiba and the devils. "As I said, we know about you, we saw the files that the murderer had of you-"

"He has files?" Kiba wasn't the only one shocked by that revelation.

"For all intents and purposes you were part of his experiment. Any scientist, no matter how monstrous, can be meticulous about those." The explanation sounded offensive but the man said what he felt he should. "The Order of Pendragon came here with an offer for you as well, an offer that we were ordered to deliver to you alone if we had the chance."

The devils look at each other and then at Kiba. "What is the offer?"

"We would like to offer Valper Galilei's life to you once he finished reforging Excalibur." Once again the devils were shocked. "Sir Gawain will personally deliver the man to you but he has a request of his own; that you don't interfere." That actually made Kiba take a step back and let the man go. "We understand if you hate the man or the Excalibur, you have plenty of reason. But we have our mission and even if those here are defeated and killed, our comrades shall complete it. However, we have no intention of allowing that murderer to live or stop justice from taking its due. That is why we ask you, not your master, lady Gremory but you; please do not interfere."

"Why are you going so far for me?" Kiba asked with a frown. "Do you know how many you provoked with your actions?"

"In matters of the Church, the devils are used to taking a neutral instance after the ceasefire. We knew that if unprovoked the Heiresses would do anything to not mess with the Church's plans. You were the only real wild card." Looking at the other devils the man chuckles. "Even then, the Love of Gremory is a powerful thing so our leader considered. He speculated that if you wanted to interfere she probably would give some sort of permission. Looks like he was right."

"So you are offering him Valper's life in return for us to do nothing?" Saji wanted to facepalm at the notion. "Then all this was a waste of time."

"Saji-san, I don't think it was." Asia shyly disagreed. "We wouldn't know about all this if we didn't follow Kiba-san and…"

"And senpai needs to decide whether to listen to them or not." Koneko finished Asia 's sentence.

"Valper Galilei." Just saying the name was enough to get a rise in Kiba's blood pressure. "Yes, I already admitted that I want him dead." Then he glares at the black haired man. "But I don't like how you all are running around trying to fix Excalibur in the first place. That sword should be destroyed."

"We don't blame you for wanting its destruction. If you want to try and stop us then you are free to do so." The man sat down on the ground in resignation. "I can't stop you and with how strong you devils are, I believe only our leaders can. Either way we received orders to not kill you unless our life was at risk." He looked firmly in Kiba's eyes for a few seconds before asking "Are our lives at risk?"

"Do you plan on trying to stop us?" Kiba asked back without hesitation.

"Not if you break the magic circle in that room." The armored man pointed to an empty office with a smile. "That is what is keeping the boundary field up on this base. Once it is destroyed then we would have to risk innocent lives to keep going. No one on the Order of Pendragon would dare to even try."

"So you are surrendering?" Issei couldn't believe how easy that was but the man just nodded.

"Can't they stab us on the back? Or, you know, be lying to us to then stab us in the back?" Saji brought up his points and for the first time since the conversation began the unknown man glared at the Sitri Pawn with some hatred.

"Don't insult our merit, devil. We are still followers of King Arthur and won't break his code or stain his honor." The man noticed that some devils were ready to stop him and decided to relax. "A surrender is a surrender and Isaiah is one of the few people we feel we owe some sort of compensation. If you break the magic circle and demand us to stay here, we will wait here, either for our king to collect us or you to judge us." He then lowered his head to show his neck. "Or you can kill us all. That was an alternative we are fully willing to accept, even if we will fight against it."

With that kind of declaration Asia felt she had no choice but to step forward to try to stop any kind of death. "This is wrong. You can't just throw your life away for a sword."

"It isn't just a sword. It is our king's sword and the hope of his return." The man didn't raise his head, fully offering his life to Kiba if the devil wished. He knew if he tried to fight that would be his fate either way.

"Didn't King Arthur die a long time ago?" Issei couldn't help but ask.

"Legends say he is sleeping in Avalon, waiting for when the world will need him once again." Kiba's eyes were covered in shadow as he refused to look at anyone else. "They believe that Excalibur can bring him back. Maybe Excalibur can do it, maybe he can't." He glared at the man who still didn't move. "My problem is who they are working with and that sword itself. I don't care about King Arthur anymore."

"Senpai…" Koneko's soft voice brings Kiba back from the brink as he was about to snap and cut the man's head off. "We should call Buchou."

"Good idea, Koneko-chan." Issei began to dig through his pocket to find his phone only to then just pull half of it. "Huh?" Stunned and starting to panic, Issei began to dig the rest of it in a vain hope that it could be savaged only for the other half to fall down to pieces when he pulled it out. "What happened?!"

[A sword managed to hit you there, partner. Pay attention to your clothes and you will notice where you got stabbed.] Ddraig revealed with a chuckle.

"Issei-san is hurt?" Everyone started to look at the Pawn but when they found a cut on his right leg exactly on his pocket. While his paints were damaged it was just a small incision and there was no blood. "There is no blood."

"How did I miss that?" Issei was impressed that a cut like that hadn't got him but Ddraig wasn't.

[You had already Boosted three times when the sword hit, partner. The guy wasn't that strong and your skin brushed the sword off with just a bruise.]

Standing still, Issei didn't feel anything other than Asia's gentle touch. "Just a small red mark. It doesn't even look like it came from a sword."

That wasn't important to Issei at the moment. 'Buchou is gonna kill me.'

It was his job to keep her updated but with his cell phone destroyed Issei had no way to contact Rias about the current developments or to ask her what they should do with the knights they defeated or if it was safe to look for the Fragments.

"Did anyone else bring a phone?" Issei made an effort to not panic but deep inside he was panicking.

"Bag in the club." Koneko replied immediately, understanding the situation but already accepting she couldn't do anything about it.

Deciding to follow the little Rook's example, Saji replied with a shrug. "Kaichou doesn't approve of us taking our phones to class unless we use it to take notes so mine is in the council's office."

"I am sorry, Issei-san, I am still not used to putting it on a magic circle so I forgot." Asia confessed while still examining his wound. "But you should be more careful. The sword doesn't really penetrate your skin past what a mosquito bite would but you shouldn't get hit in the first place."

A part of Issei still admired the cute pout Asia was showing him while trying to act tough. That part was mostly drowned by the rest of his brain as they didn't have any way to call for his King.

"As expected of the Red Dragon Emperor. Against you normal swords must feel like nothing." The black haired man said with a chuckle, not realizing that Issei was too busy screaming inside his own head to even pay attention. "But then again, maybe you being in this city is an omen for our King's return, King Arthur was said to have a connection with the Welsh Dragon."

[Oh~ That is the first time I am hearing that. Not that I remember every human that I met but I can't recall ever meeting anyone named Pendragon in my life. Or death by the way.] The man was surprised that the dragon replied to him but Ddraig didn't care. [Not that it matters. What are we doing now, Knight of Gremory? Want to keep pursuing the sword or leave that Order to its own devices?]

Another dilemma, Kiba was growing tired of those. 'It was so easy to just hate that damn thing.' He frowned and slowly shook his head to get rid of the thought. 'Can't let that emotion take control of me or else I will never grow strong.'

He had already chosen to not walk a path that had the risk of destroying his new family, refusing to allow anger to control him in any aspect. But it wasn't so simple and getting rid of years of resentment, frustrations and nightmares wasn't something Kiba could do just at the drop of a hat.

Hating Excalibur was easy for him, all Kiba had to do was remember the deaths of his friends and he was ready to break someone, mostly Valper Galilei, in half without blinking. That hatred that was so deep in his heart was strong enough to be affecting his sacred gear and he couldn't just get rid of it.

"I'll be King Arthur today."

"Heee! You can't, you are a girl. I'll be King Arthur!"

"No! I will!"

"I'm Lancelot!"

"Gawain!"

"Tristan!"

"Galahad!"

'Why am I dreaming awake so much today?' Kiba chuckled bitterly.

"Kiba-senpai?" Koneko called for the Knight but the blond shook his head while covering his face with a hand.

"Kiba, do you need to sit down or something?" Issei's previous panic was forgotten to help a friend but he was having some troubles in finding what to say but Kiba offered him an honest smile.

"No, what I need to do is get to Excalibur and destroy it." The Knight of Gremory hardened his resolve as he looked back to the defeated knight. "I won't do that just for the friends that I lost or to spit on Valper Galilei's face. I will do it for King Arthur as well."

"For King Arthur?" The man could barely believe Kiba's words.

"Once upon a time, I also dreamed of being like those knights. Everyone there admired them too and wanted to become Excalibur Holders to keep King Arthur's legacy going." Kiba said firmly, not even needing to specify the place he was talking about as everyone knew his past. "Even when I became a devil, when I became a Knight, I still held the ideas passed down from the tales of the Round Table when the title of knight was more than a status symbol for a noble or a glorified mercenary."

"But someone honorable." Another downed knight began to sit down and the devils noticed that others began to move too but made no move to collect their weapons. "To protect the innocent."

"To punish the wicked."

"To uphold the law."

"To serve the king."

"To always follow the path of justice." The black haired man finished as the men around them all looked relaxed even if wounded.

"Did all these guys just wake up?" Saji asked as he and Issei stood back to back.

"Do they still want to fight?" The Red Dragon Emperor was ready to either jump to protect Asia or keep covering Saji.

Still close to the comrade she knew the longest, Koneko watched Kiba's expression and how it completely lost any aggression and settled into a smile. "That is enough guys. They aren't fighting anymore."

"Are you sure?" Issei was confused but could understand as any of the conscious men remained sitting and didn't go for their weapons.

"I am. These are honorable men. Their surrender means the fight is over." Kiba explained while looking towards their first prisoner. "What is your name?"

"Richard but my friends call me Rick." The black haired man introduced himself with a small bow of his head.

"Can we trust you to wait for everything to be over?" Kiba's question surprised the devils but Rick just lowered his head again.

"Of course. Our surrender was delivered and this base was compromised. We are your prisoners until our allies rescue us or you release us." Richard made sure to meet the Knight's eyes. "I suppose that this means we are to wait here then?"

"You suppose correctly." Kiba's response actually scared both Pawns.

"I don't think Buchou would like that."

"Kaichou certainly wouldn't." Saji spoke after Issei. "We should get into contact with the others, call for help or something."

"Guys!" Kiba silenced both Pawns before looking at them with a genuine smile. "Do you trust me?"

The immediate response of both Pawns was going to be 'no'. "Yes." But Koneko spoke first and even if her voice was soft every devil heard it. When the Pawns and Asia looked at Rook questionaly she just said "He is calmer now. Less stupid."

'Of course I am.' Kiba wanted to laugh at his friend's words but held back. 'Even if I hate that sword, I can't hate the men trying to revive it. At least not them all.' He looked back at Richard with his smile still in place. "Valper is really here, right?"

That was one piece of information the armored man was happy to give. "I don't know where but only he has the knowledge to fully reforge Excalibur." Even saying the words bothered Richard but he learned to accept them. "I doubt anyone here could tell you where either is since we were only told to either talk to you or protect this position while keeping an eye out for the Exorcists."

"That is fine. It means that whether Excalibur is going to be revived or not is up to us." Kiba's conviction surprised all in the building. "I don't believe King Arthur would approve of your methods so I shall stop you. If you can't stop me from getting either Valper Galilei or the Excaliburs then that just means that sword shouldn't be brought back."

"Whoa whoa whoa. I think you are getting some stupid jump in logic here." Saji called out with his hands up to try and calm Kiba down.

The Knight of Gremory turned to the Pawn with a smile still in his face. "But it is, isn't it? They are ready to sacrifice their pride as followers of King Arthur to bring him back. even their lives." Then he turned back to Richard. "But none of them is ready to sacrifice his majesty's honor. That is why they are surrendering and promising to stay out of the fight, even after all this time their king's honor is worth much to them."

"Ha! The pup is right!" Another soldier said with a laugh and some of them followed after, accepting the notion easily.

Richard, who started to get used to the young devil, looked worried for him. "Is there any way that I can stop you, Isaiah?"

"Kiba, Yuuto Kiba. That is the name my King gave me." The Knight of Gremory said gently while giving great emphasis to the word king, surprising Richard once again. "I still want Excalibur destroyed but I don't blame you for trying to remake it. Just going to stop your life long goal because of it. Nothing personal."

Kiba found himself surprised by how honest he was about the whole thing but blamed it on the dragon for putting ideas in his head and his emotions he wasn't good at controlling. He still hates Excalibur and wants it buried on the ground after it was broken into hundreds of small pieces and grinded into dust, of that he was sure.

But he just couldn't hate those following the principles and examples of the Round Table as he himself was one of them even if for a different king.

"Fair enough." Richard acknowledged with a frown.

"You still are going to fail." Another knight removed her helmet to reveal a blonde woman with a bow haired cut. "We are just cannon fodder, an army to weaken the Excalibur Holders or anyone trying to track our Fragments down." She learned forward to make sure Kiba was paying attention. "Compared to our commanders we are nothing and you will never defeat them. Not when they possess sacred gears of their own."

"Daphne!" Another knight protested.

"So what? We have sacred gears too, two Longinus!" Saji stated proudly but the woman didn't look impressed.

"And for how long have you had them? Do you even know how to use that bracer?" Daphne asked with arrogance. "Sir Gawain won't lose to any of you. With his sacred gear he has been the strongest leader we have had in generations."

"And that would be?" Kiba asked but the woman closed her mouth.

"We aren't betraying our Commander, Kiba." Richard earned his attention again before the black haired man shook his head. "But the Four Great Knights of our Order are strong. Stronger than the average sacred gear user. Do you still plan to fight them?"

His resolve made, Kiba nodded. "I can't let that sword be reforged. I just can't." Then he smiled again. "Even if I have to fight by myself, I still will do it. It is the right thing to do."

Richard took a deep breath to control himself. "You really hate Excalibur more than anything." Even if the blond's eyes didn't have the same anger from before and his face was peaceful, the armored man still remembered how Kiba was ready to kill him a few minutes ago. "Then I can only wish you luck and hope you don't die."

With a small nod Kiba turned back and began to leave after dropping by the office to break the magic circle. The other devils began to follow their friend as defeated members of the Order took off their armors to wait for the final result.

Only when they were fully outside the building did Issei react. "What the hell was all that?"

"You took the words out of my mouth." Saji said next, looking at Kiba like the Knight had grown a second head. "Are we really letting those guys here? Not even a guard or anything?"

"They are real followers of King Arthur. They won't break their word so easily, it wouldn't be honorable." Kiba chuckled at that.

"No offense but I don't trust their honor." Saji argued back, really just to contest the point.

Kiba didn't mind that "If they wanted they could have started a fight in town right when the Exorcists had arrived. Instead they are going out of their way to not even damage the place they are hiding… at least not much." No one expected that argument but they couldn't disagree either. "Look at that, the building looks intact, like it was built yesterday."

"I think I saw a billboard outside saying that it was for sale." Asia commented with a smile as she approved of Kiba's actions and the knights' sense of duty.

"'A small place for the whole family.'" Koneko stoically quoted the billboard. "They tried to not break anything. We broke more stuff than them."

"There you go." Kiba waved to Koneko as he felt his point was proved.

"You may be right but we still should go back to school and talk with Buchou." Issei said quickly as he showed the other devils what was left of his phone. "This is bigger than we thought and they could help."

"If you want to go back to be my guest, I am still going to look for the Excaliburs." It was only the fact that Kiba was still smiling that threw everyone off guard and stopped any complaints.

For 10 seconds until Issei recovered enough to shout his protest. "Are you kidding me?!" He gets closer to Kiba's face and begins to shake his fellow devil. "Don't you remember what you promised Buchou?! Or heard what we are dealing with?! That is an army!"

"I know." Kiba holds Issei's hands to stop the shaking. Feeling a little dizzy but confident, the Knight continued. "But it is something I have to do." Issei mumbled a couple of curses that only left Kiba chuckling. "Besides, I am not lost in rage or anything like that. I don't want to go around killing a bunch of people to get to Excalibur. Just one really."

"Dude, that is still an army." Saji felt the need to point out.

"I know but I need to do this." It was the same resolve Kiba showed before in the restaurant but shining even brighter.

[What are you going to do, partner?] Ddraig called for Issei in his mind. [The only way to stop him now is fighting but I know you don't want to do it.] No, Issei didn't want to fight his friend at all because he didn't see anything wrong with what Kiba was doing. [Or you can leave him and go for your King to talk, losing the Knight in the middle of a town full of enemies.] He could see the dragon offering him a mocking shrug with his giant shoulders and the Pawn knew that wasn't really an option.

'I stay, Buchou kills me because I didn't warn her. I leave, Buchou kills me for abandoning Kiba. Forget killing me about the phone, the second one is death for certain.' Deep down Issei knew the punishment wouldn't be that bad but he was trying to justify his next words to himself. "Fine. We all go after those bastards together."

"Wait what?! Are you for real?" Saji looked around and could see the two girls easily agreeing with Issei again for Kiba's sake. "We really should call our Kings. Let them deal with the situation."

"Can I offer a suggestion?" All turned to Asia who blushed when everyone suddenly turned to her. "Maybe we should send a familiar to school with a message? So Buchou knows what we are doing?"

"Great idea, Asia." Issei complimented the girl as Koneko summoned her cat familiar to her hands.

"Shiro can take the message." The small girl giggles when the cat likes her cheek.

"Wait, your familiar is called Shiro?" Saji couldn't believe that was a coincidence and Koneko gave him a deadpan look.

"I met him before meeting Shirou. It's a good name." And by her tone the Rook was making clear that she didn't care about his opinion. "But he can't talk."

"We can get some paper." Kiba still has no problem with his King receiving a report of their activities and even saw it as an advantage. "Besides, the more people we have looking for them, the faster we are going to find the Excaliburs and the rest of the Order."

That line there signaled to Issei, Koneko and Asia that Kiba thoughts had shifted from anger and revenge to defense and protection. Only Saji didn't really notice because he didn't know Kiba enough or saw how the Holy Swords could easily set him off.

The moment that Kiba suggested the participation of others, by his own volition, it was then that they knew their friend was getting better. It wasn't ideal yet as he was still trying to take risks and insisted on chasing the Excaliburs but that was more progress than they expected without actually finding anything.

Issei felt so happy about Kiba's progress that any protest died in his mind. "Right. Let's find a library or something, send Buchou a message then keep loking."

There was no objection by anyone, even Saji saw the improved mood of the other devils and decided to just go along with them as a message was going to be delivered anyway.

What the Sitri Pawn was hoping for was that Rias would either send reinforcements like some of his King's peerage to help them while they tried to find wherever the rest of the enemy was.

He had no idea that Rias wouldn't receive the message as she was already out of her club or that they would find another hideout not even ten minutes later after making those decisions.

While most of the Order of Pendragon was spread around Fuyuki in hideouts of convenience, like buildings for sale or the few abandoned, the leadership was hiding in an apartment close to the town center surrounded by a more advanced if smaller boundary field than those being used by their subordinates.

It was a place prepared weeks in advance and unlike every other hideout the Order procured before beginning the operation they paid everything ahead of time and had a special boundary field for privacy placed around the property with the proper permissions from the Heiresses by using the name of a contact close to the town.

Such a disguise wouldn't last for long because of the operation but it wasn't meant to last, it was just a place to hide the Excaliburs under the guard of the Four Knights. It was also where Valper Galilei was calmly sipping his tea on a small table staring at the objects on it in an almost trance like state.

"Oi old man, how long are we going to stay here? We should be out there getting the rest of the swords." On the other side of the table was a stir crazy Freed who couldn't stop tapping his fingers on the table with impatience.

"Calm down, young Freed. We have our part to play as do the Order of Pendragon. Let them collect the swords at their leisure." Sipping his tea they hear a grunt as a huge man with black armor and no helmet just glared at them. "Is there something wrong, Sir Agravain?"

Agravain was a tall man with long black hair going past his shoulders with sharp features and a scowl on his chiseled face. Like others on his Order he was also using armor but it was a different kind that still helped to complement his broad shoulder and was proportional to his considerable height.

The black armor was more bulky than the ones used by the foot soldiers of the Order with thicker shoulder pads and boots. Unlike Gawain he didn't have a cape and the armor had spikes on his shoulder that could be dangerous to any enemy.

Sitting on a chair on his lap there was a black bastard sword taller than his arm that Agravain was holding carefully but firmly, ready to cut anyone that showed themselves a threat.

"I dislike how your mad dog talks about our Order." Agravain had more to say but it would be mostly insults and he didn't want to speak with either traitor of the Church more than necessary.

"But Freed wasn't talking about your Order, Sir Agravain. He was just voicing his excitement and desire to go out and recover the last pieces of Excalibur once for all." The Archbishop explained with a grandfatherly smile that didn't move Agravain one bit.

"Can we call them 'last' when we don't even have the last one anyway?" Freed points out with a loud laugh that bothered both other men in the room. "But yeah. I want to go out and get them. And kill those bitches the Church sent, show them what a true swordsman is like. Maybe a real man too if we have time."

Agravain was disgusted by Freed's words but Valper just shook his head. "Patience, Freed. The ritual must be completed by tonight so control your excitement. The blades will be in our hands before tomorrow anyway." He could see a frown appear on the Mad Exorcist's face but shook his head. "If we don't finish in time then we are going to have an army of devils over our heads and no Excalibur to kill them."

"Sure, sure. Can't wait to cut more of those too." Freed commented with a giggle while leaning on his chair as the front feet left the floor. "Not that the boss can't just deal with everything that comes our way."

"And reveal himself bringing even more dangerous entities to endanger our project?" Valper asked back with a glare as the idea of delaying his work any longer was sacrilegious. Agravain felt awful by the fact he agreed, however silently. "That won't do, Freed. You can have all your fun later when Excalibur is complete-"

"Quote unquote complete."

"-but not before." The old man ignored the stray Exorcist's attempt to interrupt him. "With Excalibur even an army of devils will be easy prey for its wielder but you can't use the full potential with the sword divided." He leaned in on the table to look at Freed better for just a moment. "That is why you must be patient. When the Fragments are one, we all shall see the sword's full glory."

The eyes of the Archbishop turned to the swords in question like many times before, even the members of the Order of Pendragon couldn't help but be unsettled or admire the man's passion for Excalibur. In the case of Sir Agravain he couldn't help but be disturbed even if his eyes also turned to the Excaliburs everytime they were brought into the conversation.

As the only person on their side who could wield the swords, all of them are in Freed's reach at all times for safe keeping. When the Mad Exorcist was sitting down they were either to his side or on the table itself.

At his side were the two blades that are considered the most useful in combat, ready for Freed to reach them in case of an attack in less than a second. The other two on the table are less inclined to combat but equally as dangerous if properly used but because they were weaker in a direct confrontation they would be hidden by Freed's robes if he was standing up.

One looked like a long kris with a wide diamond shape gap in the middle of the blade and spikes on both edges. That was Excalibur Rapid, the Holy Sword of Heavenly Flash and was present on the left side of Freed's chair.

Another of the Excaliburs looked like an overly elaborate rapier, a sharp two edged blade but with a swirl-line pattern on both the grip that has a gold crossguard like angel wings and another gold swirl-line going around the sword, almost like a drill. It was one of the blades on the table in front of the Archbishop but Nightmare, the Holy Sword of Dreams wasn't the one catching most of his attention.

It was the second sword on the table that the Archbishop focused most of his eye on and believed that it was the center of the Excalibur, its original core. Valper Galilei could go along for hours and hours how powerful the third sword was and its connection with the original Excalibur Holy identity.

Appearing to be a typical European sword with a golden guard that would look normal if it wasn't by the green plant stem with leaf petals engraved along the blade that sometimes seems to pulse with light. WIth the base of the blade curving inwards, Excalibur Blessing, the Holy Sword of Blessings was the one which the Archbishop of Genocide studied for hours both when he was with the Church and when he arrived in the safehouse that day.

The last sword on Freed's right side looked simple compared with its siblings, a handle that wasn't gold but bronze with a cylindrical form while the blade looked like a simple double edge weapon. Nothing about it seemed to catch anyone's attention most of the time but that was a characteristic of Excalibur Transparency, the Holy Sword of Transparency and the other sword Freed deemed a proper weapon.

None in the Order of Pendragon wanted to give those weapons to Freed, if anything they wanted to hoard them away until the time to combine them. Kokabiel disagreed.

The Cadre's argument wasn't a bad or insensitive one either since all he did was point out that the Excaliburs were powerful and that in the hands of someone able they could defend themselves.

Despite his attitude Freed was an excellent swordsman and as the only one who underwent the proper treatment only he could use the Excaliburs on their side. Others could hold the weapons and transport them easily if necessary but things could go wrong.

Much to the Order's frustration it had to turn to the Mad Exorcist for the weapons' assured protection, something none of their thousand members was happy about.

That was the reason why Agravain was tolerating the two traitors of the Church presence and why Freed was allowed to keep the Excaliburs close to his person; if the members of the Order couldn't use the Excaliburs, they would guard the one who could until the end of the operation.

'Could those two idiots shut up?' Agravain looked at a watch on the wall, anxious for his shift to end, before looking back to a whining Freed and an obsessed Valper. 'I cannot wait for when we can finally kill those two. Just the fact their filthy pawns are touching the Excaliburs is the highest of sacrileges.'

But the black knight refrains from moving or even to show the displeasure on his face, his shift was almost over and Gaheris would relieve him soon.

His patience was tested once again when the Mad Exorcist directed his attention to him. "What about you, big man? Aren't you bored from just sitting around the whole day?" Freed asked with an amicable smile but Agravain just gave him a look with no reply. "Come on duuuude. You can't still be upset that I'm holding your king's sword. It 's just a loan."

"I extend the offer I made to Sir Gawain earlier today; if you want we can prepare your body to use Excalibur." Agravain eyes looked at the Archbishop with some surprise. "Didn't Sir Gawain tell you?"

"He didn't." The black knight didn't want to reply but couldn't stop himself. "But that doesn't matter. Excalibur is King Arthur's sword and when he returns, no other shall hold it anyway other than to clean it if his majesty desires."

"Of course, of course. But until then, young Freed here may suffer an unfortunate accident and you may want to be Excalibur's guardian until your king returns." Valper commented offhandedly and the Mad Exorcist didn't even look bothered at his potential demise. "The treatment to infuse the Light Element into a soul can be painful but has other positive benefits. Even if you aren't going to be using Excalibur, you can't deny that Light could unlock yours and your sacred gear's full potential."

"No, thank you." Agravain replied calmly and uncaringly. 'Gawain was right. This old man's promises are dangerous and tempting. I barely can hold myself back from just cutting him.' But his discipline held even if his grip on his sword grew tighter. "Just a few more hours and Excalibur will be reborn." He spoke with impatience. 'And I will cut both your heads.'

"I see, pity. It seems none of the Four Knights want to take up my offer." Valper sounded disappointed but his smile remained as he just looked at the Excaliburs.

Freed, on the other hand, looked excited. "I can't wait to meet King Arthur." The Mad Exorcist had a smile worthy of his nickname. "I hope he is really strong. It would suck to have to give the Excalibur to a weakling."

"Who do you think you are?" Agravain managed to hold his anger back to not shout before continuing. "Do you dare to insinuate that King Arthur was weak? I should-"

"Cut my head? You already want to do that, big guy." Freed made a point to extend his neck. "Come on. Go ahead, fast blow from the side." Red eyes met black as the knight held his sword with frustration. "I'm waiting~"

"If we didn't need you to make sure the Excaliburs were secure then I would have cut you to pieces." Agravain confessed which made Freed laugh. "But until the ritual is completed, you are our best chance to protect them."

"And don't you forget it." Freed was happy to finally have gotten a reaction from one of the knights guarding him. "We all are here just to get what we want and if you want the Excalibur then you will have to kill me first."

"It will be my pleasure." Agravain admitted without remorse as the two men just stared at each other, the knight with a glare and Freed with a smile.

"Indeed, indeed. I personally can't wait to meet King Arthur." Valper interrupted the other two as he mused about the legendary king. "I wonder how powerful he really was and how much Excalibur needed to help him to preserve his realm."

"Watch your tongue, murderer." It was the only warning the knight was willing to give.

The old man looked shocked by the sharp reply but his eyes told the other two that he wasn't in fact concerned. "Don't worry, Sir Agravain. I have every intention of seeing Excalibur safely delivered to him, as I promised our mutual benefactor." He then pointed at Freed. "It will be interesting to see if four sacred gears can compete against Excalibur even if none of them are Longinus."

Instead of replying Agravain glanced at the watch again. "We all shall be judged by the king. No exceptions."

"Hmmm. I wonder what kind of deal your Order made with Lord Kokabiel." Valper commented out loud but received no response, Agravain happy to ignore the older man.

The door of the mainroom suddenly opened and Sir Gawain went in with a long orange haired woman in blue armor that was lighter than Agravain's or Gawain's. On her back there was a small tourney lance the same color as her armor, the same kind used on tournaments with horsemen in the past but with a sharp tip.

While the armor was capable of hiding her body for the most part allowing people to only see her curves, that were just in place with the woman's beautiful face. It was the kind of face found in maidens and princesses of stories where knights pursue impossible quests for her hand but her eyes showed that she was an experienced fighter and was focused on her mission.

The woman ignored the look Freed was giving to her as her commander strode forward to position himself in a way to attack the Mad Exorcist just in case he tried something as he had done since Freed was found in Fuyuki.

Noticing that the clock didn't indicate the end of his shift, Agravain stood up with a question. "Something wrong?" None of them wanted to stay close to the two traitors from the Church more than necessary.

It was the woman who spoke first. "Yes, Gaheris is missing." She adjusted her hair to let it sit comfortably outside her armor.

"We couldn't find him anywhere but we shouldn't be surprised, Gareth. Considering his capabilities, Gaheris only has one area in all Fuyuki where he can fight to his full capacity per our plan." Gawain tried to calm his companion but the woman just shook her head. "Regardless, Lord Kokabiel sent a message and asked us to get into contact. All of us together." He spoke quickly to indicate to Agravain that the former members of the Church were to be included.

Agravain could do nothing but move to stand a couple steps to the side. He knew that technically only Gawain and the Church traitors were to be in the call but his Commander liked to include his closest allies when possible.

Freed took it as his cue and stood up from the table while collecting the Excaliburs. "Please, don't hold back on my account."

Regardless of how mad the former Exorcist was or wasn't he knew that every knight in the room wanted him dead in a way or another. The white haired man didn't believe in honor or fair play so he was even more cautious than the knights when it came to showing himself vulnerable.

Gawain said nothing as while it was true he intended to kill Freed he had no intention of backstabbing the man. At least not literally.

A black cell phone was deposited in the middle of the table and it only rang once before Kokabiel spoke. *My friends and allies, how are you today? Ready to make history?*

"You bet boss." Freed's enthusiasm wasn't shared by the others but only because it was the Mad Exorcist speaking. "So, did the fake knights manage to get the other Excaliburs? Are we ready to roll?"

*Unfortunately things became a little difficult. Who knows, maybe all our plans are in jeopardy.* They didn't detect humor in Kokabiel's words but the fallen angel was having fun with the kind of reactions he was hoping to get from all in the apartment.

Gawain was quick to not disappoint. "What is the urgency, Lord Kokabiel? Did Heaven discover your involvement?"

"Perhaps, and I mean no offense Lord Kokabiel, someone survived the assault in the devils' outpost and now we are going to have to fight more enemies." Agravain commented stoically much to the fallen angel amusement.

"Maybe the Excaliburs didn't come?" Freed commented with a chuckle and even Valper sent a murderous glare at the white haired man. "Sorry, sorry." He didn't look apologetic in the slightest.

Kokabiel laughed as he imagined how close Freed was from being attacked. *None of those and I don't mind, Sir Agravain.* He waited to see if anyone would interrupt for a second. *Rejoice my friends, I have good news. I received confirmation from a very credible source that the Church followed the proper protocols, their Excaliburs are in Fuyuki.*

"That is excellent news." Gawain wasn't the only one excited but his smile was the most bright of all in the apartment. "Are they two Exorcists like we planned?"

*Indeed, the Church truly didn't want to step in any devil's toes.* Kokabiel confirmation made them all believe that their plan worked.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get those bitches and finish reforging Excali-tan." Freed could feel the knights glaring at him but didn't care as the idea of using such a powerful sword just made his heart beat faster.

"And risk innocents?" Gawain as the commander of the Order's forces didn't waste time in scolding his unwanted ally. "Or maybe bring more devils on our head? We still need to use Kuoh's ley line to finish rebuilding Excalibur, we can't let them fully see our intentions."

"Not only that but the Heiresses themselves may try to take the Excalibur from us." Gareth thought out loud much to Kokabiel's amusement.

*Well, that is part of the problem that I was talking about before.* Everyone grew silent when the fallen angel spoke again. *You see, the Heiresses want Excalibur gone from their city as fast as possible and apparently Gremory decided to act both on her own interest and her servant's.*

Agravain saw Gawain's hand begin to shake as he glared at Valper. "Isaiah."

"Ah, the sole survivor of that little mistake. I have to admit that I didn't think anyone could have managed to cross the woods in the snow without being mauled by a wolf or freezing to death." Valper remembered when he received a report with the list of Rias' Pieces and even added his own documents to it later. "Maybe he had some Light in him that kept him going? I would have to check my files but I am pretty sure he was just a small kid, smaller than most even."

*Only when lives are on the line can you see the real potential of someone. That is a lesson any warrior learns early, Valper.* Kokabiel was still somewhat amused but more respectful when saying those words. *Sometimes the only way of knowing someone is when they find their will to survive or in the doors of death.*

The Great Knights just nod or state their agreements in a way or another, something that Valper observed but didn't comment with anything other than "As you say, my lord."

"We should return to the matter at hand. What kind of problems are we facing, lord Kokabiel? What exactly is Gremory doing?" Agravain wanted to get things back on track in the hopes of finishing the operation sooner rather than later.

*I am aware that at least two more groups are running around Fuyuki and springing our traps prematurely.* Gareth and Gawain traded looks while Freed chuckled and Valper had a look of concern. *Gremory herself is on the move and some of your men already told them about your Order.*

"Then they already know everything, kakakakaka." Freed earned himself another glare from Gawain but he wasn't intimidated. "Hey, don't blame me, blame your guys. Nobody told them to lose even if we expected that." Gawain couldn't refute that argument since they all were aware that none of the normal knights could defeat an Excalibur even in number. It was the next line that almost set him off. "They probably just talked to save their own lives."

"Bastard." Gawain didn't attack but he would have if Gareth hadn't placed a hand on his shoulder.

The black knight then took a step forward to speak. "Don't insult our men. They all follow the principles of honor." Agravain knew no member of the Order who would compromise their duty for their lives. "Also, by what lord Kokabiel told us, it is clear they just informed the devils of our holy mission. We have nothing to hide and every intention of seeing it through."

*That is indeed what I manage to gather from my source. Fortunately for us none outside your apartment knows where the swords are and none besides a few know my name.* Kokabiel knew exactly how far the Order was ready to go for the sake of honor. *Doesn't change the fact that we must move forward with the next step of our operation.*

"Do we have any idea where the last Excaliburs are?" Valper asked quickly.

"Notlastcough."

*Unfortunately too many bases are being attacked. Enough so that I am uncertain.*

That earned a noncommittal grunt from Valper but Gawain nodded in acceptance. "We always estimate a similar situation because of the boundary fields at our disposal. Either way, we must move on."

*Well said, Sir Gawain.*

Crossing his arms, Freed leaned on a wall. "So we're leaving this place? Finally."

"A small change of strategy is necessary as we are uncertain where the Excaliburs will show up but yes, we are moving." Now that they were so close to their objective, Gawain tried to be as professional as possible. "If we are absolutely uncertain where to focus our main force we must move for plan B and split up."

None of the other knights liked the idea but Kokabiel's acceptance could be heard through the phone. *Unfortunately that seems to be the best solution. I can't go looking for the Excaliburs myself without risking unwanted attention. The Order could discard their arms to explore the city further but then their odds of actually defeating the Exorcists go from minimal to less than zero.*

"So we all go our separate ways? Sounds good to me." Freed was already planning to run around town to look for the Exorcists.

But Gawain was quick to shoot that idea down. "No, you are coming with me." The Stray Exorcist glared at the knight but the blond didn't retreat. "You really think I will let a mad dog run loose in an area full of innocents with our most valuable treasure? When are we just about to reforge it?"

*He is right, Freed. While you both will be in a position to fight against the Exorcist, instead of hiding, you are staying put in a place where Gawain can keep an eye out and protect you until the time is right.* With Kokabiel's approval there was no way Freed was winning that discussion so he chose to grumble. *While Gawain and Freed will be in a less secure but still safe position to act as the final bait, I shall escort Valper to Kuoh myself.*

"It would be an honor my lord but didn't you say you didn't want to attract attention?" Valper almost couldn't hold back the excitement off his voice even if he managed to get the question out.

The fallen angel chuckled at the Archbishop of Genocide trying to control his emotions. *We will be using a car, Valper. Nothing much. I will also be making sure to suppress my power.* He replied like it was the most simple thing in the world. *Unlike the others, I have far much more experience hiding my power until the right moment. If anything I just fear being recognized before we are in school. In an ideal world, no one would know that I am risking myself by trying to reforge Excalibur.*

"Once again I must thank you for your contributions, lord Kokabiel." Gawain knew the fallen couldn't see him but bowed his head regardless. "Without you we would never get this far."

*Hahahaha! Save the thanks for when Arthur is around again.* Kokabiel sounded excited by the prospect but no one found it weird or strange. *I wonder how he will feel when he sees me again. It has been a long time.*

"I am sure his majesty will be happy to talk with a friend." Gawain sounded happy by the notion.

*Yes, I am sure he will be.* Mused Kokabiel on the other side of the line. *Have you all chosen the best spots for your traps?*

"Of course." Agravain affirmed confidently and Gareth had a similar but even more confident tone after him.

"We had weeks to study the maps of the town and get ready. If the Exorcists or these other groups haven't hit those hideouts earlier than we will have all the advantage." Then she smiled with a positive thought. "Another advantage is that Gaheris already left for his position. Maybe he even already got the Excaliburs and is only waiting for the time to move towards Kuoh."

"Regardless, we should play it safe." Agravain said but decided to elaborate his own thoughts after some consideration. "If Gaheris managed to get the Excaliburs he would run back here to warn us. I doubt he would be playing cautiously for the first time in his life. No, now that I think more about it, he can't have them or else we would have a parade around town of some kind." He let out a scowl of frustration. "Even if he left his post earlier than he should."

"But he is in position and will do his duty. That is what matters." Gawain commented with a smile, not blaming Gaheris for not wanting to stay close to their temporary allies.

Another chuckle left the phone. *Good. Then I won't hold you back any longer. My prophecy is about to come true and tomorrow will be the dawn of a new Age.* He chuckled again. *Valper, I will be outside the apartment in a few minutes and shall call you when I arrive. Have any materials you need ready.*

"Of course, my lord."

"We shall deliver the remaining Fragments when they come into our possession and shall avoid harming the Gremory Heiress too much if we cross paths." Gawain assured.

Kokabiel held back a stiff laugh but it was noted. *Sir Gawain, while you and Freed may have no troubles in surviving the heiress, don't underestimate her. My contacts in the Underworld told me that recently she defeated a much stronger devil in single combat.* That information was new to everyone in the apartment. *She is dangerous so keep your distance and stick to the plan. I really wish to avoid you having to kill her.*

"Yes sir." Gawain turned to Freed with a glare. "Let's move. We have no idea when or where the Exorcists will attack but we may as well prepare for it."

"Fine, fine." The idea of working together pleased neither Gawain or Freed and the Mad Exorcist showed his frustration by spitting on the side. "Chances are that we won't even be fighting them anyway. We'll get more luck just waiting for the night to ambush wherever they rest."

*That is our last resource, Freed. We neither know when they will stop their search or how long it will take for the devils to notice I took over their outpost.* Kokabiel reminded them all. *Gentlemen, my lady, we are also running against time. It is true that we are trying to keep things stable and safe but if the night comes properly we may have to unleash the full might of the Order of Pendragon in Fuyuki.*

Those words showed how much of a rush they were to have everything done before the sun set. Kokabiel was pretty much saying that if things took too long they should throw everything they had for the mission, something the knights were hesitating on doing.

Protecting the innocent was the only reason why an army wasn't going to march around the town even with confirmation that the Excaliburs were in Fuyuki, every single member of the Order participating agreed to that condition. But the fallen angel was practically declaring that if time was running out they should unleash everything wherever the Exorcists are.

"Don't worry, lord Kokabiel. That won't be necessary." Gareth spoke respectfully after she and Agravain traded a look. "If Sir Agravain and I keep moving we are sure to find the Excaliburs."

"That would mean giving up your advantage." Valper reminded Gareth but she only nodded in acceptance.

"Better lose some advantage than our honor. Innocents shall not be harmed and when this is all over there won't be any further confrontation, much less the risk of a war." Gareth spoke passionately, something that calmed Gawain down.

"It will be like if we had retaken all the Excaliburs in full. The Church will not know what hit them even if they know we did it." Agravain added with the same commitment. "It is only right for us to retake the sword of our king, afterall."

In another part of the town Kokabiel had to hold back his stomach and face to stop himself from laughing too loud. 'Oh Father, they are all so gullible.' He controlled himself and took a breath before saying. "Very well. I wish you all a good hunt."

He gave a moment for the platitudes, the usual salutes and goodbyes before turning off the phone and finally laughing to his heart's content. It was a mocking laugh that if anyone else could hear would believe he found the funniest comedy show in the world or had won a contest against some kind of idiot.

"Hahahahahaha! That was so funny! So easy! Hahahahahaha!" Kokabiel regained control of his emotion again, his face still full of euphoria. "Oh, Artoria, if they just knew how good friends we were. Not at all! Hahahahaha! But I can't blame them for falling for that excuse. The honorable Order of Pendragon, desperate to recover their king."

The Cadre laughed some more as he enjoyed the moment for a couple of more minutes before shaking his head.

Still chuckling a little he relaxed on his comfortable seat. "They are good men, Artoria, good men. Pity that their best efforts are never going to be enough." A small frown came to him as he began to play with his chair. "I wonder if that sword may be able to bring you. Maybe it can. I doubt it, that one never had any contact with Avalon in the first place."

Looking at the watch on his cell phone, Kokabiel noticed that they still had a couple hours before dusk. If his information was correct they had until midnight before the devils truly noticed something was wrong, their schedule favored his design.

'Just as planned. I wasn't expecting more actors to play in our little play but that gives the Order a real reason to separate.' Which wouldn't exist if he was honest about the boundary field but Kokabiel realized something when he began to work with the Order of Pendragon. 'I really don't want to kill any of them. They are weak for the most part but they all are true, loyal warriors. If they are to die it should be against an enemy, not by betrayal.'

Standing up, the fallen angel began to get ready to leave the hotel. There wasn't much for him to do there anymore as he made sure the computers would keep going flawlessly for the next few hours. The only way that anything could go wrong there was if an alarm went off but he made sure that they weren't actually trying to detect anything.

Boundary fields couldn't just set alarms in other dimensions and until someone showed up to check the place, Kokabiel would be the only one that knew exactly what happened.

After getting a briefcase for the cape he was going to use later and the only cell phone that received any calls, Kokabiel began to move out while letting out a loud whistle in his favorite melody. It was then that he passed by the hallway full of the bodies of the devils he killed and stopped to watch as some insects were already in the area.

Without saying a word Kokabiel began to walk to the area while accumulating some mana on his free hand. It didn't take very long for enough light to shine on his hand and as he stood in the center of the area he let out the energy and incinerated the bodies while also destroying that room completely.

Looking up Kokabiel saw that the sun was already distant from his position and began to whistle again as he made his way to the elevator.

'I wonder which side is going to be the winner of this little hunt.' The Cadre began to muse as he arrived at the elevator. "Show me your merit, Order of Pendragon."

With a small bell the elevator arrived and Kokabiel left the building to never return.

After hitting two more hideouts from the Order of Pendragon, the group with a magician and the two Exorcists was debating where to go next.

The limousine was a practical car for that kind of work as it had enough space for the three to sit around a small table with a map spread between them while the car could hide itself on an alley easily while the driver kept an eye out for ambushes.

It had other advantages as well such as plenty of food and water for its passengers as well as the pleasant environment and comfortable seats.

At the moment two of them were engaging in a discussion as the third took her time to rest and recover while the pair decided where to go.

"We should go here." Irina pointed to a building close to the middle of the town. "There are so many bases in the area that the Excaliburs have to be here."

"No, we should follow the plan." Luvia protested while pointing to another area of the map. "We have to keep searching where there is a big concentration of knights and you are suggesting that we deviate from the path."

"We don't know if there are a lot or a few knights here." Irina suggested with a forced smile that had Luvia turning her head away as if insulted.

"Are you saying my intel is flawed? I must remind you that I was keeping an eye on most of these places until yesterday."

"We are attacking them. Things have changed."

Luvia raised a single elegant eyebrows, the only indication on her face of her disbelief. "In the middle of the day? If a group of armored knights just walked around on a parade that would make the news."

Xenovia remained silent as she cleaned Excalibur Destruction with a towel. She could see the magician's point but agreed with Irina that the situation could have changed, something that her partner was happy to push.

"That was all before we started the attack and we have already knocked some of their bases out. At this point they must know that we know where they are." As an Exorcist, Irina had some training and comprehension of how the situation could change at the start of a mission and that she and her partner had to adapt before in other jobs because of it. "They must have their own plan as well and we can't just expect them to hold a compromised position."

"More reason for them to not move. They want you to take the Excaliburs to them." Luvia replied calmly but deep down she was losing her patience. "We need to keep going with our strategy until we find a proper lead or clue where the other swords are. One of them has to talk sooner or later."

"I don't see how since hypnosis doesn't work. Or are you suggesting torture?" Irina asked with a frown. "I won't allow that. The mistakes that happened in the past shouldn't be repeated."

"Not to mention that the Order is proving itself to be full of honorable men." Xenovia added much to her partner's happiness despite Xenovia not even turning around after finishing cleaning her sword and starting to cover it with tapes.

"Of course I am not suggestion torture. I am not some kind of barbarian." Luvia sounded offended but that was an offense no one was going to complain about. "All I am saying is we should find someone to bribe."

After thinking for a second, Irina let out a sigh. "That could work." She admitted. "We just need one person to talk but that doesn't mean we should keep going with the same strategy."

"We are attacking where there are more knights. More of a chance of one of them being willing to spill something for good money." Once again Irina had to stop to think about Luvia's point.

It was hard for the chestnut haired girl to disagree with the blue magus' argument when their plan needed someone to give them a direction to go. Many things would be simpler if they just knew where to look and if a member of the Order could only give them at least an idea where to look then they wouldn't have a whole town to search and dozens of bases to raid.

"You will find it much easier to find a pearl in the desert than one of those men breaking for money." Xenovia said, earning a look of confusion from Luvia.

"It is common for huge organizations to have one or two members that are out for their own interests more than the organization itself. The bigger they are, the higher the odds of that fact being true." Edelfelt appeared to even be bored by her own statement. "Or you are saying that every member of every organization is completely and absolutely loyal to their cause."

"I have cut down enough heretics to know that isn't true." Xenovia replied stoically as she finished disguising her sword. "But those men, the way they fought, every single one of them was ready to die." She looked Luvia in the eyes to show she wasn't kidding. "They may be surrendering when enough are beaten but even then they keep their mouths shut and are ready to throw away their lives for their goal."

It was Luvia's turn to find herself unable to disagree in the discussion. "We don't need to care about the majority. One alone is enough."

"And if they don't know where the Excaliburs are?" Xenovia asked back. "I don't know everything about the Church and most of the important details are not my business even if my guardian had the honor to meet with the Seraph Michael himself." Luvia raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. "I'm not a leader but I can trust that God guides our leaders and will show us the proper way." She pointed her sword towards the map. "Now stop discussing and pick a place. There will be enemies there one way or another. Either they talk or we won't find the Excaliburs."

"That still will take too long, Xenovia." Irina reminded her partner with a small smile.

"Longer if you two just stay here debating." At the blue haired Exorcist observation both her partner and the magus traded looks before Irina shrugged in acceptance.

"Very well, Quarta-san. Then tell us, where should we look?" Luvia brought their attention to the map once again. "We can either go with my idea and keep attacking where there are more knights or go after Irina-san's idea and try somewhere in the middle of town."

Brown eyes blink as Xenovia begins to study the map carefully. She really didn't know who was right or wrong in that discussion but noticed something else. "What about this one?" She pointed to a dot almost fully isolated and that fact practically demanded the other two girls to look at it more attentively. "If I was going to hide something I wouldn't place it where everyone was looking but somewhere nobody would look."

"That makes sense I suppose." Luvia admitted with some frustration. "However that area has only a quarry with a couple of buildings and some knights, not the safest place to hide a legendary sword."

"And that is why that is exactly the place I would hide a legendary sword." Xenovia couldn't help but be smug at the blue magus silence. "So, should we go check it out?"

"I don't see why not." Irina accepted her fellow Exorcist suggestion before both turned to Luvia.

"It is a little far but it won't take us long to get there by car." Luvia just accepted the members of the Church's decision.

The quarry was just outside the town, perfectly positioned with an open road to either Fuyuki or circulate the area around it. Like Luvia had described early there were just a couple of houses and trailers around and when the three girls stepped outside the car there was no one to be seen.

"Are you sure there are knights around?" Xenovia asked but beneath her white cloak she was on guard and ready for anything.

Luvia glared at the Exorcist for a second before just shaking her head. "You were the one who wanted to come here."

"You marked it on the map but there are no enemies." Xenovia pointed out and Luvia could feel her patience dwindle as she started to compare the blue haired girl with a certain black haired one.

Irina finished thanking the driver before moving closer before the two began to fight. "But there is a boundary field, right?"

"Correct." Luvia pulled out her compass which was pointing to a specific direction deeper into the quarry. "Undoubtedly there is a boundary field around the area but I must reiterate that I don't expect much from this place."

"Who knows? Maybe they push the cowardly knights here and one of them will talk." Xenovia stepped forward confidently with Irina right behind and Luvia fought back to not show her irritation. "You can't deny that it is suspicious that this place is being used. Even if by a small group."

"Xenovia is right on that; if they have some here then why not send them to other areas?" Irina tried to keep the peace between the two but her job was half done as Luvia had no intention to escalate things in the middle of enemy territory.

"I can concede your point, Quarta-san, but still find it improbable that this place has any importance." They passed by the boundary field but the area was still mostly empty, just rocks and turned off machinery. "It certainly has plenty of space but so far no knights."

"There is a knight right here!" The three women turned to see a man standing on top of a bulldozer with full plate bronze armor and a helmet under his right arm with a sword and a shield on his back.

Just the armor alone looked impressive; a huge piece covered his square shoulders and was thick enough that bullets would be unable to break through it while the rest of it looked equally as resistant even if lighter.

The helmet under his arm had a yellow plume on top in the shape of a ponytail that while offering complete protection for the mouth with the visor having a dozen openings for the owner's eyes.

The man himself had brown chin length hair that helped complement his face which was the kind that Luvia could describe as handsome and sharp and if it wasn't by the arrogant smile she would be able to appreciate it.

Regardless of the man's appearance she and the Exorcists began to draw their weapons of choice. They were already expecting even more knights to show up since that would follow a pattern but for the moment their focus was on the only man in sight.

With a sapphire on her hand the magus felt confident enough to question. "Are you a member of the Order of Pendragon?" She demanded quickly and the man chuckled.

"Of course. Or you were expecting another knight standing in the middle of a boundary field during the afternoon?" It was half of the attempt of a joke but the brown haired man saw no reaction which didn't surprise him. "And from what I can see of some of your clothes and weapons, you are the Holders of the Excaliburs… plus one."

He was clearly not caring about Luvia's presence and Xenovia decided to take control of the conversation by unveiling Excalibur Destruction fully. "In the name of God and the Church I demand you return the Excalibur Fragments you stole at once."

Rubbing his chin the man replied. "Well I didn't steal them but there is no Excalibur here besides the ones you brought with you." He then gave Xenovia and Irina swords a look before nodding. "Truly those are the Excaliburs, they have the same aura as the other ones."

"So you admit you have stolen weapons from the Church." Following her partner's exemple, Irina pointed her sword at the man as well.

"No, I don't. But they don't belong to the Church anyway." The man retorted with a shrug. "They belong to King Arthur and your organization refused to restore it."

"That doesn't excuse you working with a monster." Irina could see the man wince at that comment but he just shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. The other Fragments aren't here and I would like to politely ask that you turn over the ones in your possession." He offered a gentle smile to try and calm the Exorcists down but their eyes just grew more fierce. "If you do this, I can promise you safe passage out of Fuyuki. I give my world as a knight of his majesty that you won't be harmed once you relinquish them."

"I have a counter proposal." Luvia announced out loud as she took a step ahead the Exorcists.

The knight frowned a little. "And you are?"

"My name is Luviagelita Edelfelt, Heiress of the Edelfelt Family of Magi and noble from the Clocktower, at your service." She wasn't considered a noble of the Clocktower as of yet but her family had the title and it was a way for the knight to see her as important.

"A magician. That explains how the Exorcists found this place." The man mused with interest.

"Before we begin negotiations, may I ask who we are negotiating with?" Luvia followed up with respect while placing a hand on Irina's sword to signal that they shouldn't look aggressive.

Both Exorcists trade glances in silent communication; the pair had noticed the different armor from this particular knight, how unlike all the others it looked more personalized and well made. That could indicate rank and if so the possibilities of negotiation were more open.

Irina was the first one to lower her sword and Xenovia did the same with a cold look towards the knight above the heavy machine.

"Who am I, you ask? I am one of the last true knights of the Order of Pendragon with a title bestowed to me after it has been passed by generations." The man said with a flair that kicked showed the brown cape on his back as he made a little flourish with it. "One of the Four Great Knights of Pendragon, I have renounced my birth name and taken the mantle of a Knight from the Round Table until the return of the True King." He opened his arms proudly and Luvia was tempted to try for a cheap shot. "My name is Sir Gaheris of the Four Knights! Talk your piece magician but I swear that I shall reclaim the Excaliburs one way or another!"

'So most of the intel I got really panned out. They truly use the names of the Knights of the Round Table.' Luvia traded a glance with Irina who nodded. "Gaheris-"

"Sir Gaheris, magician!"

The protest of the man didn't make Luvia lose her stride in the negotiation. "Sir Gaheris, you must realize that you are on the wrong side of history in this conflict, even if it is for honorable reasons." The man's silence told Luvia he was listening. "Even if you manage to reunite the Fragments and remake Excalibur to its completion, there is no way that the Church will allow your crimes to pass. Much less King Arthur himself." A shift in his eyes motivated her to keep going. "If you gather Excalibur now, your Order will be hunted down and destroyed. Not only that but your king will lack a kingdom or a proper army to even be considered relevant to the Factions who rule the world."

"Cut to the chase woman, what do you want?" Gaheris didn't like what he heard and for a second Luvia thought she overstepped but found his aggression as just impatience.

"Turn over the Excaliburs to us. Do so and your crimes can be forgiven. I promise to use all the influence of the Edelfelf Family to help the Order and also to recompense you handsomely for your contributions."

"Are… trying to bribe me, witch?" Gaheris looked mad and his free hand closed tightly.

"All I told you is the truth. King Arthur's return won't give him armies or lands. If he does come back now he will be exposed to dozens of enemies while your Order, which grew too weak with the ages, won't be able to help him, much less protect his majesty." Luvia spoke clearly, her eyes never leaving Gaheris face as she paid attention to any shifts in his expression. She could see that the man was still angry but besides a glare he remained still. "Your actions placed your king in danger if he returned. In fact, King Arthur's return may even cause a war."

"You are… underestimating his majesty too much." Gaheris reply was slow and his glare didn't diminish. "King Arthur is still the Strongest Holy Sword User for the simple reason that he could defeat armies with Excalibur by his side." He swipes his arm to the side with grandiosity. "Indeed, just by existing his majesty can be a deterrent to all Factions of the world by himself! Once he returns, I am sure others will flock to his banner even if we aren't there to support him!" Then the knight chuckled bitterly. "That will probably be the case since he himself can't have stains like us following him as we already stained our honor too much."

"Looks like negotiations are breaking down." Xenovia earned herself a glare from Luvia but she just looked back stoically. "That man isn't going to accept your proposal."

"Just give me a minute." As an aristocrat Luvia had pride in her negotiation skills and so she looked to Gaheris once again. "It has been long since King Arthur walked the world, things have changed. Even if he could stop armies before that may no longer be the case."

Gaheris shook his head. "Have you seen the Excaliburs power? Their light is still strong and that is with the swords divided. Once they are a single sword, King Arthur will have all he needs."

"You don't even know if your plan will work." It was Luvia's last attempt to try and have the knight see sense. "If you don't want to betray your companions that is fine, just tell us where the other swords are and no one else has to get hurt."

"Oh but someone will get hurt. You three if you don't turn over your Fragments." Gaheris placed his helmet on his head, clearly ready to fight. 'Now that I have the last Fragments here, I can't hold back.'

The bronze knight began to pull the sword and shield from his back and the trio of women could notice the drawing of a brown mountain on the red shield.

"Negotiations officially failed?" Xenovia offered to give Luvia another chance to try something else but the magus nodded.

"It seems they did. You were right, those men are all too ready to die." The blonde was irritated by the notion but shrugged it off as she raised a hand with four gems between her fingers.

"We don't need to kill him, remember?" Irina raised Mimic once again but Xenovia quickly voiced her disagreement.

"He isn't like the knights from before, Irina. This one is of the elite." The blue haired Exorcist opened her cloak to make sure it wouldn't get in her way. "Even if he is easy to beat, he won't be easy to stop."

"We are still three against one. Maybe once he is defeated he will be more open to talk." Luvia said out loud but Gaheris found her statement amusing.

"'Three against one'? Is that what you believe?" They could practically hear his smug smile behind the helmet "Have you been paying attention to your surroundings?"

"You mean the bunch of weaklings all around the quarry?" Xenovia asked with some smugness of her own. "I counted eight of them, much less than the ones we dealt with earlier today."

Luvia couldn't help but smile a little herself. "There are ten normal knights around here which makes you, dear Gaheris, the eleventh one." Mana began to surround her gems as the knights in question revealed themselves from behind rocks and machines, swords and shields at ready. "As Quarta-san stated, we have already defeated many more today. At the same time."

Instead of being intimidated, Gaheris whole posture began to project confidence. "Hahahaha! Good for you girls! That means I have to take your three seriously!" A bronze aura of power began to cover the man's body and the trio fully focused on him. "Haven't you guys wondered why I, one of the Four Knights of the Order of Pendragon, am in a quarry of all places? With many better hideouts inside the city?"

"I have the feeling you are going to tell us." Xenovia replied with Destruction ready. Her instincts are telling her that something was definitely coming.

"Because only here I can go all out without hurting innocents!" Gaheris announced proudly before shouting. "Soldiers! Remain in your positions! And stay out of my way!"

The soldiers in question put their shields in front of them, ready for an attack of some kind. That earned a glance from Luvia and Irina while Xenovia got ready for the opponent in front of them.

"I am Sir Gaheris of the Order of Pendragon! Between the actual iteration of the Four Knights I alone hold the title of Most Destructive!" The man announced loudly and proudly as both Exorcists skipped to the side as Luvia sent a blast of multicolored mana towards the knight.

Multiple gems flew in an amalgamation of colors and kicked up dust stones while flying in the direction of the knight, the heat melting some of the rocks. Luvia had no intention of waiting for her enemy to get ready and her allies were of the same mind as they kept their distance to allow the magus to attack at will.

But the bronze colored aura moved and a giant hand made of bronze appeared to block the attack. All three women watched in shock as the hand looked undamaged as it revealed itself to be part of a giant statue made of bronze at least five stores tall, dressed in light armor that showed its sculpted muscles on the arms and abdomen while carrying a single edge sword the size of a bus on its right hand.

A single step from the giant made the three girls retreat a little as the knight voice covered the quarry. "Heed my words Exorcists from the Church and magician Edelfelt; this is my sacred gear, Armored Colossal Goliath!" The giant rises to its full height, its hands big enough to crush cars and its shadow completely covering the trio as its red eyes shone coldly. "Surrender the Excaliburs or I will crush you!"

'This kind of power is tremendous.' Luvia could feel her skin crawl at the mana being let out by the giant mobile statue in front of her but made sure to keep a calm exterior. "Your thoughts, ladies?"

"I have seen bigger." Irina commented with a small smile as she prepared her sword.

"I have cut better." Xenovia said next as the colossus prepared to move. "If I remember right, that is one of the sacred gears with a high intake of energy. Are you sure you can sustain this for long?" She was directing her words to the knight behind the giant who couldn't deny them. "Or you can't even move now because of the pressure it's doing to your body?"

Gaheris took another few seconds to think before replying. "As expected from agents of the Church. You are well informed about the strengths and weaknesses of dangerous sacred gears."

"More like you aren't really the first one with one of those we ever had to deal with." Xenovia commented with a smile. "I'm starting to think that people with big sacred gears have over confidence issues."

"Hahaha! Bold, Exorcist, truly you are bold!" The bronze knight shot back with a smile hidden behind his helmet.. "What is your name, my blue haired maiden? I wish to remember you beyond this day."

"Xenovia Quarta. And you won't have much to remember after I'm done with you." Her eyes never left the bronze giant as plans ran through her mind. She knew her partner was already doing the same thing and both of them already had a notion of the roles they would play in this fight.

Unfortunately for the duo they were the only ones used to fight against giant sacred gears. "What do we do about that?" Luvia asked with a whisper but Irina had no time to reply.

"Then you will learn, Xenovia," Gaheris spoke her name sofly before his voice recovered its edge, " that I am unlike any other warrior you have ever faced before! Attack Goliath!"

"Dodge!" Irina didn't need to shout considering that no one would want to be in the way of a rampaging giant but Luvia appreciated the signal to jump back regardless as a huge bronze sword found itself destroying their previous location a few seconds after. "Armored Colossal Goliath is considered an average sacred gear capable of causing lots of damage but weak overall because it's extremely slow despite its considerable attack power and high defense."

Luvia and Irina began to run side by side to the left as Xenovia ran alone to the right. "That is considered weak? Makes me wish I had some sort of sacred gear."

"That is because it isn't much different from a robot that needs to follow orders. Notice how it's pursuing us but not caring about Xenovia." It was true that the bronze giant was rushing in their direction, its long legs made sure it soon was on them despite its slow movements. "That is one of its weaknesses; it can't prioritize multiple threats properly. Now Xenovia has an opening."

There was no time for Luvia to reply as another slam from the giant sword easily shifts the terrain. Irina took the opportunity that the giant gave to send Mimic in the shape of a sword whip to its side to attack the arm while also tying itself up to it. When the giant started to move again the chestnut haired Exorcist was with it for the ride and the magus couldn't help but think that was insanity.

"Another weakness is its lack of reaction!" Irina landed on the giant shoulder and Mimic became a simple katana once again as she stabbed the giant's neck. "It can't do much without its creator's orders!"

Silently the giant took the hit on its neck as its free hand began to move to take Irina out. When the twin tailed girl saw the attack coming she used Mimic to rappel down from the colossus' shoulder and land close to its feet before running towards Luvia as the magus began to run again to get some distance.

"How do we take it down?" The magus asked with her eyes still in the giant.

"We either break it apart or take out the creator." Irina replied with a smile as they heard Xenovia shouting as the blue haired girl had arrived in the knight's position. "If you have enough firepower to take it out go ahead, if not wait for Xenovia to finish Sir Gaheris off." Both jumped to the side again as the Goliath continued its attack. "Keep your distance from it and don't stop moving."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Luvia could tell that Irina was telling her only what she needed to know but didn't blame the Exorcist because of the situation. 'A sacred gear like that must have other limits and weaknesses if it's considered average by the Church and she is also trying to attack from time to time which speaks either about a weak point or something similar.' Dodging from a stomp between the giant's legs, she looked back to notice Irina hacking the colossus neck again. 'I can help take it down or save my mana for later. For now it's best to wait and see.'

At a distance from the giant another bronze warrior fought against an Exorcist as his red shield survived against the Holy Sword of Destruction, much to its holder's surprise. Not that stopped Xenovia from jumping back and avoiding a sword strike from her side before she shifted her footing and moved from a stab at the arm that almost hit her.

The brown mountain was once again in front of her sword and Xenovia didn't waste in surrounding her sword with Holy energy before the collision. She expected the red shield to break so then she could follow up with a bash with the side of her sword on Gaheris face to end the fight.

What she got was the shield resisting the power of her sword as it wasn't destroyed despite Xenovia making an effort to break it apart.

Once again Xenovia found herself surprised but her guard was up and she quickly shifted her sword to parry the knight's weapon as Gaheris charged with his shield held high. The Exorcist found herself with little choice but to compete with him and hold the shield at bay with her sword but she was pushed back as her boots were dragged through the rocks.

As the shield was in contact with Excalibur Destruction, Xenovia kept its Holy Aura going, something Gaheris noticed. "Do you really think I didn't come prepared to face one of the Fragments, Xenovia?" He tried to stab her with his sword but she shrunk herself against his shield and the blow barely touched her cape. "You can give up whenever you are ready."

"Usually people with your kind of sacred gear are less chatty." Xenovia observed as she planted her feet against the shield to jump back but Gaheris just gave chase until they were in the same position except that now her footing was more stable. "Most grow exhausted after a minute or two."

"I am not like anyone you have faced before. I am a proud knight of the Order of Pendragon!" His declaration was followed by another attempt to stab her but Xenovia found herself easily avoiding the sword. "My sacred gear can go for hours uninterrupted and sooner or later you are going to make a mistake."

A loud sound could be heard as the bronze giant destroyed part of the quarry in pursuit of the blue haired companions.

After getting used to the strength of her opponent, Xenovia was getting ready for her counter attack. "I think you are the one that is going to make a mistake first."

"Oh really? Because I don't think even with one Fragment you can't get past my shield." Gaheris emphasized his point further by pushing harder with but this time his opponent was ready and used one hand on her blade to help her hold it back.

"I admit your shield is good." Kicking the ground hard, Xenovia stopped the knight's charge completely much to his shock. "But I ain't done!"

Getting even close and turning her whole body, Xenovia hid behind the shield of the taller man and Gaheris became unable to see from which side she was going to move from. He saw a glimpse of while from the left of his helmet and pushed his shield in that direction only to hit an empty cape as Xenovia was to his right with Destruction ready.

Having no time to course correct Gaheris threw his blade against Destruction and watched as his sword broke in pieces. "Shit!" He jumped back and lifted his shield in time to stop another attack.

"Your shield is good but your sword was the same type as your soldiers'." Xenovia jumped and kicked the shield to the side but Gaheris brought it back with his two hands to stop Excalibur Destruction from stabbing his gut. "Your armor looks good to deflect magic but your preparations weren't enough!"

Xenovia swung her sword two more times against the shield before Gaheris took a step back to try and disengage. The blue haired Exorcist chose to pursue with a blow to the side to try and push the shield of his hands with her blade but Gaheris held his ground to stop the blade as its aura failed to break the shield again.

"I don't know what your shield is made of or the enchantments on them but it won't save you for long." Xenovia stated factually as she charged her shoulder against it. "You also can't move farther from this spot or your colossus will disappear and I doubt you can just summon it again."

'She got me.' Gaheris could feel the sweat on his forehead as he struggled against another blow from Destruction. 'Not only she has previous knowledge about my sacred gear she also is stronger than a girl her size should be. If things keep going like this…' The knight didn't like his chances.

Things weren't made easy for him with Xenovia's constant attacks, if she wasn't hammering her sword against the shield she was kicking it or trying to make him let it go. Gaheris knew that humans that surpassed their limit were strong but this was the first time he had to deal with one in a fair fight.

So he needed to make it unfair. "Defend Goliath!" The order resonated with the colossus who stopped its attempt of hitting Irina to turn towards its master.

With long strides the giant of bronze was closer to the knight in a second as Xenovia was forced to jump back to retreat at the colossus' sudden rush. "Finally realized you can't win?"

Gaheris shook his head as the colossus stood between him and the three women. "Just preparing." He waved with his hand and one of the soldiers surrounding the battlefield threw his sword as close to the knight as they could. It landed close enough to the knight that he only needed a couple steps to collect his new weapon. "You forgot I am not alone."

A glance at the armored soldiers surrounding the area was all the reaction Xenovia was willing to give him as her allies were moving towards their location and seeing that Gaheris decided to act.

"Keep them at bay, Goliath!" The red on the colossus' eyes shone bright as its huge hand grabbed a bulldozer close to him which rang alarms on Xenovia's head.

Her fears were proven true as instead of throwing it at her the colossus moved to launch the heavy machinery at her partner and their ally. She moved to charge at the knight but the colossus tried to stomp her into a paste and she had to use Destruction on the ground to launch herself back.

"He is still on the defense, Xenovia!" Gaheris declared as he turned to his other two opponents who were now aware of his intentions. "Goliath!"

The extra command made the colossus move faster to throw the bulldozer faster than the Exorcist or magus expected.

Irina was already moving to the side to dodge the huge vehicle but Luvia didn't lose her stride as she threw one of her gems at the bulldozer before extending a hand towards it. The emerald she threw began to shine in a strong light before making contact with the machine but when it did Luvia's spell was ready.

"Scatter!" With the blue magus command the very air around the bulldozer began to bend and to compress the machine around it. Its structure broke apart as it stopped mid air and Luvia ignored the mess of metal and oil that landed on the rocks.

'Dangerous. That magician is dangerous.' Gaheris doubted the same thing could be easily done with his sacred gear but he took note how Luvia kept going for him and feared she might try something. 'If Goliath fails I-'

There was no time for Gaheris to finish his thoughts as Xenovia attacked him again. Even without his input the colossus tried sending a sword blow to strike the Exorcist but Xenovia was fast enough to get past him. The knight was forced to shield another blow from Destruction but the blade's aura was all out and covering the blue haired warrior as Xenovia tried to crush the shield.

"Brute force now?" The knight asked as the colossus was useless at the range Xenovia was.

"It's more my style." Xenovia admitted without shame as she used the guard of her weapon to try and punch the shield. She knew that the colossus couldn't attack her since its priority was to protect its creator so she stayed close to not give the knight a chance to escape.

Gaheris had no intention to retreat. He knew the weakness of his sacred gear well enough to understand his disadvantage but was confident that he could defeat Xenovia with his shield and a sword.

The problem was his other opponents as blasts of dark mana, curses that Luvia was shooting from her hand, flew in his direction. Goliath had already positioned itself in front of his position to block the attack but Gaheris was aware that there was a fourth fighter around and he couldn't search for her while Xenovia kept attacking him.

"Give up!" Xenovia demanded as she hit the shield again with all her strength. "You can't win!"

"I can and I will!" From apparently nowhere Gaheris pushed back against Xenovia just enough to stop her advance and force her in place before swinging his sword at her. He wasn't trying to win at that moment just to get some space, something Xenovia was forced to give as she couldn't block that attack and would be cut down if she tried.

However when Gaheris tried to fully disengage from the fight he found himself locked in place when something got stuck on his left shoulder. It was a metal claw connected to a metal rope that was being held by the other Exorcist that Gaheris didn't bother to try to learn the name.

"Damned it!" He tried to run but her grip was strong, he looked for his colossus but it was busy protecting him from the magician's spells.

Gaheris had little time to react when Xenovia made her move and swung her sword. He tried to lift his shield again but the claw held his arm in place and so he was effectively defenseless when Excalibur Destruction cut his armor like paper.

It was unfortunate for Gaheris but his bronze armor had little in the matters of physical defense as the material was more suited to block projectiles and spells. The Holy Sword easily damaged it beyond repair and the cut it left behind from his left shoulder to his upper abdomen began to bleed as the sharp edge easily reached his skin.

Purposefully Xenovia avoided doing lethal damage or to follow up her last attack as Gaheris let out a scream of pain. The blue haired Exorcist expected the knight to fall to his knees and surrender but the man surprised her by throwing his sword in her direction while running to the right, the damage on his armor allowing him to discard it and escape Irina's claw.

Gaheris did his best to escape while holding his shield with both hands and running towards a close rock formation. He could feel his blood flowing on his chest and staining his white shirt as he heard his colossus trying to protect him as he noticed some soldiers getting ready to intervene, something he knew would do more harm than good.

Meanwhile the knight tried to recover from his wound, Xenovia regrouped with Irina as the colossus turned to them as they were the closest threat to its creator. Luvia also lost sight of the knight among the dust being kicked up by the giant and stopped throwing spells because of the risk of hurting her allies so the colossus was free to focus on the other two girls.

"Irina, situation?" Xenovia asked swiftly as she dodged a stomp.

"I hit its neck a couple of times. It should be enough." The information was welcomed by Xenovia who nodded.

'If we can't get you we can break your defense.' Xenovia smiled a little, she always loved the next part. "I need a distraction!"

"Roger!" Irina raises her sword and spins it around making it into a huge metal whip. "Hey you big piece of junk!" She knew that the colossus had no way to really process what she was saying but it could recognize her as a threat. "Over here!"

With a strong swing from Irina's arm, Mimic flew in Gaheris direction who blocked the attack with his shield. It was something that Irina expected as she made the noise not only for the colossus but also for the knight as she didn't want to really hit him as he could have information they could use.

Taking Gaheris out would be easy with his wound but killing him was out of the question and so Irina attacked accordingly, with such clear intent that the man could easily block.

And the colossus reacted too, such a blatant display of aggressivity against its creator turned all of its attention to Irina and her sword as it began to swing its own. The chestnut haired Exorcist did a backflip to the side as the giant blade slammed on her position.

Exactly what Xenovia was waiting for as she jumped on the sword and began to run towards the colossus arm with her own sword ready. Irina saw her partner move and did her part by throwing a weak attack in Gaheris direction which the colossus tried to react with its unoccupied hand. Irina easily dodged it, still paying attention to Xenovia to make sure she didn't disrupt her partner's attack.

From a few meters of distance Luvia realized what was going on. 'I see, so this is their strategy against this kind of enemy. The colossus itself has no cognitive features and acts automatically to defend its owner, practically ignoring the need to defend itself.' She noticed how the giant was hunched down close to the ground and how Xenovia was close to its neck. 'The same spot Irina hit before. The same place where it is already weak.' Xenovia arrived at the proper location and raised Excalibur Destruction, the colossus finally noticing that someone was there. 'And her sword is much more destructive.'

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Xenovia focused on letting out as much Holy Aura from her sword as she could before slamming it against the colossus neck in a diagonal slash where she saw the marks that Irina had made before.

The colossus couldn't scream or growl or anything that expressed the amount of pain it would be in as Excalibur Destruction penetrated its neck. Its defenses were considerable but Xenovia's sword was considered one of the strongest of its kind. Against a sacred gear loosely connected to its owner it was no contest.

With a steady hand and her full strength Xenovia cut the colossus neck off its body with little difficulty thanks to Irina's efforts on weakening the area and her own sword. Wasting no time the blue haired Exorcist jumped off from the giant's shoulder as it began to break apart in motes of light.

All members of the Order of Pendragon, including a wounded Gaheris, couldn't believe their trump car was so easily beaten. "Then again… that is an Excalibur."

"Sir!" One of the soldiers began to approach their leader but he waved them off.

"Stay back! That is an order!" Gaheris had to let the shield go with one hand to hold his chest for both the wound and because of his exhaustion.

When Xenovia landed Irina rushed to her with a hand held high, a signal that the blue haired girl understood well and the two traded a high five. "Nice work with the neck."

"Right back at you."

"I have to admit that your team work is very good. Are you two used to facing enemies like that?" Luvia asked calmly as she approached at a leisure pace, her eyes glancing to Destruction cautiously as her spells didn't damage the colossus but the sword easily destroyed it.

"That sacred gear isn't that common but isn't exactly rare either." Xenovia replied with a satisfied smile. "The procedure to deal with it is the same as the one to deal with stupid but big enemies."

"'The elimination of threats of a considerable height is a skill that every Exorcist needs to learn'." Irina recited while waving a finger akin to a strict teacher. Then she hit her head with her tongue out. "And that is the third of those we have faced."

"A problematic sacred gear. When an idiot gets one of those they think they are the king of the world with an invencible bodyguard only to not realize that the giant can't do almost anything by itself." Xenovia affirmed with a couple of nods that Irina was happy to agree with her own. "It is harder to deal with them in the cities where the target can hide so there are procedures to take them down."

"Procedures that with the Excaliburs help are much easier. Am I right, Quarta-san?" Luvia could see how hard it could be finding someone with that kind of sacred gear if they hid in a building or somewhere similar.

Still in a bit of a high over their victory, Xenovia had no problem replying to the magus. "You are right, Edelfelt-san. Excalibur Destruction truly made things much easier." She turned to look at Gaheris who had his back against a wall of stone with his shield raised high. "Now we just have to capture our target."

"Can he do anything else with that colossus?" Luvia could see the man looked wounded and tired while his soldiers remained back.

"It takes a big deal of energy to summon one of those and once they break most people can't use it again for a day." Irina pointed out while she began to walk towards their target. "It costs too much stamina to just call it out and from what I can see he looks ready to fold."

"Then again, he is a knight." Xenovia observed the area carefully. "His soldiers are still staying out of the fight."

A rapid glance around the area told them that Xenovia was correct. After one of the soldiers threw a sword for the fighting knight they remained mostly on the back and silent. They still looked ready to fight with their shields raised and their swords ready, not a single one of them looked ready to escape or run because of their leader's defeat, if anything they looked ready to support the man even if he was clearly ordering otherwise.

Not disagreeing with her partner, Irina took a step forward while fixing her cape. "Well, we are getting nothing done by just standing here. He can give us a concrete clue where the Excaliburs are."

"If he is willing to talk." Xenovia began to follow Irina with her sword ready. She was missing her cape but didn't dare to distract herself by looking for it. "Also I don't think he is just going to give up."

An observation that Luvia was willing to agree as she could see the knight with his back against the wall but still ready to go. "Say, are you sure he can't use that giant again?"

"Never saw anyone who could summon it twice." Irina replied back with a shrug but Luvia still had her doubts.

Once they approached enough Gaheris spoke out loud. "Looks like I underestimate you all."

"That you did." Xenovia acknowledged the knight's comment. "You do realize you are just breathing because of me right?"

"Because you held back the sword's power in your last blow? I realized that when my chest didn't blow up but my sacred gear did." Gaheris waited for the three to get a little closer, smiling with confidence. "I know it wasn't mercy. You just want to know where to go next. Where to find our Excaliburs."

"Call it whatever you like. It's true that we want to know where the Excaliburs are but I would like to not have to kill you." Xenovia raised her sword with a hand, the threat clear. "Doesn't mean I won't."

Gaheris chuckled at such balant threat. "I really would have liked to fight you one on one."

"Maybe you two can if you surrender the Excaliburs." Luvia suggested with a smile but the man let out a laugh that sounded a little insane. "Or not."

"Hahahahahaha! I really- ow. It hurts to laugh." The man was still chuckling a little with his hand over his still bleeding wound. He throws a look at Irina with a smile "I should have asked the name as well before. You made this fight much harder than it should have been."

"You wouldn't have won anyway." Xenovia stated confidently.

"Maybe, it doesn't mean that it wasn't harder. Well, time to wrap this up." Gaheris commented out loud as the three girls looked at each other. "Let's do this, attack whenever you like!" Shrugging shoulder Luvia attended to his request but the red shield fully blocked the spell. "Is this the best you can do? Come on! I don't have all day!"

Biting back her pride the magus said nothing as she began to shoot multiple of the same spell with her finger to try to hit the knight's feet or shoulders. However there was one thing that Sir Gaheris was proud of and it was his shield technique. Even wounded and in pain the man managed to easily block every shot that Luvia threw at him.

After a couple more attempts Luvia stopped and looked around. "His men still aren't moving."

"He is stalling." Xenovia stated as she began to advance. "Give me a minute to disarm him. No, with his wounds it probably will take less than that."

Gaheris wanted to disagree with her and even challenge Xenovia but the reality was that she was right. He was already at his limit, his arms were about to give out and there was no way for him to beat Xenovia in a fair fight. Not that he was planning to.

As the Exorcist approached him Gaheris began to breathe slowly and prepare the last of his energy to unleash his sacred gear in a last ditch attempt. With a cliffside on his back and only his enemies on the front he was sure that his colossus would be able to defeat at least one of them before he was defeated.

After the last blow he took, all he could do was command the colossus to go into a rampage to try to take the trio out. Gaheris already fully accepted that he wasn't winning the fight but he planned to soften his opponents for either his soldiers there or one of his companions around the city.

For that the man was ready to gamble everything in one single charge from his sacred gear. All for the sake of his king.

'Odds are that I will die if some part of the colossus hits the wall… but I gotta risk it.' Those thoughts filled Sir Gawain with determination as Xenovia approached him. Her guard was up but he knew that she couldn't just stop the full weight of his sacred gear if he used it correctly.

"Wait a minute, Quarta-san. I think he is planning something." Luvia realized why the situation didn't look right to her. "He looks too confident, too calm for someone about to lose."

'Shit she figured it out!' Gaheris thought with panic.

"It doesn't matter." Xenovia's reply surprised most of the audience. "It doesn't matter what kind of tricks he has. I will surpass all of them, for God is on my side."

Luvia had to fight to keep her calm. "Is she out of her mind?"

"Maybe? She was always kind of a sword head, does that count as having lost her mind?" The innocence and curiosity in Irina's tone actually caught Luvia off guard. But the matter at hand stopped the magus from commentating. "But about the fight, don't worry. Xenovia is strong."

On the other side of disbelief at Xenovia's declaration Gaheris was feeling deeply insulted. "So nothing I do matters huh?" It was a rhetorical question.

"No. At this point it doesn't." Xenovia replied anyway. "Not if your sacred gear is all you got."

Finally Gaheris lost his patience. "You are too confident Xenovia!" His bronze aura had returned even if weaker than before as it threw itself against the blue haired Exorcist with the colossus reforming from it. "Take this! Armored Colossal Goliath Full Charge!"

From the aura of the knight the bronze giant managed to reform most of its upper body with its head back to its place, its chest piece and helmet complete, lacking its sword but with its fist stretched to destroy anything in its path.

"That idiot!" Luvia prepared to run but noticed that Irina didn't look worried in the slightest. 'Is that just faith in her partner or something else?'

Holding her sword firmly with her two hands Xenovia allowed the Holy Aura to fully surround it in an instant. It was easy as Excalibur Destruction felt almost eager to let its power out at its weider's command. She wasn't afraid of the giant flying in her direction as she knew exactly what to do at that point.

She knew exactly how the fight was about to end.

Despite being the product of a sacred gear the bronze golem was still bound by some of the rules of physics. It couldn't just stop itself mid air or change its direction once it was launched, even if it had legs to try it wasn't smart enough to know even how to begin that kind of attempt.

So when Xenovia turned herself to the side and dodged the giant fist all it had to keep attacking with was its whole body which was still heavier than most trains and was flying at her faster than bullets.

None of that mattered to someone like Xenovia, she was both prepared for that outcome when she positioned herself in front of the main body and for what would happen if she failed.

She wasn't afraid to die and neither believed that she would. Her sword surrounded by Holy Energy filled her with confidence while prior knowledge about the kind of enemy she was facing made her certain. That was why Xenovia raised Excalibur Destruction above her head and threw the strongest swing she could against the bronze giant's own head.

Sir Gaheris couldn't believe that Xenovia threw herself before his colossus instead of dodging away with just a sword, Holy or not. He didn't hesitate or tried to stop what was happening until he suddenly felt a jolt running around his body. A jolt like he never felt before in his life as he watched his Goliath being cut in half.

When Excalibur Destruction collided against the bronze colossus it wasn't the small blade who gave way, it was the whole body of the giant that began to cut in half. There was a small contest of strengths, the pure mass of the Goliath in a single direction should be something that Xenovia arms couldn't deflect.

But her sword could destroy it by just being stronger and it didn't take long for the Goliath to break upon contact and its body to fall into pieces a few seconds after the initial collision.

The last part that remained of the giant was its solitary bronze fist that soon disappeared much to the shock of Luvia, the spectators and Gaheris himself.

"See, no problem. We dealt with that kind of sacred gear before." Irina couldn't help but comment to an astounded Luvia. "It's our job to deal with people abusing God's Artifacts, after all."

With the colossus fully disappearing Xenovia looked at Gaheris with raised eyebrows to silently ask 'Is there anything else?' When she saw no reaction she began to approach again with even more confidence.

The bronze knight couldn't even stand anymore, much less fight. Gaheris was too exhausted and wounded to put up any resistance and he knew it. His arm couldn't lift his shield anymore, the remains of his armor felt heavier than the boulders surrounding him and his vision grew so bad that his helmet was starting to get in the way.

So Gaheris removed it to throw the bronze helmet to the side, that was the closest thing of an admission of defeat that he could muster, the full reveal of his exhausted, sweaty face and tired state. If it was still on his hands and he was in better condition the knight would properly drop his sword at his opponent's feet.

He was beaten and now all could see it.

But questions persisted in his eyes and Xenovia took note. Behind all his exhaustion, all the pain and all the frustration with himself there was just a crescent doubt that demanded explanations.

"How?" The bronze knight managed to gather enough of his thoughts to ask. "How did you defeat my sacred gear so easily?"

As the defeated Gaheris knew that Xenovia was under no obligation to answer his questions. He was their prisoner and should be the one answering her questions.

"Armored Colossal Goliath, a sacred gear recorded as average by the scholars of the Church. Confirmed by the Angels of Heaven as something created by God in memory of the giant Goliath who was slayed by David in single combat with just a sling and stones." Xenovia spoke slowly, her approach still confident but more relaxed at seeing Gaheris expression. "It was made in the molds of the original's armor, made in bronze to reflect and redirect magic spells. The Goliath has few methods of attack other than its size and mass, able to make a weapon depending on its owner but nothing extraordinary or powerful. The normal version of that sacred gear can't do much in its normal state and no evolution was ever recorded by the Church."

Xenovia slowed down as she got closer to the knight, stopping far enough that she could cut him easily with her sword. Gaheris didn't care that she placed her blade on his shoulder, it wasn't a threat and he was too captivated by the woman and her words.

Regardless of the fascination on her former opponent's face, Xenovia continued. "While the colossus is an independent construct, it's always connected to its owner to stay manifested and the mental effort and stamina consumed every time it appears can be too much for most people." She looked around and saw the soldiers of the Order approaching only to stop when she placed the blade closer to the knight's neck, stopping them or their tracks. "Most people even pass out after manifesting it and having it destroyed. That was how I survived the first time I faced one of those." She took note of Gaheris look of surprise with a chuckle. "After that my mentor put me under intensive studies," holding back that particular small shiver was impossible for her, "on sacred gears so I would never be caught with my guard low against one ever again."

"That is how you knew exactly how to counter me." The man let out a self deprecating laugh. "You already faced someone with the same type of sacred gear that I have. Damn that was unlucky."

"I am an Exorcist from the Catholic Church. Have been one for a few years and before that I was an apprentice." Destruction got even closer to the man's neck. "It wasn't luck. I studied… was forced to study many types of sacred gears, just like yours."

None was denying that experience played a part in the fight but Xenovia was a little irritated that her victory was attributed to 'luck'.

Xenovia was someone that was proud of her accomplishments and the effort it takes to reach them. She trained her whole life to be a servant for God, hours upon hours swinging her sword, her favorite part, meditating, the part she hated the most, and surviving under an instructor that even her elders would call 'too strict'.

Telling her that she won because of luck was an insult on every level even, if none was intended.

If she knew it was intended then Xenovia would be far more upset but she could see the defeat sinking in on the bronze knight's shoulders. Her lessons under her guardian prompt her to continue her explanation out of respect.

"As I said, most people pass out after their colossus is defeated once. It takes too much of a toll on the users' minds and even if they keep going their stamina can be so depleted that it isn't rare for a user of that sacred gear to be unable to even walk after it breaks." Xenovia saw that the man knew where she was going with those words. "But you are a knight, a warrior from the Order of Pendragon. I expected a last trick of some kind even if it was just another Goliath."

"But you defeated it so easily." Gaheris pointed out with some frustration, almost whining which made Xenovia chuckle again.

"There is a reason why Irina attacked the neck and I cut the head. It's because most sacred gears like yours can only work once fully manifested and if you damage something vital, keeping the manifestation going becomes harder." He didn't look like he understood but that was fine for Xenovia who didn't understand the first time her guardian explained that to her. That was why she tried to go for the same explanation she heard before. "Sacred gears like the Goliath need time to recover if the damage was 'fatal', manifesting them after something breaks them that just eats more of your energy." Realization dawned on the man's eyes. "So when you manifested the Goliath again it was weaker because you were already running on fumes. There was little to keep the Goliath going once Excalibur Destruction got its way with it."

All sacred gears need the strength of their owners to work, be that either stamina, magic or even mental, that was a rule everyone knew, a rule from the system designed by God.

The reason why Armored Colossal Goliath was considered weak wasn't just because it had little input from the owner or was too big but because it cost too much. Gaheris was a trained man, mentaly strong and prepared to do things most people couldn't. All that was accounted for when he was using his sacred gear and all that helped him push further than most.

However he was still bound by his own limits, something that Xenovia took into account during their fight and waited for him to make his move. When he manifested his colossus he pushed himself even farther than he should and at that point the Goliath itself became even more vulnerable.

"I lost the moment we crossed swords, didn't I?" Gaheris asked with a sad look. He realized that no matter the plan he had or how well he fought, that was a fight he couldn't win.

"Yes." Xenovia wasn't going to lie about that. "You were the strongest user of that sacred gear I ever faced. But that was all you were." She spoke respectfully and kindly before her eyes recovered their edge. "Now do you surrender?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then tell your men to drop their weapons. If they attack I won't show any mercy." The armored soldiers clearly looked nervous despite their helmets.

Against two Exorcists and one talented magician they knew they had no chance of really winning but their mission and sense of duty demanded them to fight.

Taking a deep breath Gaheris shouted as loud as he could after all the fighting. "Stand down! All of you!"

"Sir Gaheris, they have the Excaliburs!" One of the men protested weakly but the knight glared at him before looking back at Xenovia.

It was clear the blue haired Exorcist wasn't bluffing, much like their loyalty and mission towards King Arthur, hers towards God compelled her to be swift and brutal against His enemies.

Compiling that with her allies who still were looking more than ready to keep fighting and the bronze knight knew that the only way things wouldn't end in a blood bath was if their enemies decided to spare them. Something that he wasn't sure Xenovia would do if provoked too much.

"For the last time, stand down!" Gaheris could feel his chest burning from everything but he refused to let his men die for nothing. "It is over! We lost!"

Disheartened but listening to their leader's orders the first soldier dropped his shield with resignation. Such action prompted the others to do the same and soon all the soldiers had disarmed themselves. That helped Luvia and Irina relax but Xenovia still didn't, at least not completely.

What really helped her drop her guard while surprising the other two was when one of the soldiers took off his helmet to reveal the grizzled face of an old man, he wasn't bald but had little hair to speak of. It was hard for the three girls to guess his age, especially with the armor, but judging by his face Irina would say he was in the 70s while the other two pegged him to be in his late 60s.

"What? Why was a senior citizen fighting?" Xenovia couldn't hold back her surprise as she pulled her sword back from Gaheris neck. "Were you lacking young warriors, Gaheris?" She barely finished asking that and soon other soldiers took off their helmets to reveal more men and women of advanced age.

"Compared to the knights, or I should say soldiers, in the city, they are much older." Now that she was paying more attention Luvia could see that they looked more exhausted then they should be even if none other than Gaheris saw any fighting. "Any reason why you were left with the old alone, Sir Gaheris?"

"Hahaha! To be honest we didn't expect you guys to come in this direction." The bronze knight admitted with a shrug that had him wincing at his wound. "This place is the only area around Fuyuki that we can stay close enough to the city to reinforce the others while being the only place that I can go all out without risking bystanders, for whatever good that did for us." He chuckled with his eyes still in Xenovia. "But it's still far out of the way. We didn't predict you coming here, we really didn't expect that, so those with me are the seniors of the Order of Pendragon." He pointed to the first soldier to throw down his shield and take out his helmet, he had no sword either so Xenovia deduced he was the one who threw his weapon at Gaheris when it was needed. "That old man there was my predecessor, Sir Gaheris the XIV."

"So you are Sir Gaheris the XV." Luvia noticed with a smile as she saw the old man nod his ascent. "No wonder you were fighting so hard, you didn't want to shame your predecessor."

"I would have fought as hard anywhere else!" Sir Gaheris protested but the old man approached him, Xenovia taking a step back.

"It is enough, Sir Gaheris. You fought bravely and made the name proud." The elder told the younger while calling for the others. "Bring some bandages, the youngling needs assistance or he will end up losing too much blood."

"I don't know if I can allow that, Sir Gaheris." Xenoiva stated respectfully but her stance told the old man that she was ready to attack if provoked. "We need answers and I won't risk him getting back to his feet until we have them."

Calm like a stream on a river, the man nodded once before speaking. "Please call me Thomas. Sir Gaheris is my title no longer and I have no ownership to the name, only my successor may use it." Then he stood straight in front of Xenovia showing that he was at least two heads taller than her. "I also must request that you allow me to help my pupil for I don't wish to see him harmed anymore."

"Hey old man, are you trying to humiliate me in front of my opponents?" Gaheris protested while other soldiers approached with some bandages and medicine. "I was the captain of this position. I am one of the Great Knights and I lay defeated! I won't accept you coming here now and getting in the way."

The old man just took a deep breath but said nothing else and took a step aside since the young man was in fact his superior officer.

WIth a smile of gratitude Gaheris looked back to Xenovia who was flanked by the other two women. "Ask your questions, lady Xenovia. I doubt that you will like the answers."

Luvia was quick to read between the lines and the knight's expression "You aren't planning to tell us where the Excaliburs are."

"Not exactly." Gaheris mostly ignored Luvia, offering Xenovia an attempt of a charming smile that was greatly disrupted by his exhausted face. "I don't know where the Excaliburs that the Order reclaimed-"

"Stole."

"-are, but I know who is guarding them and the kind of building he is most likely using to wait for you." Gaheris found Xenovia correction endearing but that only had Thomas shaking his head. "I am willing to give you all the information if you let my men go."

"Sir Gaheris…" His predecessor protested with a tone of warning.

"We lost this fight, master. The least we can do is give these ladies some direction." The bronze knight replied with a grin.

"You said your men, not you." Irina pointed out the nodding man.

"Indeed I did. You can take me with you as assurance, I won't fight or do anything underhanded. All I ask is that you let everyone else go." Some of his soldiers protested, either his actions or for being left behind but Gaheris wasn't moved. "You all can't fight." He said swiftly and sadly. "None of you has a sacred gear awakened or had taken care of your body properly for this kind of combat. Let it go and retire already."

"We all want the return of King Arthur. That is why we are here, ready to give our lives, just as you." An elder woman replied to the knight who shook his head.

"You can't do anything anymore. I doubt most of us in the city can do anything against them." Gaheris admitted and his old mentor only nodded in confirmation. "But the other knights can still defeat them." He smiled at the trio who defeated him. "You don't look so surprised."

"We learned pretty early that you guys don't like to betray your allies." Irina commented with a small smile while turning Mimic back into a rope she tied to her arm. "But Xenovia is right, we need information about where the Excaliburs are. If you don't tell us then we will have to take some drastic measures."

Gaheris didn't bother to hold back his laugh. "Girl you may be a fierce warrior but unlike lady Xenovia you clearly aren't the right person for that kind of work. Bet you wouldn't hurt a fly if it was just bugging you." That comment made Irina pout but Luvia took a step forward.

After the blonde fixed her hair she glared at the knight with some malice. "While Irina-san is gentle and doesn't like to 'harm flies', I can assure you that I very much like to stomp meddlesome insects."

"Also if you don't speak, I can't guarantee your life." Xenovia added with a glare before sighing. "Even if I will spare your men."

"What? Aren't we good enough to kill?" One of the elders complained but Irina was the one who replied.

"Our Lord's teaching frowns upon such methods and we wouldn't treat prisoners like that."

"We would still ransom you all for the better price." Luvia made her own adition.

"'Ransom us? I prefer to die." Someone commented but Luvia just laughed at the notion.

"And what makes you think I am going to kill you? Or allow you to take your own lives? Ohohohohohoho!" The magus slightly covered her mouth with her hand as the soldiers glared at her. "You all are members of an old organization that has enough resources to transport you all here and start this kind of operation. Of course I am going to ransom you all."

"You are actually a hyena." Xenovia commented out loud which only made Luvia laugh louder.

"But my dear Quarta-san, were you truly expecting me to hold our prisoners for free? While I don't mind helping the Church, there are still a lot of mouths to feed." Luvia had that excuse ready from the beginning and was satisfied by Xenovia's irritated look and Irina's disappointed one. "Of course I am willing to always look the other way if you two want and the Church officials are ready to pay for the stay of our prisoners themselves."

The mention of money made Irina wince and Xenovia wanted to facepalm at the memory of how much they spent even before their mission properly started. The chestnut haired Exorcist would like to say that her organization would cover the costs if it came to that but she wasn't known as someone mindful of her spending and the Church did have bills to pay.

With her reputation Irina couldn't disagree but Xenovia had an opinion. "We don't need prisoners, at least this lot, if they give us some worthwhile information."

"Oho, maybe his allies' sacred gears for instance?" Luvia directed her attention to an increasingly nervous Gaheris.

Unfortunately for the bronze knight he couldn't give the magus what she wanted. "I can't betray my comrades like that." His reply was firm and was met with approval from the senior soldiers. "We, all of us, signed up for this. We are ready for the consequences." He gave Luvia a harsh look to show his resolve. "Besides, this dispute isn't over. The others can still defeat you all and take the Excaliburs."

"Didn't you claim you were the most destructive of all knights of the Order of Pendragon?" The aristocrat asked with a small smile.

"Most destructive, yes. Far from the strongest." He chuckled bitterly at the fact. "Compared to the others I am much weaker. You know that because my sacred gear is a common one."

The smile on Luvia's face became positively predatory. "So their sacred gears aren't exactly common, is that right?" Gaheris couldn't help but flinch at his slip up. "Any Longinus or something similar that we should know about?"

Now that he caught his mistake Gaheris closed his mouth but that was fine for someone like Luvia who was raised to read between the lines of every conversation. The silence was telling even if not certain and she could see that the bronze knight held his allies sacred gears in high esteem.

"Something special about them no doubt. Obviously superior to you and yours." The blue magus spoke slowly, paying attention to every twitch in Gaheris or his subordinates' expressions. "But not Longinus." She wasn't certain but threw the name of the highest class of sacred gear as bait. It worked when the brown haired man swallowed heavily. "No Longinus, without a doubt."

"They are strong." His reply showed that he was confident in his words. "Stronger than me and strong enough to not fear the Fragments."

"Then show your trust in your allies and give us something." Xenovia took a step forward and immediately Gaheris' attention was on her. "If you are so confident then your Order shouldn't be hiding. We don't have the whole Church here, just the two of us. Let's just settle everything with a proper fight."

The knight couldn't move much as some of his soldiers began to take care of his wounds but his body stood straight as he looked at the blue haired Exorcist with more attention than Luvia expected.

'Is he…'

"Lady Xenovia, nothing would give me more pleasure but our Commander decided that we can't take unnecessary risks. We must bring back our king." Gaheris said back as everyone around him prepared for the worst.

It was Irina who found something odd about the situation. "But if we don't find them and they don't find us, how are we going to fight for the Excaliburs?" All the members of the Order looked at her with some confusion that had her scratching her head. "I mean, if you only have another three warriors able to face us in a big city like Fuyuki, then how are we supposed to find them?"

A moment of silence passed before someone facepalmed. It was the old Gaheris, now just Thomas, who was glaring at his successor. "Didn't Sir Gawain planned for this?"

"Well I think he intended to gather everyone and attack during the night…"

"Inside a magician's home turf?" The old man pointed at Luvia who was nodding in understanding at the old man's frustration. "He couldn't possibly believe that was going to be so easy!"

"We didn't even know they had a magician on their payroll around town! None of them seemed to have any connections with the Church when we investigated it!" It was another thing if the Exorcists ended up in a hotel or somewhere similarly unguarded but that possibility was out with Luvia's presence. "Besides, we planned to finish all this today anyway, attacking them wherever they decided to take a break!"

"That sounds cowardly." Xenovia pointed out with a glare that had Gaheris trembling.

"You must understand, Lady Xenovia, that our time is limited." The man tried to throw a couple of excuses like the possible interferences from devils or reinforcements from the Church or how they didn't expect them to be capable of looking all around the town as fast as they could but by the blue haired Exorcist's face it was clear that she didn't care about the excuses, disappointed by their methods.

"I expected more from an Order following King Arthur. In the end you are all just thieves." Just by looking at Gaheris face it was clear he would have prefered if Xenovia had killed him then and there. "Looks like we aren't getting any answers here, should we knock them all out and call for your driver?"

"I will let you know that Auguste is much more than just a driver but yes, I suppose we should."

"Center of the town, in a closed building!" Gaheris exclaimed with panic as the trio looked ready to capture everyone anyway. "Our leader is the one guarding the Excaliburs with the only Holder we could find. We planned around that being the area you would be searching the most."

Irina primned at the information since that was the direction she wanted to go at first. Luvia wasn't fully trusting the man and folded her arms defensivally. "Is that true? Or just another elaborate trap?"

"I give you my word in King Arthur's honor. Sir Gawain, our leader, and the Excaliburs with their temporary Holder will be close to the center of the town." Then Gaheris frowned. "I must once again request that you surrender the Excaliburs you have, lady Xenovia."

The blue haired Exorcist was starting to feel irritation at those requests. "You're already defeated, do you think you have the right to 'request' anything?"

"For your own sake, I beg you to give them to me, to not fight against the wielder we had to find for our Excaliburs." The trio of women looked at each other, noticing the concern on Gaheris face. "I suppose that since he isn't my ally I can tell you this; the Holder that we found was someone formerly from the Church and a criminal for all intents and purposes. The Mad Exorcist, Freed Sellzen."

"That heretic!" Xenovia snarled with hatred. "And your Order joined forces with him?! You stain King Arthur's honor!"

"We had no choice!" Gaheris tried to defend himself but Xenovia grabbed him by his bloody shoulder, startling the two soldiers who were trying to bandage it, and made sure they were face to face.

"You could have not done it! The Church failed in killing him but his crimes are well known and you chose to be associated with him! There is no excuse!" The bronze knight refuses to meet Xenovia's eyes.

"Regardless, he is extremely dangerous. Please, please don't fight him." It looked like Xenovia was about to stab the man with her sword and was barely holding herself back.

Irina placed a hand on her partner's shoulder to get the blue haired attention and shake her head to show that there was no need for more violence. "That is enough. We got what we came here for."

"And the hostages?" Luvia asked with a smile that had the members of the Order nervous.

"Let them go, these cowards aren't worth it." Gaheris winced at Xenovia's disdain and the glare she was giving him. "If these criminals try to get in our way again, we kill them all."

Knowing that the Order of Pendragon was working with someone like Freed, not only a criminal but a sadist who tortured many of his victims, soured any good impression Xenovia had of them.

Any respect she had for the Order of Pendragon died as she began to walk away, Gaheris looking at the ground in shame as Irina and Luvia rushed to catch up with the blue haired woman.

Noticing Xenovia's anger and deciding to have some fun while she could, Luvia decided to mention something she noticed about the bronze knight. "I never thought you were the kind to break a man's heart so mercilessly." The short haired Exorcist stops to turn at Luvia who had a cruel smile. "Or didn't you notice that knight's interest in you 'lady Xenovia'?"

When her partner made a pensive face, Irina couldn't help but giggle at how cute Xenovia looked with her expression of confusion. The blue haired Exorcist turned to look back at the members of the Order of Pendragon before her confusion began to melt and give way to another emotion; disappointment.

"I never fell in love with someone before and never will fall in love with a man willing to sell his principles."

"Can you blame them?" Luvia the question with amusement on her tone. "They are desperate, for years they have gone without their leader and now-"

"I never saw God." Xenovia cuts the magus' words before she could go far with a fierce look. "I never saw His majesty or basket in His presence. Yet we believe He guides us to a more righteous path." She took a step close to Luvia and the magus didn't retreat. "If they have so much confidence in their king, why aren't they working towards making his life better upon his return instead of making it harder?"

"Xenovia has a point." Irina took note. "I mean, even if King Arthur comes back, I don't think the Church will let things go after all they have done." She began to count up with her fingers. "Stealing precious Artifacts, invasion of devil territory, making us chase them and trying to trap us. It doesn't look like the Order of Pendragon though too much about all the consequences that will come from this."

"They are desperate." Luvia repeated. 'And you must have seen angels. At least you know someone who did.' That she kept quiet for the sake of their alliance. "How would you feel if you knew that God wasn't there to guide you." The notion looked alien for the two Exorcists but she decided to dive in that further. "You have angels delivering His orders, you have sacred gears that confirm His existence, what would you do if you had nothing of that."

"But we do. And they have Excalibur." Xenovia raised her sword. "This is the proof of their king's existence. They should be working to prepare for him, growing strong instead of weak. Not working with criminals like that madman."

A small laugh escapes Luvia's lips before she covers them with her hand. "Pardon but I don't think the Church can say much on that matter. It has a bloody history after all."

"Not all of the Church follows God's Will." Irina mentioned with a pout.

"Heretics." Xenovia added.

"But- but, that doesn't excuse anyone. Much less those working with criminals." Irina spoke quickly before her partner could add anything else. "By the way Luvia-san, about that money-"

"Don't worry about it. They weren't worth much as hostages anyway." Luvia brushed the chestnut haired Exorcist off. "It is not like an organization ready to work with those the likes of a serial killer would care about the elderly."

"That wasn't- Never mind." Irina also couldn't alienate their only ally in the city as Luvia's presence already was enough to disrupt many of their enemies' plans. 'I can ask her to release the other prisoners later.'

But Luvia knew exactly what Irina wanted to ask, it was why she revealed those intentions in the first place. With her focus on the prisoners Luvia had, the magus knew that her distractions were working perfectly to mask her intentions from at least one of the Exorcists.

The main problem was the other. 'If Quarta keeps her guard up around me I will have no chance to claim the Excaliburs.'

Sure she could and probably would ransom the prisoners, not reason to waste an opportunity when there was profit to be made. But that was only so the Exorcists could trust, if not her, then her reasons for working with them. Something that was proving to be extremely difficult with Xenovia as the blue haired Exorcist began to move where her cape laid on the ground.

"The Goliath stomped on it a couple of times when he was trying to get you." Irina lamented when her partner revealed the torn apart mantle that was barely rags at that point. "Sorry."

"Griselda is going to have my hide." Xenovia commented with a shiver. "That was the fourth one this month! The fourth one!"

It took a considerable amount of time and resources for the Church to provide their warriors with the best equipment and if Irina had a reputation of spending money carelessly then Xenovia had one of losing or damaging her equipment.

Like the mantles which carried lots of blessings and powers which needed to be applied to new ones every time she lost one.

"Don't be upset. It will all be worth it once we get the Fragments back." Irina tried to cheer up her partner who nodded in agreement. Xenovia would be fine while she had a good reason for her mistakes.

That interaction didn't help Luvia and she was on a timetable at this point. She needed something to make Xenovia trust her and so she tried to go back to the previous topic. "Out of curiosity; if he wasn't our enemy would you be interested in someone like Sir Gaheris?" Both girls look back to the blonde, one with confusion and the other with a blush. "I can understand he is our enemy now and what he did was wrong but maybe in other circumstances…"

"No. I think I wouldn't." Xenovia draws her sword to finish destroying her mantle to not let it fall in the wrong hands.

"Why? Isn't he your type?" Luvia approached while silently lamenting that she couldn't get a sample from the cape for future study. 'Come on, give me something to work with.'

"... Never really thought about that." Xenovia replied pensively.

"She never really thought about romance despite how much Sister Griselda wanted her to 'enjoy her youth while she could'." Irina remembered the older woman ordering her charge to go out and do something other than training once or twice.

"Good time to start as any since we will need to go back to the city." Luvia pointed out, hoping the conversation would benefit her. "Is it just because of the company he kept or…"

"That and his lack of spine." Xenovia throwed Gaheris a small glare as his predecessor tried to console the knight. "If he really saw what his comrades were doing as wrong, why didn't he stop them? He is a coward ready to sell his principles for the easy route."

Luvia was about to comment something else but Irina stopped her. "It isn't weird for the Church to have dissidents like that. People who want to contradict God and start the War again or to purge every supernatural entity of the world, even the most harmless." The way Irina was looking at her showed that magicians were also on that list. "We fought one of those once. He was a classmate." Surprise colored the magician's expression and the more jovial sobering look made clear what was the result. "He was a good person once but when he started to harm people for money using the Lord's name… it was only a matter of time before someone else got him."

"We did it swiftly, there was no pain." Xenovia spoke more for her partner's benefit rather than herself.

Deciding that the topic was getting too dark for her tastes and wasn't the kind to give her an opportunity, Luvia decided to ask something she was legitimately curious about. "So what is the kind of man for you Quarta-san?"

"Aren't you a bit too interested in that topic?" Xenovia observed but Luvia gestured to a blushing Irina.

"I am not the only one."

With her partner doing nothing but blushing at the subject, Xenovia decided to answer. "Someone strong but not arrogant. A man who is reliable, who doesn't surrender because things are tough." She reflected for a moment before nodding. "Yes, that would be it; a strong man with moral fiber and steadfast determination. That sounds like a good father for my children."

"Oh my!" Irina closed her mouth in surprise at such a declaration.

Luvia could feel her sweat drop. "Aren't you skipping a couple of steps?"

"If you met someone that is your ideal partner shouldn't you search to secure him at your side with children?" Xenovia's honest confusion didn't surprise Irina and even Luvia couldn't really disagree with her even if it was more blunt than she expected. "Yes. A good man with a steadfast personality. That would be my ideal man."

Chuckling a little, Luvia found herself having fun. "Then it looks like you like the thought of a simple man. The same kind of man I learned to appreciate in a life away from politics."

"A 'simple man'? But I want someone strong." Luvia could feel that Xenovia was close to agreeing with her.

"'Simple' doesn't mean weak, it just means someone that you can count on and that wouldn't retreat if they were challenged but not look for unnecessary fights. Someone that would be happy with their own work and not seek things out of envy or malice." The blonde approached the Exorcist and noticed how the blue haired girl looked calmer with her around for the first time. 'I did it.' She didn't bother hold back a smile. "A hard worker but kind, a gentle person but ready to fight for what he believes. A simple man."

Xenovia nodded her agreement. "Yes, I would like that. A simple man." She advanced towards the car and Luvia watched as Irina began to ask more questions.

An elbow on a knight's side marked the end of a fight as Shirou watched the man fall down unconscious as the steel of his armor couldn't protect him against the redhead's attack or his impact against a wall. "You are getting better at using Touki. Almost lasted a full minute this time."

Shirou turns to Yoruichi in her cat form, watching the whole event atop of a turn off machine. "Having fun?" He knew he wasn't. At least he could use the knights for training since they weren't actually a threat.

"Ah you know, slow day, nothing on TV." The black cat jumped to the side to avoid an armored figure falling where she was courtesy of being thrown by Liz. "Watching you plumel those guys lost the novelty a few hours ago."

"You know you could help." Rin pointed out as she looked around, noticing that there were no more enemy combatants standing. "Instead of complaining you could go around and look for the Excalburs."

"Did that while you were fighting, they are not here. Again. This is just boring." Yoruichi mentioned as she looked around the place. "Magic circle is in the center of the factory by the way."

Rin refused to comment on the yokai's usefulness and looked at Shirou with confusion. "Why is this place empty on the weekend? I thought that places like this worked 24 hours."

Shirou just shrugged but Liz replied. "Found a pamphlet. They are on vacation." She offered the paper to Shirou who read it with a smile.

"Well apparently they all aren't here because this factory was doing so well that the whole place took a retreat of 15 days starting last week." The redhead looked around and noticed that most of the equipment was automatic. "Most of the space is to build cars but with this many robots they may not have that many employees."

"But isn't it bad for a factory this big to stop working for so long?" Rin didn't know much about technology but she saw a business problem and wanted a reason why a whole production line wasn't making money.

"Maybe because this is just a branch or business is just that good for them. Not only this place was well built but with the support of the ley line it isn't far fetched to believe they are doing so well to not care for a break or two." Yoruichi had taken a good look around the place so she knew what she was talking about. "Also this summer is shaping up to be a pleasant one."

"But give vacation to a whole factory?" Rin knew the power of a ley line but didn't believe what Yoruichi was implying.

The nekomata just shrugged. "Fuyuki's ley line is just that good. 'Success gives way to more success' or something like that."

The place was full of machinery that could be dangerous and turned on with the flip of a switch. A wrong or careless move and these machines could end up piercing someone, breaking their arms or even burning them with sparks full of heat. Even with the power down and the empty factory the place could be a hazard if people weren't careful.

The Order of Pendragon didn't care much when they made this place their hideout, even if they kept the equipment off for the most part. They jumped around, hid where they could and attacked the group from everywhere only to fail.

"I hope we didn't break anything. It would be hard to explain to the workers when they get back on Monday… is this Monday right?" Shirou double checks to be sure. "Yep."

"Don't we have more important things to worry about? Like the fact that some of the most dangerous Holy Swords on the planet are still missing in our city and we have no clue on how to find them?" Rin sat down on a powered down treadmill with a frown. "We must have hit a dozen bases by now and found nothing. Not even a whiff where they may be."

"I already told you my nose doesn't work like that." Shirou replied with a small glare before letting out a sigh. "But you are right. We found nothing so far except more people trying to stop us."

"Tired." Liz commented as she sat down with a frown. "Hungry."

"Maybe you guys should get some rest while I go around town. I can cover more ground by myself." Yoruichi suggested as she was the one most rested of the group.

"No way. You are the most vulnerable of all of us against the Fragments." Shirou protested while glaring at some of their defeated opponents. "We just have to grab something to eat and keep looking. Sooner or later they will run out of places to hide."

"This is as far as any of you go!" A loud voice has the quartet from Kuoh turn towards the man marching inside the factory covered in black armor, as dark as the night, with a long blue cape connected to his shoulders.

Immediately Shirou used Structural Analysis as the different armor and attitude from the tall man, as tall as Beowulf if Shirou was measuring him correctly, approached confidently with a long sword on his belt.

The armor was made from steel enchanted and amplified with magic spells, it wasn't the best of its kind Shirou ever saw but it was a clear step above from the foot soldiers of the Order of Pendragon.

And it was made for the man before him, the chestplate fitted him perfectly. The shoulder pads connected with it were not only big but had horns which made being tackled by him extremely dangerous. The gauntlets not only protected his arms but had claws and special knuckles if the owner ever decided to get personal with his opposition. The boots the man hand covered the man's feet until his knees while his waist was covered with a thick metal plate.

But what caught everyone's attention was the helmet; It looked like a wyvern's head with long horns that covered the man's face completely while leaving an opening over his eyes in the shape of a 'v'.

Shirou found the name of the armor makers, the spells covering every inch of it, but failed to get a name for the new arrival until the man drew his huge double edge sword.

"None of you look like Exorcists or devils but that doesn't matter!" The black knight pointed his sword at them with clear aggression, making everyone else get on guard.

Just by looking at his armor and the kind of presence the newcomer was making it was clear he was unlike any other opponent they had that day.

"You are enemies of the Order of Pendragon who are disrupting our operations!" He pointed the sword at the group with a single arm. "As Sir Agravain, I shall not let those slights go unpunished!"

"Finally someone important." Rin observed with a smile that Shirou couldn't share.

"Rin he is-"

"One of the bosses of the Order of Pendragon. Can guess by the name that he is a top dog." She chuckled as she picked up a gem from an earring. "That means he has information and I am going to make him talk."

"Is that so?" The man sounded irritated. "You think that a child wet behind her ears can defeat me. The shame would kill me before I ever consider saying anything."

"Oh believe me 'Sir Agravain', I haven't been a child for quite some time." Rin replied proudly. "And you will talk."

Shirou shook his head at the banter and collected one of the swords at his side "Rin, his armor-"

"Clearly resistant to magic. Even I can see that, Emiya." At her side Liz also got ready for a fight as Yoruichi remained sitting beneath a metal claw with the goal of not attracting attention. "Doesn't matter, it just makes him a tougher nut to crack. This won't take too long."

Shirou wanted to say something else, maybe try to negotiate with the man before things started. "Look, we already beat at least a hundred other knights today. Not only that but you guys are invading Gremory territory. Can't we just talk about this?"

"So you are with the devils? That is irrelevant. You should have stayed away from things that don't involve you." The knight replied with dismissal.

The redhead wanted to facepalm at those words. "You are in our city. I at least feel pretty involved."

"Looks like he doesn't want to talk~" Rin pointed out. "Let's just get this over with."

"Down girl." Yoruichi commented from the side but the twin tailed magus waved her off. "But I agree with her."

Shirou did too but he had to try. "You brought dangerous weapons to this territory. Surrender it and no one else needs to get hurt."

"Are you asking me to betray my Order? To surrender the weapon of our king?" Agravain's tone of voice made Shirou realize immediately that he was trying the wrong approach. "Forget it! None of you shall be in the way of his majesty's return!"

Before anything else could be said Rin sent a spell in the knight's direction but Agravain didn't bother to curse or comment about the sudden attack, he just charged at it and based it to the side.

Just as Rin planned as the black energy involved the knight, making him stumble back a few steps before holding himself with a hand close to a robot at his side. "Tohsaka!"

"Ah stop complaining. It is just a small curse." His glare was enough to make Rin conscious of her actions. "He wasn't going to listen anyway. Let's just disarm him and get where the Excaliburs are to be done with the whole thing. He probably won't talk either but-"

"His armor can nullify curse magic." Shirou barely finished speaking as Agravain recovered, having fallen down from the sudden shock of the attack that tingled his body for a second rather than the attack itself, with a growl on his throat looking perfectly fine.

"Magicians. I hate fighting magicians." Now that he knew his armor would work against at least one of them, he charged again and once more Rin tried to shoot him down with a curse but this time he didn't stop.

"Okay, this is going to be a little harder than I thought." Rin admitted as the knight got closer but she already had a spell on her open palm. "But then again, we can stop holding back." She sent it out and Agravain saw the ominous red light as a warning before jumping to the side, his armor protecting him from the hit as an explosion shaked the factory. "We will have to apologize to the factory owners."

If it wasn't in a combat situation Shirou would have facepalmed for the second time but he didn't have time to think about it as Leysritt wordlessly took her chance to advance. Soon the homunculus was close enough that Agravain took his opportunity to deal with the most immediate threat and tried to cut her down only for her to hold his arm in place before his sword could touch her, surprising the knight.

"Surrender." It was a demand and an order rolled into one but the black knight just punched her with his free hand noting how she barely reacted to the hit.

Not liking to repeat herself Leysritt began to tighten her grip on his arm with the intent of breaking it. The armor made it harder but when the knight saw the first dent appear he realized that she wasn't human and that he couldn't win in a contest of strength. So he let go of his sword, fully expecting her to go for it as she did when she began to move one of her hands.

Only for him to kick her away as a distraction and recover it mid drop for another swing which she evaded with a small jump back, fully letting go of him. While he saw the white haired maiden retreating, Agravain was also aware that Shirou and Rin had surrounded him by the sides and were ready to attack.

"We don't want to hurt anyone. Your companions are alive and you can still leave town." Shirou raised his borrowed sword with a frown. "But if you insist on fighting then we won't hold back anymore."

With the three surrounding him and estimating that the trio was stronger than they appear, Agravain prepared to go all out himself.

"On that we agree." Agravain replied with an ominous dark green glow on his left hand that the black knight raised high before slamming it on the ground. "This is going to be your grave! Mark Of Cain!"

A pulse of energy surrounded the area, confusing the trio and Yoruichi watching from the sideline before some of the equipment around Agravain and the floor itself began to melt.

"Jump!" Liz was the first to signal her fear, the area around them all losing its consistency and gathering in a puddle of something resembling mud as their group ran away from whatever Agravain had activated.

When she saw the machines themselves becoming mud, Rin was sure of one thing. "That isn't a spell.." She grit her teeth as some conclusions pop on her mind. Concerning conclusions. "Noble Phantasm?"

"Sacred gear." Shirou said back with a frown as Agravain got up to his full weight as they could see the dark green glow emanating from it.

"Don't think of myself as an easy prey or think that the soldiers of the Order of Pendragon compare to its true knights!" Standing in the center of the mud he created, the glow still melting the floor and machines alike, Agravain looked even more menacing. "As a knight I shall not be defeated! For my king! For King Arthur!" From behind the helmet they could see the green glow behind Agravain's eyes as things stopped melting. "I shall bring you all to a melted world where you shall be drowned under my power!"

Shirou discarded his borrowed sword and traced his bow. "Things just got more complicated."

…..

If anyone feels that the Order of Pendragon sounds desperate you are right, they are. At this point they are on their last legs, mostly due to age and negligence as the leaders through the years failed to keep it up with the times.

Besides that the Four Great Knights have some themes going with them and I will tell you guys some; first is color, two of them have to do with the original knights while the other two were for other reasons which gives us their sacred gears. Speaking of which, all four of them have sacred gears based on Biblical stories.

Why? Because why not? Seriously if God was going to create homages to a lot of stuff why not his biggest hits… or failures in Cain's case? Goliath's was more a question of symmetry, there is a servant David but nothing on Goliath so why not a sacred gear.

Nothing really strong but something because while I was researching the guy to make it I noticed that the only thing he had going for him was his size and the fact he was one shot by David, with a rock. Okay that may be a bit cruel since God's favor and all that but that is all the guy has.

Two of the others are still going to show up but the Mark of Cain's ability can be guessed if someone wants to try. Should I give a tip about the other two? I hate spoilers but a tip would be nice to see if someone guesses.

Okay let's try this, the two unknown sacred gears are going to have their names revealed in the next chapter. Both of them had Dreamworks animated movies made by their 'homaged'.

Another tip, last one, is that one is good for one person while the other is excellent in a group.

Until next time.