Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity
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53- Noble Obligations
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It was the middle of the morning when all members of Shirou's household and Rias' Peerage got together for their departure to the Underworld. Originally the redhead expected them to teleport, much like when he went to watch the Rating Game against Riser. There would be none of it as his lover explained that previously he was a guest to an event.
Now he was entering for the first time in the Underworld in a more official capacity and he wasn't the only one. So Shirou, Xenovia, Liz, Issei, Asia and Luvia were all to follow the proper law in this conjecture. Proper procedures involved some normal things like making a passport and the more experienced devils assured them that it would be simple.
Once they entered a train station that none of the city inhabitants knew about, Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me that the Underworld is literally below ground." He was dressed in a white shirt and blue jacket with jeans.
"Isn't that how it goes? Hell is down, Heaven is up?" Issei asked with a red sleeveless shirt, carrying his and Asia's luggage.
"That makes no sense." Xenovia commented with a blue top that showed her sports bra and shorts. Durandal was on the guitar case she was carrying. "I flew on airplanes plenty of times and I never saw Heaven once. Griselda always said there were special portals to get there."
Chuckling from the side, Akeno, who wore tight white jeans, a black orange top with short sleeves to match her ribbon, explained. "Same thing with the Underworld. This is a special train station belonging to the government to take us there." She pointed to the tunnel, incentivising the three to lean forward to look. " That tunnel has a special magic circle that is directly connected with tracks in Gremory territory."
"But why? Couldn't they just teleport us to a checkpoint or something?" Shirou asked with interest, which was mirrored by the others.
"If the cities were open to teleportation, sure." Kiba had a gray shirt with a black buttoned up undershirt. He was wearing social pants and shoes unlike the rest who had sneakers. "There are specific magic circles for movement between the cities and they are only used on special occasions for safety."
"Because they have super boundary fields, right?" Issei asked after some thought. "Why again?"
"Night and day cycles." Kiba replied.
"I see, I see." The Red Dragon Emperor nodded in what looked like a wise manner. Except his face showed his confusion. "But isn't Buchou important?"
Akeno giggled at the Pawn's curiosity. "Oh she does have permission but the first time anyone enters the Underworld it has to be by train."
Issei could tell she was avoiding giving him a straight answer. "Akeno-san, why?"
"Security." Koneko said between licks on her popsicle. "Checking our magic signals and registering them." She was dressed in an all white with light coat, a beret on her head and a skirt.
"Exactly." Rias, who had a long red skirt, wine top with short sleeves that showed a little cleavage, added as she stepped forward with everybody's passports in hand. She was using black heels and unlike the others her clothes were much more formal. "Checking up new visitors like this guarantees that if any of you makes a magic circle for teleportation you can be identified and persecuted." She distributed the passports.
Shirou studied his lover's clothes for the third time that morning. "Are you sure we all shouldn't be dressing more… formally?" His clothes were good but Rias looked ready to go to a high society event.
Before the pureblood devil could reply, one of her Rooks did so first. "Don't worry, Shero. There are some things only a noble can do." Luvia was in her favorite blue and white dress with sleeves and gloves. Massaging Shirou's arm, she continued. "And as a Heiress of the Gremory, Buchou has duties to fulfill. I imagine our arrival was announced?"
"Yes, it was." Rias gave her newest Piece a grin. A box from her peripherals began to shake a little and she approached to tap it. "Don't worry, Gasper. I just need to look pretty and be seen a little. You all will be safe inside the carriage."
"Thank you, Buchou." The little Bishop's eyes appeared. "But why do you need to look pretty? You are always pretty."
"Why, thank you." Then Rias realized what the problem was. "Oh, this is the first time you are returning to the Underworld properly despite having been there before." Now that his sacred gear was tamed, Gasper didn't need special treatment anymore. "Well, answering your question, and everyone else who was asking, as the Heiress of Gremory I have a certain status that I need to maintain."
"You are going to avoid this for as long as you can to surprise us, won't you?" Shirou asked with a raised eyebrow and his lover just giggled. "I knew it."
"If you think about it for a moment, it isn't hard to guess what her status is." Medusa, dressed on her white and purple dress with many ribbons, commented while flipping the page of her book. "A king who calls himself king isn't one while the real article just needs to demonstrate their grandiosity on the right time to inspire loyalty and devotion."
Kiba looked at the title of the book and frowned. "I don't think you are quoting this one."
"The sentiment is still valid." Medusa commented with a smile. "What I mean to say, regardless, is that I approve of Rias' actions. An idol needs to present their best to the crowd."
Akeno giggled as Rias pouted. "But I am not an idol."
"I don't know, Buchou~" The Queen was happy with the glare she received, just smiling more. "Is it or isn't the duty of a noble to put their best face to reassure their subjects? In that, Medusa is 100% correct."
"Naturally." The goddess proudly adjusted her hair which Irisviel fixed with great care early in the day. The woman and her bodyguard had departed to the airport after leaving them in the secret train station. However that did little to dissuade a persistent thought. "You know it is safe to leave the box, right? We are going to Gremory territory, the center of their power. Nobody is going to hurt you, Gasper."
"She has a point!" Xenovia shouted, launching herself towards the box only for the devil to cleanly evade her. Instead of showing frustration, the bluehead laughed and charged again. "Get back here, Gasper~"
"Nooo." A cat and mouse chase occurred as the swordswoman jumped and raced to grab the box only for the boy to dodge in any way possible that didn't reveal his face. "Leave me alone!"
"Only when I get the box~" Xenovia's speed rose as the chase kept going.
After a while Akeno felt comfortable enough to comment "Gasper-kun is getting really good at running with the box."
Rias immediately began to massage the bridge of her nose while throwing a small glare at Shirou who threw his hands up in surrender. "Hey, you can't blame me for that."
"You gave him a game where a spy does insane stuff with a box."
"He asked for a recommendation, of course I was going to recommend my favorite." Yet he crossed his arms with some indignation. "Besides, you can't blame the game for it. Gasper just refuses to leave the box."
The former dhampir then dodged to the side, forcing Xenovia to crash into a wall. She wasn't hurt and was smiling all the way as the small blond raced towards his friends, stopping behind his King.
"The box, it is confort, it is safe. While here, I am the box."
Another glare from Rias had Shirou sweat dropping. "Okay, maybe it is a little of the game's fault."
"Humhum." Rias crouched and touched the box to stop Gasper from moving as Xenovia approached. "Okay, okay. You guys had your fun but the train is about to arrive."
"Is it late or something?" Issei's question made Luvia scoff.
"Of course not, you fool. The train belongs to the Gremory and our departure was expected. We are just waiting because Buchou needed to have our documentation sorted."
"Indeed and it took less time than I expected." Admitted Rias with a frown. "And you don't need to call Ise a fool Luvia. He just asked a question."
Leaning a little further close to the tracks was Asia who was trying to look inside the tunnel to see the train's lights. She was dressed in a green conservative top and long skirt that reached her heels and had a huge white bag to the side. The former nun began to lose her balance and was about to fall only for a hand to seize her shoulder.
"Careful."
"Sorry, Liz-sensei." The maid nodded, dressed in a jacket with a white marble colored top underneath and pants.
"No problem." Liz was happy to help as she took a seat on a bench close to a wall and Asia returned to look for the train.
"Rias, shouldn't Sona be with us? Or does the Sitri have their own train?" Shirou asked a question that was nagging him since they arrived and they didn't see their school mates.
"Kaichou left yesterday while we were enjoying our day at the beach. She refuses to be second to Rias on anything."
"Don't exaggerate, Akeno." However Rias couldn't really disagree as her oldest friend departed the moment all her affairs in Fuyuki were settled. "I tried to convince her to wait so we all could go together but she said that the sooner we learned our siblings' plans the better."
"But the day they gave wasn't until today?" Rias nodded with a smile that had Shirou chuckling. "What are the odds of Serafall having told her by now?"
"Extremely high." Quickly answered Kiba.
"Absurd." Koneko added, finishing her popsicle.
Luvia placed her hands on her waist and shook her head. "Don't underestimate the Leviathan. Perhaps she held back for due consideration."
"But we don't even know what it is, Luvia."
"That is why I am pointing that out, Akeno. Whatever it is, it involved two of the Pillars Heiresses. What is to say it doesn't involve more?" Already the mind honed for the Clocktower approached devil's politics with the same effort.
"I don't think Serafall-sama would 'cheat' if it was bad." If there was something to cheat, Kiba wasn't sure.
Instead of denying immediately, Luvia turned and raised a finger like a teacher in a lesson. "Perhaps but we can't forget that lady Sitri- I mean, Kaichou, will want to know what they are planning and that they gave us the same time limit to return to the Underworld." She turned back to Rias and nodded in respect. "While I am not saying it is something competitive or even a secret of any sort, I have no doubt both of your siblings want you two in equal ground for whatever it is."
"Makes sense, I suppose." Rias acknowledged with a smile. "But it is useless to speculate. We will know when we get there."
"Oh! Oh! I can see the train!" Asia called and everybody approached while standing behind the yellow line, Issei gently coaching the Bishop back as their transport arrived.
"It's a bullet train." Observed Shirou with surprise.
"Of course it is." Akeno commented while embracing him from behind. Her breath in his ear almost made him shiver. "The entrance of the Underworld is quite far inside the Earth and has many barriers on the way. If we go with anything slower it can take up to a month to get there." She made sure her mouth was really closed. "Then there is also the path throughout the Gremory territory for tourists, a way to show off. Even with a fast train, we will have time to enjoy the view."
Watching Shirou fighting to not squirm, Rias giggled and pulled her Queen back a little. "You forgot to mention that the exit point is also underground." Akeno jumped back with a pout as Gremory was unaffected. It just made the pureblood giggle more. "Now come on, they are waiting for us."
Just as she said that the doors of the bullet train began to open from two of its six cars counting the front. Already a full staff was ready to serve with the conductor himself taking the lead.
He looked young but that didn't mean much to devils and his red uniform was clean as he took off his hat and lowered his head in front of Rias. "Welcome back, lady Gremory. We missed you at the beginning of the year." He offered a hand and the redhead took it.
When the man kissed her hand, Rias replied politely. "Filac, it is good to see you two. Apologies I was a no show earlier but I was having some… disagreements with my parents."
"But they are solved, yes? That is great news." Filac stood and placed his hat back, turning to look around. "I see many new arrivals this year so you aren't just taking the scenic route. Is your peerage complete, lady Rias?"
"No, some of them are my magician and his entourage." Rias stepped back before pulling her lover to the front proudly. "This is Emiya Shirou, I hope you treat him with as much respect as you would me." She was purposely blocking Medusa from sight.
Despite her status being somewhat known it wasn't a good idea that too many people were aware of the goddess' presence. It wasn't mistrust that stopped her as she knew all the train's staff, they were all Filac's Peerage, but some of them had loose lips and with Khaos Brigade around they weren't taking chances.
"Of course. It is an honor to meet any ally of the Gremory." The man lowered his head respectfully. "Welcome to all of you who never embarked on our humble train. Don't worry, the Speedwagon's crew will take care of any needs and assure you a great trip."
"""""We are glad to have you!"""" All staff said in sync and many of them began to move to collect their luggage while others escorted the group inside.
While they were about to step inside, Issei couldn't help but ask. "Buchou… were you the one who named the train?" She looked back and just smiled while Shirou laughed with endearment.
The bullet train, affectionately called Speedwagon, looked like any modern bullet train that could be found in Japan. Not strange since the entrance was in Fuyuki, it made sense for the parts to be from the area. Painted in shades of red, it had only six cars with huge spacious windows.
Of the six cars, 2 were for the crew to work on and drive the vehicle while having space to stand in position or work in the kitchen of the third car. Because it was a luxury train it had one of those, stocked and ready to attend any of the VIPs that could show up.
The fourth cart was where they were about to embark and was one of the finest spaces some of them had ever seen.
"Woah, this place is huge." Xenovia knew there was magic that could mess with space but that wasn't it. While some magic was involved, the place was just built efficiently. "As expected of the Gremory." She commented while opening the guitar case, removing Durandal and giving the empty case to one of the crew. "Can we…"
"Help yourselves out." Rias gave the go that some were waiting for.
Their car was equipped with two tables with eight chairs around them and space for more. One was in the front, just behind some of the most comfortable chairs some ever saw, sets of four on each side with TVs in front of each, with cup holdings, pillows and anything they could ever want.
Didn't take a second for Xenovia, Issei, Asia and Koneko to rush ahead to place their luggage and enjoy their seats as the rest mingled in the middle. On the center of the wagon there were similar chairs but with no TVs and instead they were turned to each other, creating semi circles.
If one didn't use the tables for conversation then those circles were an excellent alternative while giving everybody space for their feet. Above their heads there were chandeliers with lamps that were locked in place by magic so they wouldn't shake no matter how fast the train went.
Those spells all around the train would make the trip comfortable to the point even someone who gets sick in transportations would find it easier there. Zeoticus wanted to earn his reputation as a great host with his hotels and anywhere else that belonged to him just as he had at his home.
In the back there was the second table and just beside it there was a mini bar with a mini fridge and some bottles. There was expensive wine and beverages that really belonged in a 5 star hotel, even with a barman with a mustache who was in position to serve anything from alcohol to juice. He gave a friendly smile and did a trick with a cup that impressed everyone else, even getting applause as he filled it with champagne.
"Any takers?" He asked with a smooth tone.
"I will if you don't mind." Despite looking young Medusa was not so she didn't hesitate in taking the cup and savoring the vintage. "Excellent."
"Just the best to the Gremory's guests."
While the group relaxed the crew got to work as they picked any luggage and transported it to the fifth car where they would remain. There wasn't anything special, just a place to put the bags in while keeping them organized for each passenger.
The last wagon was for any normal passengers that didn't qualify as VIP by the owner of the train. As it was in Gremory lands it belonged to them but any devil with a similar set up used in their territories. The idea was that since the Underworld demanded special clearance for teleportation, the trains could work on the ins and outs for their tourists.
Except only the nobility had access to it so only one wagon served to the general public who still had no access to such travels as of yet. It was a hope, a plan for the future where devils opened their borders a little once the danger was lesser and traveling was safer.
Kuoh's Peace Treaty was the first step towards that future so that wagon was recently installed but that wasn't known for the passengers as plans were still in motion to secure the peace and deal with the threats to come.
But Sirzechs was first a Gremory and his hope was shared by his family, his parents didn't hesitate to expand their train to one day accommodate more people who wished to visit Earth. Or those from there who would visit the Underworld at their own peril.
Either way the ORC group had no idea about it. "Thiiiis chaaaair iiiis amazing." Issei had just discovered how to engage the massage setting and he was loving it.
"Reaaaaly coooomfy." Asia agreed as she couldn't stop shaking.
"Suuuuper." Xenovia held Durandal in her lap as her muscles relaxed.
In the middle of the wagon, a conversation was taking place. "About what we were talking about before…" Shirou started but didn't know how to finish.
Rias waved his concerns away. "Don't worry~ You guys don't have to do anything. I just have to wave a little in the carriage and everything will be fine."
"Buchou is a celebrity in the Underworld. Not different from an idol-"
"Kiba, do you want me to bend you on my knee? Because you could use some spanking."
"Oh my~" Akeno giggled and turned to Shirou. "It is a way for the nobility to stay stable and in power." She relaxed her back, stretching in a way to emphasize her breasts. The redhead was watching but not reacting. "Since there was a good influx of reincarnated devils and many of them already started families over the last century, the rule of blood isn't as important as it used to be. Old loyalty can't keep the Pillars up forever."
Nodding her agreement, Rias allowed train speakers to announce their departure before speaking. "The pillars of the Pillars are gone, the loyalty to Lucifer died with him and Goetia is more or less a myth. Without those the younger generation of devils has no reason to not demand change." Which was mostly what her brother had to deal with. "However, Pillars control the government and have been good, for the most part, as a body of laws. There are plenty who are grateful, who are loyal, that destabilizing them would start another civil war. So we adapted in ways that the new devils could see us as leaders, not just hear about it."
Remembering something, Shirou chuckled. "Let me guess, Serafall's attempts of turning Sona into a magical girl have something to do with that?"
The other devils followed his chuckle before Rias proceeded. "Well, that was how Serafall cemented her popularity; power to rule the old devils, skill in negotiation to take care of her duties and as a magical girl the admiration of the younger generation."
"She is still far from an ideal idol." Medusa put her book down, interested in the conversation. "But I suppose I can't blame her since she was the first of her lot, an impressive accomplishment despite her circumstances." Her eyes focused on Rias, studying her dress and closely. "And what type of idol are you, Rias Gremory?"
"Now, now." Shirou leaned forward to calm the goddess. "Didn't you hear her? She is just playing her part to calm down the masses."
"Of course I heard, my protector. That is no excuse for her to not do her best." Suddenly the pureblood devil felt a sense of dread as the former Gorgon studied her. "Do you sing? Do you dance? Can you recite any plays? Why do you have your status?"
"I just… stand there and look pretty?"
"That is not enough." Medusa shot it down firmly. "A true idol must have an array of skills that can entertain the masses. You must show the value of your kingship with them."
"Since when 'idol' and 'king' are the same thing?" Kiba couldn't help but ask.
"Since always. The moment a king stops being admired there is only failure to come. Human History proves that." Her gaze grew firmer and Rias felt a pang of fear. "So, what are you presenting to your people to enrich their lives?"
Then the fear vanished as the question made her more confident. "Thanks to Shiro's efforts and my… cutthroat dealing with the Phenex, I have secured many riches and business to our territory." Rias said proudly and confidently, Medusa raising an eyebrow. "I took their fortunes and made sure it all worked in proll of my Clan's interests. That means jobs, better living conditions and opportunities to all who follow the Gremory. That is how I enrich their lives, by making them richer."
"And looking pretty." Akeno just couldn't help herself and Luvia almost choked on her water.
A raised eyebrow followed by a nod from the purple haired goddess showed her approval. "A new type of idol, one who works with both image and treasures. I suppose it is a benefit of the modern world." Then her eyes turned sharp again. "But I hope you are not thinking that just a dress is enough to present yourself to your admirers."
"Of course not. Just wanted to wait a while before putting on some makeup and jewelry to show my best traits." From a magic circle Rias called a box with collars and earrings. "What do you think?"
Medusa didn't hesitate to give a thumbs up. "They bring out your eyes like your dress accentuates your hair. Keep going like this and you will be a true idol."
Smiles and giggles had Rias blushing and covering her face as despite it being her duty to present a strong front she had no interest in the spotlight. In reality she didn't mind it but there was nothing for her to gain from it, everything she needed was already with her; friends and loved ones she could count on.
It was shown once again when Shirou massaged her back. "Do you need me to participate?" Some eyed him in confusion. Rias just smiled as Medusa nodded. "Since it was my invention that placed you in the spotlight, nothing more fair, I suppose."
"Perhaps if you sounded like you wanted to." Rias giggled at her lover's embarrassed face.
"Can't lie, remember." He replied with a shrug. "But if you need to-"
"Then I would have to bring my whole peerage in a stage, all of them presentable before as many people show up because of the news I am returning." She pointed at a certain box. "You certainly aren't suggesting throwing Gasper out there with potentially hundreds of strangers, do you?"
"Thank you again, Buchou." Gasper was shaking inside the box at the very thought.
Rias shook her head and patted the box. "No problem but Gasper… I expect you to leave the box to greet my parents, okay? Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise."
"No problem. I promise to leave when we get there."
"I am glad." She looked back at her magician. "Any more questions."
"Don't worry, Shero. That is the best decision to not step on any toes while also preserving your identity. For all of us really since it is too early for us to be introduced to the general Underworld."
Tilting her head to her Rook, Rias added. "Unless of course you want to march there and introduce yourself formally, creator of EM, Mage of Swords, Magician of Gremory~" Every word was a stab on Shirou's back and she knew it.
While a main contributor to her success, Shirou was just a magician to devil nobility and presenting him without showing her peerage would be an insult to certain circles. Despite her willingness to go with her family's wishes, that would be the kind of publicity stunt that could damage their relationship.
Circles made by the Pillars, some who adapted and those who resisted, would fall on Gremory like a violent storm to tear them apart. Her wishes were tolerated even by those who despised her actions because Rias earned it with her power and skill. That tolerance can easily vanish if she goes too far.
Yes, Rias had acquired her freedom, she could leave the Underworld and never come back without guilt but that was going to put her Clan in jeopardy. They were her family and she loved them.
"If you say so…" Shirou didn't know every detail but he trusted his lover knew what she was talking about.
Rias sized his arm and rested her head on it. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. This is just a little more attention than I had when growing up and this time, I earned it, we all did." She noticed how proud Akeno and Kiba looked while Luvia hesitated. She touched the blonde's hand. "And your name will be known as well, in due time. Who knows, maybe whatever my family wants can be used as a platform to show the might of Edelfelt."
Because the King was going to see her Piece's dreams come true, something Luvia would forever appreciate. "Thank you, Buchou."
Leaning her face in her hand, Medusa started to wonder. "How long does it take for us to enter the Underworld?"
"Well~" Rias began.
"We are already in the Underworld~" Akeno finished as both of them looked outside, prompting the others to do the same.
The timing was almost perfect because soon enough they left the tunnel and the first view they had was of forest and mountains under a night sky. Every new member of the ORC left their seat to take a look at the view as the train slowed down slightly. This was their first time in the Underworld and there was no rush, Rias wanted them all to take the view.
To say it wasn't what most of them expected was an understanding. "Wasn't this place kinda like Hell?" Issei asked as he took the view in. "WIth lava and stuff."
"Most of it is like that but we need water too." Rias had already explained but could understand the confusion. Last time her younger Pieces were there they stayed in the castle alone and it was short. "A natural water source makes it easier to survive, magic ends up being used for other things. Then there was the matter of expansion. While most of the Underworld is a vision of hell, us Gremory made sure our territory was the best for any endeavor and is one of the leading Clans when it comes to food. The leading one in riches."
"Of course some of it was due to luck, but also good investments." Akeno chipped in and Rias nodded in agreement.
"There are no stars." Asia commented with some sadness while staring at the purple sky. "Are we-"
"No, despite the name 'Underworld' this is a whole separate dimension." Rias felt the need to remind her. "It is just… empty I suppose. There is no space and the world doesn't spin or anything."
"One of the many mysteries that no magician dares to try and comprehend." Luvia commented with a frown. She looked down, trying to not think about the implications if this was her home dimension. "But still, this is a lot of forest. Did you guys use spells to expand the area?"
Rias was happy to change the subject. "Terraforming was first done by devils and fortunately the natural life here is like us; attuned to darkness."
"I suppose some areas have sunlight for certain plants? And their own boundary field?"
"Exactly, a more recent development and one my Clan has nothing to do with since the sun makes devils sleepy." The Clan that started that was still considered insane but when other races began to make alliances and move in they got a neat profit.
Then again they were the ones with the Power of Time. It spoke a lot about the Agares Clan and was one of the reasons why their heiress could 'rub shoulders' with siblings of a Maou.
Akeno noticed the omission of some information and added. "We are already inside the boundary field by the way. It is night because it is invisible but once it is day then you all will see the lights turn on." She smiled at Rias pout, she wanted to surprise them. "Despite that, don't expect to see devils out and about in the middle of the day."
"Tiiiiime tooooo goooo toooo beeeeeeed." Koneko commented, still enjoying the chair.
"But when did we arrive?" Medusa asked, studying her mana curiously. "I didn't feel a thing. Did they already register our mana?"
"You can bet they did. Now if one of you breaks the law and manages to teleport they will know the Gremory invited you all." Rias informed the goddess with a smile. "While mana is how you present your identity in the Underworld, it is up to you to register more deeply for a longer stay. If you chose to, of course."
"Fair but I didn't feel the transition between dimensions." Medusa sounded distressed. She wondered if it was some failing on her part.
The sole Knight of Gremory shrugged as he never thought about it. "I think it is because they didn't want to bother us?"
"Exactly. The goal is to one day make travel between dimensions more accessible." Rias snapped her fingers in approval.
"So they made sure it wouldn't bother their guests." Shirou understood, also deducing it was an opportunity for the Gremory as not all Clans will have transportation.
An untapped tourism with Earth inhabitants traveling to the Underworld and vice versa, giving a steady margin of profit in the first years thanks to those that would make the trip from curiosity alone.
Then once travel had settled down, the Gremory also had their hotel chain to support it so it was a stable avenue of profit once things kept going.
Surely SIrzechs' parents approved of his plan and were trying to help but they didn't become one of the richest Clans, now the richest with the Phenex under their boot, by letting opportunities pass by.
After a few seconds admiring the landscape, Medusa's next inquiry came. "About these boundary fields, are they divided by territory or they cover the whole Underworld."
"There was no way to cover the whole world, most of it is unexplored." Rias then stopped to think. "They are managed by the main body of the government so there is no abuse but the Clans take care of maintenance, charging the magic circles, checking the ley lines. The average ones are weaker than Kuoh's by the way." Just to give an example.
Much like Earth, the Underworld also had its own mana and ley lines and in the beginning they were essential to help devils prosper on a savage landscape. It was also the reason why even after the old regime fell the old capital wasn't abandoned but repurposed because it was one of the strongest and most accessible ley lines.
All that was interesting to Medusa who hummed a little before deciding to research more later. "Are there any good libraries you can recommend?"
"Not really." She tried to sound dismissive and relaxed.
And once again Akeno saw her chance. "She is more of a rich kid with a lot of books in her house than most libraries. Most of which she never read. Even your collection back home pales to the accumulated knowledge on the Gremory Castle."
When both saw Medusa's eyes shining, both grew concerned that the goddess would never leave once they arrived.
"That castle?" Luvia asked with a finger on her chin. At a distance there was a huge castle with many towers and a lot of space around it. In that space there was a city, small but visible and it wasn't where they were going which she found odd. "Are we going to stop somewhere before going there?"
"The Gremory Village around the Castle is too small for a reception or a train station." Rias clarified. "So we are going to the capital of Gremory territory and from there we will go in a parade to the castle."
Shirou turned to his lover, surprised. "Weren't you just going to 'stand there and look pretty'? I thought it was just to wave a little and then we would get going."
"My parents insisted on a parade with escorts and everything to show everyone 'the Gremory who brought down the Phenex.'" She commented while making quotes, clearly not really liking the situation.
Which her oldest Pieces found funny. "Also to show off the Crimson Haired Ruin Princess." Kiba reminded his King who groaned. "Weren't you teasing Shirou-kun about his title~" Akeno sang in her ear and got a pout in response. "Not like the title is unearned."
"Happy about it actually, I love remembering how we put Riser in his place." Admitted Rias which had Akeno giggling. "But I just wished that my parents… they made it so awkward." Had she not had her hair done for the parade then she would have messed it up in frustration. "They demand that it is placed in every document I have to sign, my cousin sent me a picture of a poster of me with it in bold letters, they spread it around to any who wanna hear and just don't let it go."
Shirou gave Rias a hug, completely understanding her frustrations. "There, there."
While the pureblood devil brooded a little, everyone relaxed or admired the view. Some of them even managed to catch a glimpse of some form of bird with a huge beak flying or other creatures. The train had slowed down enough that it was clearly a tourist transportation instead of a practical vehicle.
However there was enjoyment on the ride and there was no rush as soon a new city showed up on the horizon, a much bigger city but not in the way most of them expected.
It was Xenovia who voiced her wonder first. "Those buildings are so tall."
Skyscrapers everywhere as far as it could be seen but they were odd compared to the ones in Fuyuki or anywhere on Earth. Every single floor had balconies the size of houses if not bigger growing smaller with each floor even if the top ones were still big.
Those with better vision could already see devils and griffins with riders going to one side or another even if the details were scarce. All they could make off was that people flew everywhere and landed in any place. Families and loners alike dominated the sky where on Earth it would have been birds and such.
The veteran devils were willing to let everybody else gasp at the site of the city until the intercom beeped. *Welcome to the capital of Gremory, Runeas.*
"Runeas…" Shirou had heard the name before, turning to a smiling Rias. "Isn't that the name of your ancestor? The First Gremory?"
Everyone else turned to the King who was amused. "Correct. It is tradition to name the capitals after our progenitors. The new capital is Lilith and Zekram lives in Zekram." By her chuckle there was a joke that even Akeno didn't understand.
"Buchou, if I may ask, how destroyed was the original capital that they had to move it in the first place?" Luvia could only imagine the hassle of such an event since it could generate new problems if done unnecessarily.
And wasn't disappointed when Rias replied. "My brother told me they tried to avoid destroying it but nobody had any hope of capturing it intact. When the Underworld Civil War ended they repurposed it into a center for Rating Games."
Those more politically aware knew the significance of such a move; the capital of the old regime was seized and destroyed but instead of abandoned it was turned into a symbol with many purposes.
By how Katerea acted they all knew the Evil Piece Initiative was seen in a negative light by the Old Satan Faction, turning their former center of power into the place where the new policy would be glorified.
Hearts and minds went a long way into affirming something like a government and symbols always had power. And it was a powerful message from the New Satan Faction that told everyone they were in control while giving the population a place to watch their success in the form of entertainment.
Finally the train arrived at the station with a boundary field rippling to receive it. Just before it went inside the passengers observed how hundreds of people were around the building with signs and banners. They all turned to Rias who just smiled confidently.
"Are you really just going to stand there and look pretty?" Shirou ended up asking with some concern.
"You will see." Then her face fell a little. "But I really would have kept the deal with the Phenex under the table if I knew people would love it that much."
"That would have been terrible." Luvia shook her head in pure denial as the train began to stop. "You are reassuring your subjects of your competency while giving them a better life. If human kings had the same success before even rising to the throne then monarchs would be more common back on Earth."
Before there was a reply the train stopped and someone wasted no time to barge in. "Rias-chan!" A boisterous girl's voice filled the wagon and caught everyone's attention.
Almost no one could hear or see her move but someone still reacted. "Souji-neechan!" The King was quickly enveloped in a hug by a young woman dressed in pink, a taisho style kimono and a hakama of a deeper shade.
By the sound of her steps Shirou would have realized she was using boots but was too focused or entranced by her face. 'It is the same but… different somehow.' For the second time in the span of a month he found himself before an identical girl to Artoria Pendragon.
Of course there were differences both in his perception and the girl himself. Unlike that day in Kuoh the redhead wasn't as entranced or stunned, something inside him noticing disparities before his eyes did.
The ahoge was off, tilted in the wrong direction, her hair was a lighter shade of blond with a black ribbon holding a small tail and while the sharp face was an exact match it carried a carefreeness that had no place on a king's or even on Altria's.
Instead there was some sort of naivety or innocence that was hard to puzzle, reminding Shirou of Xenovia who stood there just as stunned as him. Actually most of their group just stood there in bewilderment as the new arrival showed her affection for Rias while the veteran devils looked amused and happy to see her.
"Look at you, all grown up! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too. Sorry I couldn't visit more."
"No, I get. You were dealing with your parents, that is something every child has to do sooner or later in life. But look at that, you are a grown woman now." The woman took a step to study the pureblood with a satisfied smile. "Nee, nee. Was my home country good to you? Did you manage to see the sakura during spring? Later you have to tell me everything!"
During his analyses, Shirou's mind began to spin. 'Wait a moment, wasn't her name-'
"Akeno-chan! How have you been?" The blond woman jumped from Rias to quickly embrace Akeno who smiled and returned the gesture. Then she took a step back and looked down before pouting. "Did they get bigger again?"
"Fufufufu. I can't help it." Still the two shared another hug. "I am glad to see you again, Souji-chan."
"Same, same. When Beowulf told me he managed to snag a mission to Fuyuki to see you all, moooooouuuuuuu~ I wish I was there and not dealing with a bandit village that day and missed that chance. But I am so glad you all look well." It was Kiba's turn to be hugged but then she pushed him away from his shoulders and began to study his face. "And you… you look great!" Okita announced with a great deal of pride as she moved around and studied his form before grasping his hands. "There is less tension in you. Even your hands are better taken care of despite your muscles having gained more consistency."
"It is good to see you too, Sensei." Kiba stepped back and did a formal bow that had the woman laughing before she returned it.
"Still well disciplined but more relaxed. Did you finally put your ghosts to rest?" The smile she received was the only answer she needed. "Then I am glad." Looking around excitedly, she turned to Rias with a pout. "Where is Koneko-chan?"
"Still enjoying the massage chair." Everyone turned to see the little Rook thumbs up. "Koneko, come say hi to Souji-neechan."
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiii." There was no way Koneko was abandoning her chair until it was time to leave.
Still Okita was happy hearing the former nekomata before turning to everyone she hadn't met just yet, studying them one by one until her eyes finally landed on Shirou and Issei, the former growing stiff, not knowing what to do while the latter stood with his back straight like a soldier.
Both had opinions of the person before them and in Issei's case it was mostly the name. "I am sorry but… are you really Okita Souji? From the Shinsengumi?" While not a great student he was well aware of his History.
"That is right! Former Commander of the First Unit of the Shinsengumi, now the sole Knight of Sirzechs Lucifer, Okita Souji, at your service." Her posture grew firmer but there was still a smile as she bowed, Shirou and Issei reciprocating. When she raised her eyes were shining. "It is always nice to meet my countrymen and let me thank you two for taking care of Rias-chan."
"Su-sure, no problem." Issei managed to reply but Shirou remained mute. "But… weren't you a man?"
"Well everyone seemed to think I was always a guy that looked a bit girly." Okita massaged her chin with a great deal of amusement. "Not that it matters since the only thing Shinsengumi needed was my blade and dedication!"
"Your face…" Shirou muttered, getting everyone's attention. Noticing that he shook his head. "Sorry but did you have any… descendants or perhaps European ancestry?"
"Is the hair right? Everybody is always asking that." She scratched her cheek with mild embarrassment. "But nope, 100% Japanese… well now a Japanese devil but I never forgot my roots." She bowed her head again. "Finally I have a chance to talk to you, Emiya-san. Thank you for the sword."
It was only then that Shirou noticed the two weapons, two katanas with black handles and sheaths. One of them was a weapon he never saw but his Reality Marble quickly informed him it was Okita's elder blade that had some particular specifications. Specifications he was familiar with and were identical to the other weapon, his creation.
When he was starting his work for Rias, Shirou had made such a weapon upon her request to both show his skill in the Underworld with a weapon in the hands of someone famous but also because his lover held her in the highest esteem and wanted to give her a sword worthy of her skill.
Already a new version of the sword appeared in his Reality Marble, one used to its limits from what he could tell.
"Man, I can't wait to speak with you all later." Okita began to move on when…
"Can I see that sword?" Shirou held his hand with a soft expression.
Blinking a little, Okita turned to Rias who shrugged. "It is your sword, remember. That said, I don't think Shiro wants it back."
Okita turned around in embarrassment. "No, I wasn't accusing him of something so erroneous. Sure he can see my sword." She removed it from her waist and offered it with respect. Shirou was the smith who gifted it to her, after all. "Here."
"Thank you." With a flawless motion that had Okita nodding in appreciation, she began to move ahead to talk with Asia while the redhead studied the blade closely. He didn't need Reinforcement to know it was close to breaking down. 'You took a lot of lives, didn't you?'
A part of him didn't know how to feel since his creation was responsible for the demise of many people, devils for the most part but there were some humans, fallen angels, monsters and a lot of creatures that he never saw but the blade informed him nonetheless.
However most of him was pleased because not a single life was taken in cruelty or for fun, just out of duty. Chances were given, more than a warning went ignored before the choice was made and life really taken. She never risked the life of her subordinates and the enemies were always too dangerous to be taken alive.
Through this sword that he never bothered to give a name, a regret Shirou didn't have until that moment, the young smith came to understand how harsh the Underworld was and how much work it was still being done after the Civil War.
With that understanding and with the many lives taken, Shirou could understand how the blade came to such a poor condition despite being well taken care of.
Blood, fat, bones, not even mentioning the defenses it had to cut through had damaged its edge little by little. Other smiths worked diligently to keep it shining and Okita herself dedicated a good part of her mornings to maintaining it. Yet this weapon wasn't a Noble Phantasm, not even close, it was bound to break sooner or later.
It was still used with honor and respect by a warrior of great skill as he could see how Okita Souji danced on the battlefield dozens of times with precise strikes that made him a little jealous in a good way.
Shirou's hand came to the blade and as his Ki made sure he was unharmed he moved from the handle to the tip, mana dancing in his finger. Mana flowed into the weapon as he used Reinforcement to fix the microscopic cracks and defects born out of use. Nothing that the naked eye could see but as the maker of that weapon he knew it better than anyone.
Soon enough all damage was filled with mana and it would last a bit longer but Shirou still made a mental note about the weapon.
He turned just as Okita was finishing her greeting with Liz, shaking the maid's hand at a fast speed as the taller woman failed to compete with the devil's energy. "Here." Stopping to turn to Shirou, the woman's eyes grew wide immediately as she noticed the mana circulating on the weapon. "This is just a patch up but it will hold for a while longer. If you want I can make you another sword later."
"Really?!" Okita moved over and grasped her weapon and sheath, studying the katana with a pleasant grin. Then she turned to Shirou with a smile full of bliss. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your sword has helped me a lot and I can't wait for another."
Chuckling a little, the Mage decided he didn't mind the energetic devil. "Same measurements, right? It will still be a better one since I improved my technique over the last year."
"That is great! Thank you very much!" Once again she lowered her head much to Rias' amusement.
However greetings were done and the Gremory knew they had to get moving. "Did my brother send you to collect us? I thought this parade had nothing to do with the main government."
In that moment there was a shift and while she still looked relaxed, Okita also was taking the situation more seriously. "Sirzechs-sama is visiting and I volunteered to escort you guys since you would have to show yourself a little in the territory." She patted her chest proudly. "So you can count on me, Gremory-sama. I will see you back home in a jiffy."
"It is good to have you here Okita but my brother didn't need to have bothered." The blonde swordswoman offered a nervous smile and Rias knew what it was about. "You just run here and took over the guard detail, didn't you?"
"Well~ My King was talking about how you guys were coming and that you also had a special guest that needed extra protection." She turned to the last person in the wagon, the only one she hadn't introduced herself yet. Bowing to her waist, her tone was of a true soldier, the smile nowhere to be seen. "Medusa-sama, in the name of my King Sirzechs Lucifer, I welcome you to the Underworld formally."
Nodding her head, Medusa took care of what she was going to say. "So you are Beowulf's comrade. He was good to me the last time I met him, I trust you to be just as competent."
"Of course! I will let you know that I have won against him more than once and am ahead in score." Okita was blustering with pride again.
Which made Rias chuckle. "She isn't talking about power here but nevertheless, let's get going. Can't let the fans wait for much longer."
Once everybody was outside the train they noticed how while the station was surrounded by people none of them was even close to the wheehouses that would take them to the castle. The boundary field keeping hundreds at bay also blocked their view as nobody reacted when Rias or anyone else stepped away from the building and walked to their transport.
There were a total of three wheelhouses ready to be pulled by griffins, Rias already having explained to them all the chimera was the equivalent of horses in the Underworld. Each was as big as a car and had two of the creatures tended by their drivers or guards.
But the obvious main attraction was the huge charity being pulled by eighteen griffins, two drivers, a whole team of guards and a huge blood red throne in the center.
Rias began to massage her forehead a little. "Aaaaaaaand my parents overreacted again." She turned to Shirou. "Are you still ready for this?"
"You didn't run away from my mother, I won't run away from your parents." Shirou pointed out before taking the box with her jewelry. "Now turn around so I can place these on you."
While Shirou helped Rias with her final touches, Okita escorted the rest of their group to the wheelhouses. "You guys will be traveling around Gremory-sama, two on the side and one at the back. Usually we would position you all by your standing," she turned with a shrug, "but Rias-chan never cared that much about that so you can sort yourselves out who rides with you."
"Excuse me, Okita-san. Where are you going to be?" Gasper, still in his box and in Liz's arms, asked.
"I will be in the chariot with Rias-chan. My main job today is to watch over any threats." She turned to Medusa. "I suppose you will be with your protector?" The goddess nodded and Okita called one of her subordinates. "So you two will be in the right carriage with another two. The rest can stay wherever they want."
After some discussion and a game of ja ken po between Akeno, Luvia and Liz, the order in was; Shirou, Medusa, Akeno and Xenovia who used her position as Shirou's subordinate to stick with him.
Kiba, Gasper and Luvia in the back much to the devil magus' chagrin as it was the less prestigious position.
Issei, Asia, Koneko and Liz took the left one, also a prestigious position that considered Issei's status as the Red Dragon Emperor. Liz ended there because Koneko insisted.
Her insistence came in the form of a pout and doe eyes that even Luvia couldn't bulk up and protest against as the little Rook wanted her friend to share the ride and delicacies they bought for the trip.
While the taller Rook's pride took up the fight her fellow devil wasn't her rival so Koneko didn't match her head to head. She dialed up her cuteness up to eleven with Liz's help who embraced her from behind with a similar innocent expression that could disarm even the meanest predator. Luvia found herself outmatched and grumbling all the way.
Rias' final preparations were done when Shirou adjusted her necklace, a steel chain made by him with an emerald that matched her earrings. "How do I look?"
"Fantastic." He replied with a smile. "See you later." They held hands for just another second.
"You can count on it." The Heiress of Gremory marched to her chariot to help coordinate the efforts with Okita as while her preparations were done, the convoy was just about to go.
All devils around the area used black and red armor with the symbol of Gremory in their backs. Each of them stood around either in position or watching for anyone trying to break the boundary field. When Rias moved to her throne, every single one of them took flight and got ready to depart.
At her signal a team stood ready to lower the boundary field and once they did Rias would be hearing the loud cheering while sitting on an, admitaly comfortable, chair all the way to her childhood home.
But that was the burden of nobility, her duty, and the consequences of her actions as by punishing the Phenex and elevating the Gremory she made herself a hero to her people.
Despite being raised for the role Rias felt a shiver on her spine and needed to take a few deep breaths to not panic. "Okay, you are ready for this. Not that different to having all eyes of the school on you. Just a few thousand more." She was sure there were cameras around so it would be more but she was in denial. "You like the attention, remember?"
"They say that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity." Okita commented as she stood beside the redhead. "Ready when you are, Rias-chan."
Looking around she noticed how many devils were there, waiting for her order. It was the first time she held that much power without her brother or parents around.
No, this wasn't just about her family anymore, it was about her accomplishments and the Gremory, both her family and their subjects, acknowledging her as their future Head. Pride swelled in her chest and even the moment after her victory on Riser was outshined for how she felt in the present.
Basking on it, Rias raised her hand and waved it forward to signal the departure.
Immediately every devil went to their positions flying around the convoy as the griffins began to walk forward, ordered to not fly just yet. The flight would start only after they left the city to give the people time to meet their future ruler.
Finally the boundary field went down and from her position Rias could see some devils falling down as children, the few they were, tried to run from their parents arms to greet her.
A sincere smile made its way on Rias' face and she began to wave as the crowds cheered her name. She didn't do everything for them, not the medical miracle of Shirou's invention or the defeat of Phenex, but she wished she did. Still she was happy they benefited from her triumphs and started to live even better lives.
And a good leader was loved, even if young and still not officially as the chorus of her name being sung in a thousand voices melted away any anxiety. Rias let it all wash over her with a smile and a wave of gratitude, no longer regretting she would be sitting on a throne for over an hour to look pretty.
For when a good leader was loved, they could strive to be better and Rias promised herself that she would work harder for the joy of her people.
…
"That is a bit too much noise." Akeno commented with a grin as she watched Rias go from anxious to grateful to excited in the span of a minute. She closed the glass window on the wheelhouse and suddenly everything grew silent. "Should I apologize about all that? Rias was always popular but that escalated a lot."
"Hey, everyone is happy. Nothing wrong in showing it." Xenovia relaxed her back on the comfortable seat. Sure it didn't have a massage function but it was extremely comfortable. "Fill my belly up and I'm happy. Can't think it's that different for everyone out there. At least the Phenex's money is being well spend." She was briefed on what happened but didn't care about it.
Not that Xenovia cared for anything other than the battle itself and wished she could have seen the fight. More than most she wanted to meet and fight the Knights of Riser's Peerage as they were similar to her. From what Kiba told her about Karlamare, once he was out of his funk, that was the one she wanted to face.
Meanwhile the bluehead was lost in her thoughts, Medusa was studying their transportation. "A mobile boundary field? This shouldn't be possible." It was the only way they could have cut the cheering outside completely.
In fact there was no noise coming from the outside despite the windows around them being simple glass. They all could see the crowd flying around and cheering but not hear it or the sound of the wheels going on in the golden red road.
Nodding with her usual smile, Akeno explained. "Boundary fields can't move… unless you are moving everything with it." She tapped the luxurious wheelhouse's window. "It isn't connected to the wheels, just the windows, wall, even the seats. It doesn't even reach our drivers."
"You can move a boundary field by isolating it and using something else?" It was also the first time Shirou was hearing it and that presented him with an idea. 'So I could use Rho Aias if someone was carrying me-'
"Shirou-kun, stop it." Akeno said suddenly, her smile still in place.
He feigned innocence. "Stop with what?"
"We are on vacation and you are thinking about something combat related."
Caught red handed, he raised his arms in surrender. "How did you know?"
"Your forehead." Medusa pointed to her own. "When you are thinking too hard, especially about fighting, it moves a little like this."
"No it doesn't." Shirou Traced a sword and tried to see how his face changed. The girls giggled and smiled when he let out a sigh. "Goddamned."
"Told you."
Xenovia was still chuckling when she looked to the side. "By the way, is this road really made of gold? Because if so, devils are richer than I thought."
"No, it isn't. Instead it was magically changed to look like gold." Akeno waved her hand around like a tourist guide. "The Goetia Road or the Paths of Ars Goetia have been around ever since devils started to settle in the Underworld. It is the sole road of this dimension and it connects all the cities to each other." She smiled kindly. "As the saying goes; you cannot be lost if you follow Goetia."
Xenovia looked around with interest. "This looks more like a highway than a road."
It was just too big to be anything else as it easily could fit six lanes worthy of cars and still have some space. Most of it was full of people but the security detail made sure they were on the sidewalk without much difficulty.
Still they could see Xenovia's point, one that Akeno found funny. "Well, highways didn't exist when Goetia Road was created so the name was fitting even if it is larger than one. Its goal was always 'connection' in this mad world we live in."
"A single road for all the Underworld?" Shirou asked in mild confusion. "What does that mean?"
"What it sounds like." Akeno replied jokingly. "Tell me, can any of you see any cars?" The other three looked around the road but they could only see people. Which even in a parade was already strange. "And this road, notice how it goes back and forward but there is no exit from the sides or signs."
"With so many buildings around it is hard to challenge that." Shirou noticed how they had some space apart between each other for traffic but with no cars that could only be for people.
In the end it was Medusa who lost her patience first. "Akeno, go straight to the point, please."
"You're no fun." The Queen replied with a pout before giggling at Medusa's own. "Ask yourselves this; does a race that can fly needs cars?"
"Obviously not." Xenovia replied before her eyes grew wide. "Wait a minute! No cars mean that this road is just for the nobles?"
"More or less. People use them normally when there isn't a parade like this." Akeno watched as Rias changed arms but kept smiling. "But us devils, every single one of us can fly. I guess that would make it easier to get lost so the road was made this big for that." She pointed up and even if they couldn't see the sky, they got the message. "So the first Lucifer decided to build a road that could be seen even from really high so even the average devil would know where to go." A casual shrug came after. "Or maybe for some other reason. That is just what Grayfia taught me but even she was unsure."
"Let me see if I got this right. Since you guys can fly, this road is kinda like a map right? Or a sign in the middle of… well, road?" Xenovia was happy when Akeno nodded. "That means the reason why the buildings are so large is-"
"Because we can enter from the top." Akeno could understand their confusion, she was exactly like that the first time she accompanied Rias around the village close to Gremory Castle. "When you can fly, restricting teleportation isn't such a problem. The strongest devils can pretty much cover the distance between cities with great ease and if they don't want to they can pay a fee to use an official teleportation circle."
It was the only way to teleport in the Underworld or at least in places where the boundary fields were active. While the notion of 'day' was new to the average devil, boundary fields were as normal as the road itself. In fact they all were connected by the Goetia Road by means Akeno wasn't privy to.
However the restrictions for teleportation were always there as well, it was better than to trust every devil to place boundary fields of their own. That would be a mess of unbelievable proportions that would spend the already few resources devils had to work with in the Underworld which would cripple the Original Lucifer's power.
He couldn't allow that to happen so the road and main boundary fields went up as soon as the first cities were founded.
Akeno did her best to explain all that to her friends. "So everytime a good place for a city or village is found the road gets extended. By reaching the end of the road you reach the last boundary field and the last conquered area of the Underworld." All three nodded to show they understood. "To receive permission to build a new settlement the person must prove there is water and some way to gather food. Once that is proven the road is expanded and with it the boundary fields."
"Wait, so it is kinda like a ley line?" Shirou asked after some thought. "Like an artificial ley line?"
"Got it right, Shirou-kun. In reality the Underworld has too few ley lines." Akeno shrugged dramatically much to the trio's shock. "Paths of Ars Goetia is the best way to make all this possible and its power is distributed depending on the density of the population around the area." The raven haired woman was drinking on the faces of disbelief present. "Just by walking on this road a devil will be given a little of their mana to help sustain the system and all the sidewalks of the city are connected to Goetia."
"And so giving this artificial ley line enough mana to act like a real ley line." Medusa frowned, trying to remember if she felt her mana taken when she stepped on the road. She was sure it didn't happen. "Does it need a contract or something like that?"
"Yes but nobody really worries about it. The quantity is literally so small that it is meaningless." Akeno could guess the goddess' thoughts. "To have your mana taken you do need to sign a contract and become a citizen of the Underworld. Basically an identity or social number." Then she pointed to one of the buildings. "But the contract doesn't work inside buildings or houses. These have their own floors separated from the road and so nobody inside is affected."
Shirou scratched his chin. "Still, even if the population is less than 1 billion and the number of mana taken is 1 unit, just standing around town is enough to power some massive rituals." Not the most powerful ones but surely enough to create hundreds if not thousands of boundary fields. And he didn't doubt there were other methods in play he didn't know about. "But the mana being taken is for the road itself as well so that makes the process easier. Even if I am a third rate, I can't help but admire the ingenuity of the set up."
Akeno nodded in agreement. "The Original Lucifer wouldn't do anything that weakened his fighting force so, even if you sleep on the sidewalk, there is no way enough mana would be taken for you to pass out or something." She brought her hand to her breast. "We literally recover that much mana by just breathing."
"And so there is no problem for them all to come here and show their admiration." Medusa voiced with approval as she also kept an eye on Rias. There would be no complaints as she kept her smile going and made sure to show appreciation for both sides of the road. "Gremory sure is loved."
"Not all Pillars are great but Gremory sure is one of the best." Akeno stated proudly as the conversation kept going.
But from time to time Shirou caught himself staring not at Rias but at the person beside her. Okita's face wasn't a one to one match Artoria's like Altria's was even if the differences were minimal. It was still enough that when he saw her the memories of the Pendragon descendant and the King of Camelot came to the forefront of his mind.
'She is Japanese and had no reason to be lying but their faces are too much of a close match to be a coincidence.' Shirou shook his head and focused again on Rias with a smile. "Doesn't matter right now."
"What doesn't matter?" Xenovia asked, Durandal resting on her lap.
"Just… thinking how Okita looks like someone I know." Shirou admitted, remembering only Michael was close enough to see the Pendragon siblings' faces. "It is odd."
"Maybe they are distant relatives who don't know about each other." Durandal's owner offered with a casual shrug. "Does it matter, Master?"
"No, I suppose not. Just something that is nagging me, you know?"
"That kind of stuff is always the worst." Xenovia placed her arms on her back and closed her eyes. "And not worth thinking about."
"I agree." Akeno added with a smile. "If Souji-chan has a family, she cut ties with them long ago."
"She did? Why?" Medusa didn't want to admit how much that bothered her.
However Akeno didn't notice, her tone full of respect. "If you know History then her disease and 'death' are quite famous in Japan. Except that instead of dying she made a pact with Sirzechs-sama." Truly the story was quite famous in Japan, including how after a certain battle Okita Souji started to cough blood. "She was loyal to her friends, the Shinsengumi, but that wouldn't stop her from refusing to die on a bed and by Reincarnating. She had no choice but to leave everyone else behind. Even in their worst moment."
Everyone understood what she meant; as a Piece of the Lucifer, Okita Souji wouldn't be allowed to interfere in Japan anymore and soon after her 'death' the Shinsengumi would fall with many of its members perishing or surrendering.
Personally Xenovia could sympathize the most with it, coming from a similar position herself. Sure the Church was still standing and she left out of her free will but she had friends, allies, a family back in the organization that she had to let go or betray her own principles.
Still the bluehead was watching the former Japanese officer with a look of deep sadness, remembering all she had lost and feeling bad that Okita had to choose between loyalty or her life.
Akeno saw it and touched Xenovia's hand to get her attention before smiling gently. "Souji-chan doesn't like when people pity her."
Blinking twice, Xenovia puffed her chest. "Is she strong?" After a nod the bluehead made her decision. "Then I better challenge her for a spar while we are here."
"I am sure she will be glad. Although…" Akeno threw Shirou a meaningful glance that had earned raised eyebrows. "I think she would like to spar with Shirou-kun first to see how her countrymen are going." She giggled at the small smile on his face.
Medusa also chuckled. "Hardly fair considering he is my protector. Even Sirzechs' Knight won't win easily."
"I don't know~ Souji-chan is strong~ Really strong~"
"Then it will be fun." Shirou couldn't help but be curious about Okita Souji's skill.
…..
Once the parade reached the outskirts of the city the griffins took flight towards the Gremory Castle. Or to be more precise the village around the castle. Most of the place was composed from rich manors and homes belonging to the most loyal members of the Clan, some of which were part of the Gremory by marriage and such.
They were branch families, those that were never Heirs or those who decided to stay around to help with management and politics. Most of the buildings are for them to live with their respectives peerages or staff depending on preference.
Called a village it may be but there was little besides the residences of the elite of Gremory, since all devils could fly to Runeas there was no need. But the mansions and manors around were big, easily bigger than Shirou's home back in Fuyuki. Also it was possible to see stables at the entrance of the village with many griffins.
However there was one clear problem with the whole setting; there were few homes.
Millenia of existence and prosperity of the Gremory Clan and there were only a few manors in the place, just five properties in total. Calling it a village was generous given that but there were other buildings for servants and everyone else. It was also an expected sight with devils' small birth rates and that some members of the Clan married in other families.
Not every single Gremory lived in the area either as some who retired moved far away from any political center in a show of trust to their descendants. Still the castle was the main attraction and more than one person found their eyes glued to the magnificent building out of a fairy tail.
A gothic stylised one considering the gargoyles and the black red aesthetic but those had a charm of their own that demanded acknowledgement of the Gremory Clan's power with its size, so tall it could be a mountain at a distance.
There were no walls surrounding the castle as there were any surrounding the village either, not strange considering that no wall could stop a flier unless it was magical and devils were known for using their boundary fields for defense, some even feeling one as they approached and landed in the village.
Most of the escorts began to spread around and leave back to the city once their job was done, only a few soldiers remained and looked ready to follow all the way to the castle with Rias and Okita dismissing some of them personally.
While her friends left their wheelhouses Rias jumped off the throne and stretched her back. "Good grief sitting like that is a killer on the back."
"Ahhhh~ That was just because you were too stiff, Rias-chan. You got better a little later." Okita played around as she jumped from the chariot. Already some devils were working to release the griffins and take them to the stables. "But you were great. Didn't let the smile go even once."
"I was just… Grateful they admired me that much." Rias commented with a blush as a red haired man approached.
He was dressed in a classical suit of the 18th, an ascot tugged inside his red buttoned shirt and black buttoned up vest. "Perhaps they shouldn't consider the enemies you have made for our Clan." Anyone looking at him would say that with his clean face and pulled back hair that he was in his thirties.
Anyone that wasn't a devil and certainly not Rias who recognized the man. "Hello uncle Riven." Calling him uncle was imprecise and the man glared at her for it. "How have you been? Still enjoying your days playing golf?"
"How many times must I remind you to give me the proper respect? And why should I care about human sport?" Riven spit to the side as Okita took a step back. This was a Gremory matter and she was Lucifer's servant. "You shouldn't bask in the peasants' attention. They don't matter, only our alliances do."
"And why should I ally with the Phenex again? Because of their Tears? Oh, wait, my Mage made something better for us while I brought the Phenex to heel." All her friends saw what was happening but didn't approach as Rias raised a hand to stop them.
"Watch your step, girl. You forget that many of the old families value the other Pillars more than ours and your actions may place all the Gremory in jeopardy."
"Need you be such a bore, Riven?"
Another redhead, a woman this time with her head in a complicated, approached in a chair that was being carried by four muscle men. Her face was nothing like Rias and she looked to be in her twenties with a low cut red dress that exposed a lot of her huge breasts, her hair in a complicated braid with just some above her right eye.
"Our dear niece just returned from the Human World after that mess of a Treaty. Couldn't you be kinder to her?" She had a pipe on her right hand, with long gloves that stopped short of her shoulder, and played with it a little before blowing smoke in the man's direction. "At least give her a proper welcome."
Riven cleaned the smoke with a glare as Rias smiled in gratitude. "It is good to see you again, aunt Lakmia."
A gentle smile that accentuated the beauty mark on her chin manifested itself. "And it is great to see you too dear."
"You shouldn't indulge in her foolishness. I am as much as her uncle as you are her aunt." Riven complained but Lakmia barely gave her any attention.
Her eyes were in the others present. "I see your peerage grew, is that a noble bearing girl I see? My my~ By the way, is the Mage of Swords here as well? I would love to meet such an individual~"
"Don't ignore me, Lakmia. What would your brother think about all this?"
"My brother, your great-grandfather, would have loved to see someone take the Phenex down a peg or two." Lakmia dropped some ash from her pipe, a servant showing up quickly with an ash trail before retreating back. "But unfortunately he isn't among us anymore, as you are well aware."
"She still is picking a fight with another Pillar. We shouldn't be divided!" Riven turned to Rias with a glare. "You need to offer reparations to the Phenex."
"I did offer reparations; by sparing their source of income and giving them a chance to recover. Aren't I nice?" Anyone that knew her could hear the bite in Rias' voice as she glared at her uncle. The man didn't relent and glared back. "I am the Heiress, uncle. If you don't like that, you are free to move once I come to power."
"And allow you to sink the Gremory name on the ground? I think not. Someone must remind you that the Pillars are above you, Rias Gremory." Riven turned and began to leave, a few people following right behind.
Rolling her eyes dramatically, much to Rias' amusement, Lakmia stood up from her chair and embraced the younger redhead. "It is good to see you again, truly."
"You too. Do you want to meet my peerage?" Rias waved them in and all devils approached. "You already know Akeno."
"How have you been, lady Lakmia?"
"As magnificent as your hair. You never told me what you use to keep it so silky."
"I fear it is all natural." Rias joked before placing a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "And Kiba here? Certainly you haven't forgotten him?"
"Of course not. Such a handsome boy, almost a handsome man now." She licked her lips. "Tell me if you want to grab dinner sometime."
"I am afraid that I am in a relationship now." The Knight was embarrassed but his smile never wavered.
It did with the reply. "She doesn't need to know~" He stuttered a failed reply.
Saving her Knight only happened because Rias wanted to move things alone, no matter how funny Kiba's condition was. "Koneko here has been growing as well."
"Of course she is." They exchanged nods before her eyes landed on Luvia. "And you, the posture, the grace, the features," Lakmia caressed the Rook's face who smiled, "if you aren't a noble, I am losing my touch."
"Luviagelita Edelfelt, once from the Edelfelt Family of Magi, now a proud Rook of Gremory." A courtesy was properly given.
And reciprocated as Lakmia did the same. "Such a proper lady. I would gladly talk to you about some of the noble customs of the human world."
"And I would gladly join in the conversation." Rias wasn't surprised as her aunt was one of the people she was sure Luvia would get along with more.
Still she wanted to meet her parents soon so other introductions needed to be made, this one already promising to be a hassle as she noticed her Pawn drooling a little. "Issei, clean yourself." She chastised in a low tone.
Issei almost jumped as Asia pouted beside him. "Right, sorry Buchou." He hoped Zifa hadn't see when he cleaned himself.
"So this is the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation." Elegantly she raised the brown haired boy's chin, studying him carefully. "Or perhaps the Last Red Dragon Emperor. Not planning to die anytime soon, are you?"
"N-n-n-no-no, ma'am."
"So cute~" Lakmia let him go and Issei almost fell on his butt. "Send him to my manor one of these days, Rias."
The Heiress smiled and shook her head. "Some people wouldn't like that." She pushed Asia towards Lakmia and the woman took a look at the girl. "This is Asia Argento, my new Bishop."
"Speaking of Bishops, where is that cute little vampire?" The box on Liz's hands shook but the former dhampir didn't speak.
The message was clear, he didn't want to show himself yet. "Already in the castle. He is too shy for a parade."
"Pity." Lakmia turned back to Asia with a smile. "You will grow beautiful one day." The blonde blushed and nodded. When the older devil stepped back, her eyes landed on Shirou. "Now, as that is the last man in your entourage, is he the Mage of Swords?"
"Emiya Shirou, he-"
"The Son of the Magus Killer." Lakmia approached but instead of touching him she offered a hand. "I am a fan of your work."
"You are?" Shirou accepted the hand shake and did not react as her face grew closer.
"Of course I am. Not many can create swords capable of surviving magic as Okita demonstrated. I have been looking for a smith of similar skill since then." She studied his hands even as her eyes never left his. "Say, would you mind making a weapon for me?"
"You are a swordswoman?" Xenovia asked, while studying the woman's physique. With magic and her being a devil it was hard to tell.
A reply didn't come but despite the glove Shirou could feel a few calluses in her hand. "I will see if I have time. What kind of sword do you use?"
"You can talk about this later." Okita interceded with a smile and a shake of her head. "Lord and Lady Gremory are waiting."
From the distance everyone could see the castle gates, tall and made with ruby like materials, open. It was big enough that a fully grown dragon could get in so it was obvious the owner was waiting for his daughter.
Lakmia chuckled a little. "Of course. Of course." She returned to her seat and her servants elevated her. "I shall see you all later, Rias." Yet her eyes were glued on Shirou
"Rude." Medusa commented from the side. "She completely ignored Xenovia."
A little offended, the bluehead glared. "You as well. How didn't she noticed you are-"
"Like your sheath can hide your sword, I can hide myself." Medusa had hidden every bit of her Divinity to not draw attention. Now, even to devils, she was just an extremely cute girl.
Gasper finally left the box with a frightened look. "She scares me."
"Me too, Gasper." Kiba commented, patting his head. "Me too." He was used to older women wanting his attention but unlike the majority who had boundaries, Lakmia had none. "But don't worry, Buchou isn't going to let her get us."
"Unless you want." Rias joked and both boys shook their heads with embarrassment and fear respectively. "Gasper I can understand but what about you Kiba? Don't you want to try new things?"
"I am still new to the whole relationship thing. Besides, no offense Buchou but your aunt is…"
"I get it, I get it." She said in good humor.
Something wasn't right for Issei who finally managed to snap himself back. "Wait, what happened?"
"That was Lakmia Gremory. She was the sister of the Head of Gremory a few generations ago." Okita replied completely missing why Issei was baffled, Asia was pouting and Akeno was giggling. "She has a business on Runeas and spends most of her days there. Her being here is a rare treat." The Knight's elbow connects with Rias'. "Right?"
"Well, I was always her favorite niece." Rias joked before beginning to walk towards the castle. "Come on everyone. My parents are waiting." Indeed they were.
In the entrance of the Gremory Castle, accompanied by a band that began to play a festive sound loudly once they were upon view, were Rias' parents. Zeoticus was once again dressed in the formal clothing of the Underworld much like his wife Venelana in her favorite dress.
Both kept their pose as Heads of their Clan as they waited for Rias and her entourage approach, happy and proud smiles on their faces. It was their duty to see her like this, to stand there while their daughter returned from her trips and welcome her like any true noble did.
So it was upon Rias to lower her head and accept the welcome. "Father, mother. It is good to see you again."
"I am glad for your return, daughter." Venelana approached and hugged Rias who returned it just as strongly. As the person who stayed behind during the parents visit, Zeoticus was happy to wait for his wife to finish. "Look at you, all grown up."
Rias couldn't help but laugh. "I have barely grown a centimeter since the last time we saw each other."
Venelana approached her daughter's ear. "That isn't what I mean~" A sense of dread came to Rias as she noticed her mother's eyes landing on Shirou. "So should we plan another wedding?"
"Mother!"
"Hahaha. She is just kidding, Rias." Zeoticus came closer as Venelana let their daughter go and soon embraced her himself. Whispering to her, "Unless you want to," he stepped back as she blushed.
"We are not ready for that yet." She grumbled before waving her peerage closer. "Most of them you already know. Father met them all."
Zeoticus had told Venelana knew about Medusa, Xenovia and Luvia so all she needed were introductions. "You must be Luviagelita Edelfelt. While the circumstances were far from ideal, I welcome you in the Gremory Clan."
"You honor me, Lady Gremory." Once again Luvia did a courtesy which Venelana reciprocated. "Your daughter has been most kind to me. I couldn't ask for a better King."
"Thank you, dear." Venelana then stepped to the side as Zeoticus raised his hand, silencing the band. "Now why don't we go inside? We have much to discuss."
Greetings were exchanged with everyone as they all walked in, Shirou looking to the side and noticing something surprising. "Stairs?!" He exclaimed a little too loudly.
"Hehe. We had them built after my visit to Kuoh." Zeoticus hugged Shirou's shoulder with a smile. "Making you jump around to get anywhere would make me a poor host and this way it is more convenient for all involved."
"Thank you for the consideration."
"No problem. You are part of the family, obviously I have to look over your well being." They turned around to Xenovia and Liz. "As well as your subordinates."
"They aren't-"
"Master wants to say he is pleased by your consideration." Liz went 'maid mode' immediately, earning some grins and chuckles. She followed up with a courtesy. "In the name of the Emiya Household, I thank you for your kindness."
"Yes, thank you, Lord Gremory." Xenovia took her role absolutely seriously, presenting her sword with a brave face. "As his follower I swear to protect your castle for as long as we have a place here."
"Oh~ following the proper protocol." Zeoticus sounded pleased.
Venelana threw a smile and approached Xenovia. "We thank you for your pledge but there is no need to worry. As our guests, the Gremory shall do their best to protect you from harm."
"Appreciated." Xenovia bowed again before resting Durandal on her back.
"The same goes for you, Lady Medusa." Venelana added and the goddess nodded. "But for now, we should get going to the meeting room. Our guests are waiting."
"So you are finally telling me why it was so important for me to return to the Underworld now?" Rias asked with a small smile. "Not that I wasn't going to but my brother was dropping too many hints and not giving anything away. I bet you can understand how miffed I am."
"Ahahahaha! That is my son!" Lord Gremory laughed a little more before hugging his daughter. "He made sure we aren't forcing you to do anything, right? You can say no and it will be all fine." Many could hear a smidge of guilt on the man's tone.
Rias smiled and hugged her father back. "But I have my duties and you wouldn't ask anything which would take my freedom away."
"Not anymore." Her father nodded with a small smile. "Still, there are duties and there are duties. This one is the kind you could reject but I will request, as your Lord, that you won't." Zeoticius separated from his daughter and held her shoulders. "And as a father I can guarantee that it isn't anything bad. Actually, I think you will like this job."
"Then I shall do my duty as the Heiress of Gremory." Rias was about to tell her father he didn't need to walk around eggshells with her, that she was committed to her Clan if it wasn't going to take her freedom.
She never needed too as her father rubbed her shoulder and smiled. "Keep going like that and I will be confident in retiring."
"Not too soon, I hope."
"Of course not. I have too much fun ruling over our territory to just retire like that. Going to keep going until the Gremory Luxury Hotels are recognized as the best in all dimensions!"
Venelana and some servants applauded Zeoticus' passionate declaration which had others joining in. The devil didn't hesitate and began to thank everyone as Rias admired her father and his dream.
'Our Clan didn't have anything like hotels before, only investments. Even the notion of taking care of someone below our station was considered ridiculous.' Rias could see the same passion she had about freedom in her father who worked in the Clan to make his dreams come true.
That was the same thing Rias wanted, to combine her responsibilities with her desires, a way to compromise duties with dreams. Now with her family support she was doing it and a part of her felt that many of their problems wouldn't be relevant if she talked more with her parents.
A little chuckle came with the thought, 'I wouldn't change a single thing.' Better to discover her passions after fighting with her parents than to be at peace and never knowing herself.
Much of the Gremory Castle was a mixture of darkness with small lights for the benefit of any non devil. Clearly her parents wanted everyone to be comfortable with Venelana explaining how the servants could guide anyone to their room if they were tired. Nobody took the offer, of course.
Curiosity was most at fault since they weren't worried about anything dangerous but there was no denying that they all wanted to know exactly what Rias' family needed from her.
Took a while for them to arrive at the meeting room, one that Shirou was familiar with as it was the same place where the Phenex Clan was brought low. Officially speaking it was the proper place to have such a meeting which Rias found slightly odd since she thought they were meeting with her brother.
Then again, the fact he wasn't at the door with her parents spoke that he wasn't in the castle as Gremory but rather as Lucifer.
When they arrived at the much more well lit room compared to when the Phenex were there, Rias let out a hum of amusement. "Can't I ask why the Governor General is here as well?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Look who finally decided to show up." Azazel was dressed in all black with a long coat and some gold lines. His elbow was on the table with a chess board between him and Sirzechs. "Took your time to give a couple of autographs to your fans?"
"Oh ha ha." Rias laughed sarcastically as everyone went inside the room, Akeno watching over the fallen angel with suspicion but no fear.
Not with Sirzechs Lucifer himself present, looking as regal as ever in noble clothing that mixed black and red. "Welcome. I would have been at the door but Azazel and I are locked in a battle of wits."
"Wasn't it because you are here as Lucifer?" Rias was the first to sit down, close to her brother, with Akeno right behind to keep an eye on Azazel. It wasn't necessary and it was more amusing for the fallen angel than not. "Because the suspense was killing me."
"Of course I would be there either as Lucifer or not. But today I am here in an official capacity. Somewhat." He moved one of his last pieces. "However I just couldn't leave the game when I was about to win."
"Oph, that is rough buddy." Azazel made no moves as he called for Shirou to sit beside him. "And how is my future lab partner doing?"
"In vacation as far as I know." The redhead looked directly to Akeno with a gentle expression as he sat down, trying to tell her to not worry.
"You are, they won't be for much longer." Azazel pointed to the devils before moving his knight. Besides it he only had pawns, more than Sirzechs' pieces. However the King of the Underworld had a rook and a bishop. "By the way, the Gremory agreed to host our laboratory. Apparently they already had a building in mind for your workshop in the Underworld."
Zeoticus called for a few maids to serve drinks before noticing what Azazel had spoken. "We wanted to give you a part of the castle to work with but when Azazel voiced his plans we all agreed you all would need a lot of space."
"And these plans are?" Rias was admitally a little impatient as everyone was already sitting down and Akeno looked trapped. Her focus was on Azazel but he motioned for SIrzechs.
Ignoring the board for the moment, much to Azazel's relief as he began to push it away from them, Sirzechs turned to his sister. "The Youth Gathering is next month."
"Yes, I am well aware. What about it?" Rias began to think. "Is there something special this year?"
"Quite frankly, yes. This year isn't just about the younger generation meeting to get along as before. This time it is going to be a full blow ball with more guests." Sirzechs pulled the board back to the center, making Azazel flinch. He wouldn't surrender his victory. "Already I can see some families jumping at the chance to join even if their Heirs are too old or won't have a chance to participate in the main event."
Rias suspected her brother was trying to build suspense. "And that main event is?"
"A tournament!" Zeoticus announced as he was anxious and his son wasn't helping. "A Rating Game tournament to be more exact where you and your generation can show everyone that the Underworld's future is in safe hands."
Every member of the ORC was blinking in confusion and looking at each other to see if they understood what was happening. It was up to Medusa to ask, "Wasn't Rias too young for Rating Games?"
"That she is, officially." Sirzechs spoke, directing his attention to the goddess. "It is good to see you again, Lady Medusa. Sorry that my greeting is delayed."
"Mine as well. I am trying to stop this redhead from finishing all my pieces." Azezel was clearly frustrated with his predicament. Finally he made a move only for Sirzechs to counter it with barely any thought. "Seriously?!" He complained, frustration evident.
"Checkmate in four." Lucifer's smile was infuriating for the fallen angel but he turned it to his sister. "Clarifying this isn't important but while some of the devils participating are older than you, your victory over Riser secured you a spot even if Kokabiel hadn't confirmed it."
"So Sona is also participating because of Kokabiel?" Shirou asked before remembering it wasn't his conversation. "Sorry, I-"
"It's alright and yes. How you all dealt with the situation, everyone also surviving for that matter, was the main factor that had Gremory and Sitri Peerages selected. Our relationship is irrelevant for this particular matter." The Maou smiled proudly as he patted Rias shoulder. "Or as our dear ancestor said; we cannot present weaklings for possible allies and enemies. Only the strong shall be part of the tournament, the Youth Gathering Rating Games."
"Interesting. Who else is on it?" Rias' competitiveness was showing itself and there was no stopping it.
"Everybody agreed that it would only be fair if the competitors had no official Rating Games under their belt and were at least less than 100 years old." Venelana commented with a fan as tea and sweets began to be served. Koneko took off her beret as she and Liz tackled the food. "Unfortunately most of you don't hesitate to jump in the arena the moment you turn 20 so the pool of candidates is small. Very small, as just six of you were deemed acceptable to represent us."
"So we are to put on a show? Is that just for Heaven and Grigori?" Rias asked with her arms folded.
"Of course not. Every Faction has their side allies." Azazel joked as he moved a pawn exactly where Sirzechs didn't want, making the Maou frown. "The Underworld has the Clocktower, for example, while we have contacts with certain realms who would ally with us if we were more… powerful per say." He smiled and shrugged. "Now that the Three Factions are acting as one, certain Pantheons are showing interest while others were in the middle of negotiations when Kuoh's Treaty took place. Not Heaven because of their One Religion Police but Michael recognized that times are changing."
Sirzechs folded his hands and studied the board. "To show the Underworld's power and attract future partners, Rating Games aren't going to be enough. Most Chief Gods could care less about the power of modern devils." He made a move that Azazel quickly followed, breaking his prediction. "Sure I am powerful but I don't fight in Rating Games and the top contenders are pretty much set in stone and some of them voiced that watching a known quantity would be… boring."
It was Azazel's turn to frown as Sirzechs recovered the initiative. "But the new generation on the other hand, is full of potential that was never seen before." He smiled at Issei, making everyone realize why that was considered in the first place. "We have the Red Dragon Emperor, the future Lord Bael who showed no magical power but still took over as Heir, a Sitri who managed to survive a Cadre and that… that got them interested."
"The same couldn't be accomplished with exhibition matches?" Akeno asked, lost in thought.
The man smiled at her interacting with him. "But a tournament is so much more exciting." Azazel cursed under his breath at Sirzechs' last move. "For the love of-" And toppled his king. "Good game."
"You as well." He then turned to his sister again. "So you and five others are being called for the competition. Everyone else was informed over the week and I fear they already began training."
"We are the last to know." Rias nodded in understanding, realizing their day at the beach gave Sona a day advantage but she didn't care much. "Sairaorg is participating, so is Sona. Anyone else? It is just us, Heirs?"
"That is what the Elders decided." Sirzechs let out a groan of frustration. "There are some other devils who could- should be in the tournament as well but the majority demanded Heirs only and Zekram agreed." If he could he would get rid of his ancestor because of how much headache the Oldest Devil gave him. "Six was deemed enough anyway and the tournament will be spread over a few months to give everyone time to prepare and develop new tactics."
"And who is fighting who?"
"Not going to reveal everyone since I think I already told you enough." The Maou gave her a wink. "But the matches are going to be decided at the Youth Gathering. Not that the order matters that much as it is a swiss tournament. No eliminations."
"What your brother means to say is that this tournament is a chance for you all to show your power and value. Not to mention get some experience before joining the proper circuit, if you want." Venelana felt she needed to add. "This whole tournament is an opportunity for the Gremory, especially you, to gain more prestige, Rias. While your accomplishments are already respectable, a lot of Pillars still look down on some of your decisions."
"The Phenex? Uncle Riven voiced his displeasure." Yet Rias could see it as if the Underworld power was everything and while her victory over Riser was absolute, it wasn't just due to power.
EM's existence also gave her some leeway and protection but the fact was that if Rias didn't show she had power then many could consider her victory a fluke and that would damage her Clan's influence even if she wasn't the Head just yet.
While not carrying much about the Underworld's opinion, she still cared for her family and wanted to act as a proper Heiress so there was no denying participating in the Youth Gathering Tournament was a good opportunity.
Besides, she was legitimately interested. "Well, count me in! Not only do I get to fight against some stiff competition, I finally get my match with Sona." That was a long time coming in Rias' opinion.
"Fantastic, with that we don't need to call any of the reserves." Sirzechs was happy his sister was competing. He couldn't wait to watch in a far more relaxing manner than when she fought Riser. "Now you are a few days later compared to some of the others and only Sona knows about your invitation so you need to start preparing for the first match."
"Wait a moment, Sirzechs, you said it was all going to be announced at the Youth Gathering right? That is a month from now." Close to the end of the summer break.
Her brother nodded along. "Exactly, you have a month to prepare and then the first match will be a few days after, just before you return to Fuyuki."
"Which is why I am here~" Azazel said dramatically. "I mean, who else would you ask to help with sacred gear training than the lead researcher on the subject. Not an advantage you have alone, mind you, everyone with a sacred gear in their peerage received the same offer."
Which were actually just a few and his time would be split with others but Azazel would do his best to increase everyone's power as best as he could. This was a chance to expand the alliance to include many more Factions and form an union front not only towards Peace but also to stop the Khaos Brigade
Obviously the Scapegoat was deeply invested in making the tournament work and he gladly showed it. "No offense to Sirzechs and the others either but I am also the best general our Faction has at the moment and have a ton of ideas that will help improve everyone's parameters before the competition, sacred gear or not."
"We also are willing to devote every resource Gremory has to increase your odds." Zeoticus stated proudly. "Already reservations to certain places were made due to Azazel's recommendation and we got into contact with other devils who wouldn't mind seeing our victory or training some of you." He pointed to Okita whose hand landed on Kiba's shoulder.
"Yeah, I am also on it so you better get ready Kiba because this time we aren't stopping until you are up to par with the Shinsengumi standards." Rias' Knight grew pale as he knew the training would be painful.
Aside from all the news, Akeno didn't know what to feel. "Azazel is the one in charge of this?"
Azazel was concerned but he tried to smile. "While some of my men will be around for support, most of your training will be under the Gremory banner while I go and deal with the others." His hesitant smile turned into a grin. "After all the Peace Treaty includes me helping devils with their sacred gear and this is also a trial run. Half of the peerages in this competition have sacred gears and if they take my advice for training, great." He turned to Zeoticus. "Of course the Head of your Clan is free to add or disagree on any suggestion I have."
Already knowing most of the plans, Zeoticus shook his head. "Not at all, Azazel. Your ideas are excellent to help my daughter seize the tournament. Well, perhaps not all of them." Looking at Rias, he looked even more excited. "Daughter, for your training, you will meet with our Honorable Ancestor."
"Wait, you are saying she is going to teach me?" Rias grew excited as well. "I thought she was still asleep."
"A request to help the Gremory will always be answered by the Gremory and she agreed to teach you strategy and such."
"Hehe, Runeas, right? It has been so long since I saw her. To think she was still alive." Azazel nodded off a little, lost in his memories. "She was always quite smart even if not as powerful. Did you say she was asleep?"
Rias nodded with a smile. "Our ancestor decided to sleep both to avoid my other ancestor while also preserving her mind as she was… tired of the state of things. Maybe with peace, she decides to stay." Turning to Shirou, she gave him her best smile. "It will certainly be a good opportunity to introduce everyone."
Understanding the meaning, he smiled as well even if a part of him suspected things wouldn't be that easy. "Why did you say they would be busy?" He asked Azazel. "I can help them with training just fine."
"That you can't because most of them aren't staying in one place." The Cadre revealed much to everyone's shock. "What? Do you think you are going to train together? Hell no, time for some true individual training."
"But we trained individually before our fight with Riser." Akeno raised the point with a harsh look. "If anything, it is our teamwork that needs to improve."
"Nah, you guys have little to no synergy and trying to correct that outside of the battlefield is actually hard since neither of your powers is completely developed." He raised his fist. "That is what we need to work on; improve your base and settle each of you in your own styles."
Akeno wasn't liking that one bit as the implication was that she would have to use something she didn't want. "And you can do that by yourself?"
"Of course not. That is why some of you are going around to train with those who can. My recommendations, of course."
"Hold your horses for a moment if you all could. Perhaps that is true to the majority, Rias here has another option." Sirzechs intervened much to his parents' surprise. His hand landed on his sister's shoulder. "I found someone that I believe can help you reach more of your potential, especially with that Stand thing. His analytical mind and knowledge of weapons is second to none."
"Hoho. Who is it?" Azazel grew curious at the reveal and the fact it wasn't sudden at all. Sirzechs was planning this offer for a while and he was a little sad that Akeno seemed relieved because of it. "Must be quite a figure to have that much trust. Is it another Ancient Devil? Anyone else survived the old days that I don't know about?"
"No such thing, unfortunately. But yes, he is someone who I hold in trust." Sirzechs then took a pensive stance with a hand on his chin as she looked at the double doors to his back. "But he should have already arrived."
"Did you call him just today?" Venelana asked with a frown. "Because I am sure I didn't raise you to summon friends without warning, Lucifer or not."
The redhead quickly shook his head. "Of course not, mother. I asked his wife to pass the message twice and she assured me he received it last time we spoke. That was weeks ago." Once he saw his mother was mollified, turned back to the door. "Grayfia went to pick him up, they shouldn't be this late."
With the Strongest Queen, a Lucifuge with the Power of Space, having gone to collect the man any delay was really concerning since she could just bring him to the Underworld in a second and then move to the Gremory Castle through one of the Clan's exclusive magic circles.
Grayfia also wasn't the kind of person to be late for anything so everyone knew something had to happen.
They didn't have to wonder for long as Grayfia finally arrived, the doors opening for her as the servants outside watched with intrigue and a little fear at the new arrivals. "Pardon by the delay." The silver haired woman greeted, pristine as ever.
Except it wasn't the Ultimate Maid people were looking at but the man beside her with a bathered coat, bleeding forehead that ran through his left eye and a limp every time he took a step. Yet his presence was intimidating, practically unapproachable to all who watched him even if the man wasn't let out any sort of power.
Some were surprised by the arrival, none more than Shirou. "Old man?!" He moved quickly around the table, EM already Traced and ready to heal the wounds. "What happened?"
Kiritsugu looked at his son and all present before replying. "Grayfia found me at the end of a job." With his free hand he cleaned the blood over his eye. "I had just managed to finish my quarry when she found me."
"My apologies, Kiritsugu-sama but we were informed by Irisviel-sama that she had informed you of the arrangement." To the surprise of many there was a degree of annoyance in Grayfia's tone.
"She did." Shirou almost flinched at his father's stoic response.
"Then why were you still in the jungle when I came to pick you up? It took me an hour to find you." Considering her Power of Space and speed, that was a lot.
"I had to finish the job." He began to move his arm as soon as Shirou finished healing him. A small, almost imperceptible smile made its way on his lips. "Thank you, son."
"You have subordinates who can do that for you, Kiritsugu-sama." If anyone hadn't noticed Grayfia was irritated, her talking back did. "As soon as you received the call you should have scheduled yourself to be at the meeting point at the appropriate time."
Kiritsugu's eyes studied everyone in the room more carefully than before. "I knew you would find me if I was late. Sirzechs," he wasn't going to give her a chance to reply anymore, "here I am. Let's get this over with."
"Kiri! You don't need to act like that." Sirzechs stood from his place and offered the man a hug. "How long has it been since we last spoke in person?"
"1 year, 9 months and 24 days." Nobody expected a real reply besides Sirzechs, who smiled, and Grayfia who let out a sigh and began to instruct the other maids to clean the floor.
Because Kiritsugu had been in the jungle for weeks and his shoes had so much mud that the castle floor was going to need a good scrub to get rid of it. There was some blood as well but any fighter could tell that it wasn't his. Either way with his state of dress it was obvious the man wasn't ready for any social event.
Not entirely his fault since Grayfia teleported them quickly and gave him no time to clean himself, that was why he looked like he just returned from exploring a jungle and fighting a lion.
"Come on… I am sure Iri gave you all the details." Kiritsugu studied the devil, his so-called business partner. Sirzechs looked really pleased with himself, certainly something to do with the dropped jaws of his parents, some of Rias' Peerage and even a couple of the staff. "I need you to help my sister get ready to fight for the future of the Underworld-"
"In a tournament setting."
"-where she will face against some of the strongest devils-"
"On her age group."
"To cement the Alliance of the Three Factions and help expand it for the sake of peace." That stole any retort the black haired man could have. "Now, we all know training people isn't really your strong suit but Rias managed to create something new for all devil kind and you are the best at deconstructing and utilizing every resource possible." Sirzechs stepped back and Rias stood up at Kiritsugu's curious gaze, a little intimidated. "So use that Magus Killer instinct of yours to help her develop her power. I ask this as your business partner."
Not reacting in any manner, Kiritsugu kept staring at the girl with a great deal of intensity and Rias couldn't help but shiver under the gaze. She had no words to describe what she was feeling but Shirou could tell it wasn't Kiritsugu studying his lover but the Magus Killer, the machine who took over.
Time seemed to stall down for Rias as the empty gaze started to dominate her thoughts until she realized the emotion it was invoking. 'I am scared?'
Finally Kiritsugu turned back to Sirzechs. "Does this place have an arena or anything of the sort?"
Surprised by the line of questioning, Sirzechs barely managed to respond. "Yes…"
Turning back to Rias, Kiritsugu spoke again. "Change into something suitable for combat and we shall see."
"Wait, dad. What are you doing? What are you planning?" Because there was no way Shirou was going to let things continue without an explanation.
"As Sirzechs' magician he is asking for assistance in training his sister. I don't know exactly what I can do so we shall have her tested in combat." His son blinked in surprise but nodded, accepting the logic. Then the parent threw a curveball. "Get dressed as well."
"What?"
"She needs an opponent, actually, she is going to need multiple opponents." Holding his chin the Magus Killer returned in full. "Depending on the space, at least three more."
"Excuse me but are you really the Magus Killer?" Venelana also stood up and approached respectfully. When Kiritsugu turned to her, she turned to Sirzechs. "Why didn't you tell us you were inviting your magician?"
"Surprise? I mean, I know you guys are fans of his work."
"And how." Zeoticus moved faster than his wife and approached for a handshake. Kiritsugu gave in immediately even if his face was frozen in an apathetic expression. "His exploits are famous and many enemies fell to his might. Tell me, was this last mission something as exciting as when you destroyed the last members of the Church of the Bairi?"
His wife followed his lead. "Or perhaps you killed another like VonFinmear to stop the resurrection of a tyrant?"
Still apathetic, the Magus Killer turned to Sirzechs. "You have been talking about my work."
"Well, most of it is public knowledge ever since I was outed that we have a Pact. As a Maou, my deeds must be for the public to see." With some careful editing but that was irrelevant. Transparency helped calming his citizens for they knew the Magus Killer was his ally and silenced his enemies who feared the legend. "Besides, my parents admire the power you must have to accomplish all this."
It was a joke between them as they knew while Kiritsugu was skilled, power wise he was the weakest person in the room bar none. The fact that he managed to take down hundreds of dangerous enemies and built a reputation feared by most was because of how he used his skills.
That was the kind of ability Sirzechs wanted him to impart his sister. "I assume there are no objections then? Or should we awaken our Great Ancestor?"
"No need. Rias will be in safe hands." Zeoticus declared and Venelana nodded, Kiritsugu's reputation showing he was a capable leader and both hoped he could make their daughter strong. "Do you have any objections, Rias?"
Rias snapped back to the present as her eyes moved between Kiritsugu and Shirou, her lover with a look of concern and anxiety about the recent events. His own eyes were moving around between her and his father faster than her own before he shook his head, hoping she would say no.
Frowned a little at the message she was receiving, Rias looked back to the black haired man. "I will change for something more suitable."
"Then you need two more opponents." Kiritsugu turned towards Liz, the maid standing the second his eyes landed on her. "Leysritt, are you fit for combat?"
When the homunculus answered, all the students of Kuoh felt a shiver in their spines "Mana levels optimal and my weapon is in the luggage."
"You are the second fighter."
"Then I should be the third." Xenovia stood with Durandal raised high in its scabbard.
It was her turn to receive Kiritsugu's stare. "Xenovia Quarta, Former Exorcist of the Church, Durandal Holder, trained by Griselda Quarta." Despite the blunt tone and dead stare, Xenovia wasn't intimidated. "Why do you wish to fight?"
"This will help my friends." She replied gently before looking even more confident. "Bsides, as your son's sworn sword, I must show you my ability." Once again there was silence as Kiritsugu's eyes focused on the blue haired girl's.
Shorter than with Rias, this time the Magus Killer nodded. "Equipment?"
As someone raised since little for combat Xenovia got the hint and saluted. "Combat uniform on the luggage, sir!"
"Then get dressed." He turned to Sirzechs. "So?"
Zeoticus spoke before his son could. "Our castle has a small arena in the back for all kinds of competition. But, and if you don't mind me asking, shouldn't you be testing Rias' combat prowess yourself?" He began to walk and Kiritusgu followed.
"I must see what she can do not only as a combatant but as a general and strategist."
"Wait, dad!" Shirou's call stopped everyone. "We need to talk."
Immediately Kiritsugu nodded. "Perhaps we can have someone else join the fight…" Mana covered Shirou's form and when everyone noticed he was dressed in his armor and red shroud. "Practical."
"The rest can follow us after they get ready. Okita, could you please escort them?"
"Of course, my King." Rias' Peerage, Leysritt and Xenovia were left alone with Okita Souji as everyone made their way deeper into the castle.
"What do you need to talk about?" Father asked son just before any of the devils could open their mouths.
"It is personal. Really personal."
"No sense young man." Zeoticus took a few steps back and hugged SHirou's shoulder again. "We are going to be family one day. Whatever it is, Gremory will hold in utmost secrecy."
"What my husband is trying to say is that you can trust us. We wouldn't shame either ourselves or our son by betraying your confidence."
Kiritsugu saw Shirou hesitate, something rare enough to concern the man and force the Magus Killer to retreat back into his mind. He looked at Medusa for any sort of hints but found a pensive goddess who was barely paying attention. Still she noticed the father's concern even if she had no idea what the problem was.
Instead she offered him some reprieve. "Can I ask a question, Lord Gremory?"
"Of course, Lady Medusa." Not everyday Zeoticus could be a host to the divine and he was excited about the prospect.
"About this castle, I noticed the architecture is of European design. Is that a preference or is there any particular reason?"
"I am glad you asked, my Lady. You see, the Gremory Castle isn't exactly old by our standards, it was just built a couple of centuries ago when I decided to prepare us to be more open to the Pillars. The Original Maous were still around and I would like a proper palace to receive them and after studying some of Humanity's architecture at the time, I judged that a castle would be the most appropriate symbol of Gremory's riches while also presenting a pragmatic structure for anyone who came visit, be either by magic circle or by flying to our towers…"
Taking the opportunity Medusa gave him, Kiritsugu began to slow down as Sirzechs and Grayfia made sure to hide him from Zeoticus' view. Even Venelana noticed that they were working to give the Emiya men a little bit of privacy so she stepped beside her husband to not pry.
It wouldn't help much because with everyone still around them, including dozens of maids and butlers Shirou knew nothing about, made the Mage a little nervous about everything he wanted to talk about and the list was not small.
Still he was with his father for the first time in a while and they had much to catch up, the question was only where to start?
Shirou decided to follow his nose. "You have been smoking again."
"With Illya involved in the Khaos Brigade up to her neck and them making a move, I admit I fell into old habits." Fishing a pack of cigarettes off his pocket, Kiritsugu glared at it. His promises to his daughter were forgotten because of her peril. "It won't take long before she does something… and we won't be able to protect her."
Much to their convenience the servants of the castle pretended to hear nothing but even then Shirou refused to point out that Illya was already involved. 'The cloaks used in Kuoh were her creation. It was etched on their history and it was her design.' He gave his father a side glance that was returned. 'He already knows.'
There was no way he wouldn't since Irisviel saw fit to tell him all about the Khaos Brigade attack and equipment. Neither Emiya mentioned the daughter of the house involvement but every single one of them knew she was involved. Indirectly or not, Illya already acted against the Three Factions.
But nobody in her family was going to give up on her, that was very clear. "I was hunting members of the Khaos Brigade." Kiritsugu revealed and Shirou wasn't surprised. "A cell trying to locate a specific flower in the Amazon jungle that could amplify a person's mana capacity. I dismantled the place and tried to get a fixed location for the Khaos Brigade headquarters."
"Let me guess, they refused to talk?"
"They didn't know anything." The Magus Killer was in charge again and Shirou didn't even want to think how he reached that conclusion. "From what I managed to extract they never stepped foot there and knew nothing about Illya."
Rare were the times Shirou heard concern in his father's voice and both knew there was much they wanted to talk about but couldn't. "Don't worry. We are going to pull her out, one way or another."
They exited the castle and walked for a few minutes in silence as Zeoticus kept pointing around and explaining the castle's functions and locations.
Over the years they made sure to follow the Humanities innovations and use them to improve the castle, giving it plenty of quality of life additions like a pool and a couple of sports fields.
But those didn't compare to the arena that was the size of a small stadium with stands, enough seats for 1000 people, four entrances in each cardinal direction and a ring bigger than any soccer field.
While the other facilities were well taken care of and constructed, Rating Games and combat were the devils main form of entertainment and the arena showed it by how well constructed the place was with mana running around the area to show it had its own boundary field even if it was off at the moment.
"It isn't it beautiful?" Zeoticus asked with pride. "I mean, I know it is a bit small, certainly not the size of any official arena or the ones that some Pillars have but it has the best spells to protect the audience, allowing the fighters to go all out." He turned to his guests and bowed his head a little. "With reason, of course. My son once broke the boundary field by accident so we have been improving it."
"You asked me to test it, father."
"And I was proud of the damage you did. We just needed to improve it a bit. Not that it will be necessary with Grayfia as judge." He motioned to his daughter in law with pride and the woman nodded in reply.
Meanwhile the devils kept talking about the place, the Emiya men moved to the side and Shirou Traced swords around them. A boundary field was instantly created in their position, isolating anything they were going to say.
"How are you?" Kiritsugu asked immediately, the pack of cigarettes disappearing in his coat. His son was surprised by the sudden question. "Your mother told me about the fight with the White Dragon Emperor."
A wince escaped the redhead and he began to scratch his head. "It was… You know I let him escape."
"Ever since you rescued Medusa I realized that you will do as you must." Kiritsugu shrugged without concern. "Not liking killing someone unarmed is a bad thing in my chosen profession. Then again, you aren't in my line of work." Father smiled to son, holding his shoulder gently. "Besides, he was rescued. Was that all you were concerned about? Or are you going to request me to not help training Rias Gremory?"
"Hee… kinda, I mean." Shirou shook his head to organize his thoughts. "When it comes to teaching you are bad. Really bad." Kiritsugu nodded in agreement. "I already helped her to think outside the box and to expand her strategies, she responds well when using Japanese History on those, by the way. I don't know what you can teach."
Kiritsugu observed his son and chuckled at how much fond he sounded when talking about the Heiress. "Neither do I. That is why I need to see what she can do. Sirzechs isn't the one to suggest useless ideas." Still he noticed Shirou's wincing again. "Look, I know teaching isn't my strong suit but due to my Pact with Sirzechs, I can't just say no without reason. When asked, I must help his family, the same way he helped mine."
"I am sorry."
"Don't be. I never regretted adopting you and I won't anytime soon." Kiritsugu saw relief and was relieved himself. "Your mother told me about your relationship. Don't worry, if I can teach her anything, it won't be the Magus Killer giving the lesson."
Shirou took a deep breath and let his shoulders fall down. "Is there anything else mom told you? Anything?"
"Iri told me anything she felt pertinent to our family while Maya reported all that happened on Kuoh. Why? Did she forget something?"
"Not exactly 'forget' but she doesn't care. At least I think so." Taking another deep breath, Shirou could understand his mother's motives. She either trusted him to handle this or really didn't think it mattered. "I have a Reality Marble." The look of horror on Kiritsugu's face was subtle and his grip grew tighter. "I wasn't trying to-"
"I know." Kiritsugu placed both hands on Shirou's shoulder, finding himself breathing heavily. He hugged his son who hugged back. "I know." When they separated, both could tell how disturbed the older man was by the news.
Memories he wanted gone returned as his childhood in a tropical paradise with his own father and first crush demanded his attention. The research of Emiya Norikata; the notes, lessons, theories, explanations, calculations, everything came back all at once.
Every single thing he didn't want to remember because it came with the good times Kiritsugu shared with his father.
Times tainted by Norikata's actions and ending.
For all his strength of will Kiritsugu could freely admit, at least to his family, that anything to do with Emiya Norikata was a sore spot worse than anything else he could think about for a thousand different reasons.
"Ironic." Kiritsugu sounded dead but the Magus Killer wasn't present. This was all the man himself. "For my whole life with him, he always said that if he had a Reality Marble the Root would be within reach. How many hours did he spend talking about it? It was practically a bedtime story."
"The theory of 'Multidimensional Time Manipulation'. Yes, I remember." That conversation in their travel to Greece never left his mind. Neither the research he did after.
Which concerned Kiritsugu a little. "Do you want to-"
"No! God no!" Shirou waved his arms frantically. "It would mean traveling ahead and leaving everyone I care behind. Besides, with how many gods around and that we don't know how the universe will be after everything… I prefer to go to the future one second at a time."
"Heh." Both smiled at the small joke. The mood grew lighter even as the implications of a Reality Marble were still heavy on the man's mind. "But where did it come from?"
Especially when it belonged to his son. "I don't know."
"Are you sure? When was the first time you made contact?"
"I don't know for sure. I have had these dreams for a while." Shirou held his chin in thought. "But the first time I was aware of it was when Kokabiel tried to blow up Fuyuki." He shook his head and gave his father a firm look. "No, that is wrong. There was always something there, from the very moment that I woke up in that hospital to when Bellerophon, my pegasus, took residency on it, on my soul." That was when he began to notice its existence. "After it the dreams became more real but I tried to not explore it, to keep it buried. Deep down, after our talk, I knew it could have been a Reality Marble but it was just too dangerous and I just- just…"
"I understand. You always cared for our safety, more than your own." Kiritsugu let out a sigh and began to massage the bridge of his nose. "However a Reality Marble isn't something you should deny. It can be dangerous to you and those around you since we don't know exactly its effects." To this day magi only knew the basics. "Do you know its name already?"
"No idea and I have been trying to cultivate it." His hand came to his chest. "It is huge, father. An horizon without end."
"Unfortunately I can't help you. Anything Norikata had I… you already know." Not really everything as neither knew all the deceased Emiya had managed to research. Plenty of it died with him. "Goddamned." Kiritsugu picked up a cigarette and lit it up.
It was the first time Shirou saw him smoke, before he was just told his father had the habit. "Sorry."
"It isn't your fault." Kiritsugu made sure to let the smoke out far away from his son. "Maybe you had it before the fire, maybe the fire gave you a Reality Marble, maybe it came to be thanks to your will to live," his hand moved to his son's chest, "maybe it was Avalon. You never asked for this. Whoever, whatever, started that fire, is the only one responsible. And maybe they aren't."
They stood there in silence and thanks to the boundary field it was like the world had grown still as no noise reached them. Only the sound of Kiritsugu smoking was present after a while as the man worked in calming himself down. He hated to break promises, surrender to weakness, but the cigarette offered him some comfort.
Comfort that he didn't know how to offer his son." What now?" Shirou finally asked.
"Now we keep it a secret. A secret almost as dangerous as Avalon." When he saw his son grimace, Kiritsugu knew it wouldn't be easy. "How many?"
"Weeeeeell, remember when I said Kokabiel was going to blow up Fuyuki? Pretty much everybody there heard when he figured out I have a Reality Marble."
Quickly recalling the reports he had from the incident, Kiritsugu felt a headache coming. "That would include the Gremory and Sitri's Peerages as well as two Exorcists and the Cadre himself." That was far too many people but also indicated something else. "It was a subject from the Kuoh Treaty, wasn't it?"
"Not the treaty itself, the leaders all agreed to keep it outside of any official records. But they all know it." Shirou could see how frustrated his father was. The fact his poker face broke so many times that day was starting to concern the redhead. "Sorry."
"It wasn't your fault. You were doing the right thing, saving people." And there was no way Kiritsugu would ever fault him for that. 'Even if you reject being a Hero, you are still Heroic.' Kiritsugu could say without shame he was proud of his son. "Everything is fine since they are people that we trust. The most important secret is Avalon anyway."
"Vali also knows. The White Dragon Emperor." Absolute silence was all that was left. "Dad, not gonna to lie, before fighting him I had no idea what was on that guy's mind."
"And after?" Kiritsugu was already making the True Hybrid a target and planning to get anti dragon ammunition somewhere. Or find a way to make some.
"He won't talk." Shirou spoke with certainty, so much so that his father was startled. "His goal is to be the strongest, the apex of all existence. Defeating someone through cheap tricks or letting someone else do the job is not his nature." Throughout their interactions, even before their fight, that was the impression Vali gave him. "He knew I had it but everytime he asked about my Reality Marble… he avoided saying it directly or giving any indication of what I have."
Kiritsugu believed his son, he really did, however he would still make plans to take Vali down for his son's sake.
"He is a threat." Father reminded son. "While you not killing him was more because of the situation and his resistance, remember he is a threat to everyone. A person like that, who wants something so badly that they don't consider who they are going to trample, can only be called a monster."
"That is the thing; he didn't notice his actions would harm innocents. Or at least he thought he would be mitigating any damage." Disbelief was written on his father's cold stare and only a few people in the universe would be able to tell. "Look, if we fight, I won't hesitate. Not in a fight. But it is just… I can understand a little how he feels." A raised eyebrow carried a dozen questions. "Having an impossible goal and not knowing how to approach it. You can understand too, can't you? A desire born out of a painful memory."
Turning to look away from his son, Kiritsugu put out his cigarette and took a deep breath as he searched for the right words to say. Never had he met Vali Lucifer so he only had Shirou's words on the young man but those were the kind of words that cut him deeply, making him understand why he couldn't just kill Vali.
Or why he was about to even against his own will, because he realized how dangerous Vali could be if someone were to stain his dream. Something that Kiritsugu could understand more than he was comfortable with.
Fortunately for the tall man, the Magus Killer easily crushed any sympathy. "He is still a threat, a danger too great for us to leave alone."
"I know. I will do what I must when the time comes." Shirou closed his fist decisively as Kiritsugu looked back to his son. "Next time… next time he isn't escaping."
"Do you have a plan to kill him? Because from what your mother explained, you used everything you had and he still managed to survive." Kiritsugu didn't need to look to see if Shirou came up empty. "Don't underestimate the potential growth of sacred gears either. Unlike us who have none, Vali just needs to figure out the truth of his soul and his power will grow exponentially. Do you believe he won't go that route?"
Not a moment of hesitation. "He will. And I have nothing new to give and few ideas of how to win a second fight." Those were things Shirou already made peace with. "But I can still develop my Reality Marble and use it to gain the prowess of stronger fighters. Today I analyzed Okita-san's sword and while I can't do half of what she can, it showed me that I can grow more in skill."
"Can you do it fast? For I recall she is a devil with hundreds of years-"
"And even before that her talent surpasses mine by leaps and bounds." Shirou wasn't going to sugarcoat it, he knew he didn't have that much time. "But there is much to learn from her."
Silently the Magus Killer nodded and began to walk back. "Your friends have returned."
Indeed they had returned and used what could be called their combat uniform or the most recent iteration for most of them, especially on Rias' Peerage.
While Xenoiva was still using the modified version of the Church's combat uniform, with her modified cloak on her favorite color, Asia had her nun clothes and Luvia had her blue dress and a different pair of earrings, everybody else had the bottom of their school uniforms and the black armor that Shirou made.
Liz was the exception as she also had the armor but was using her usual teacher jersey and pants, a halberd on her shoulder.
However the redhead felt somewhat vindicated. "Oho~ what is this?" Shirou began with a sarcastic tone. "I thought the armor was too 'tacky' and too 'uncomfortable' to use. So you didn't use it in the peace treaty but will use it to fight me. Should I feel flattered?"
"It is too tacky." Rias commented, knocking on the armor just above her breast.
"And it is uncomfortable." Akeno added without missing a beat as she tried to adjust the armor. "It is really thigh on the chest area and you had our measurements."
Nobody batted an eye to how she made it sound, not even Shirou. "To be fair, the material is just too hard to work with-"
"Pff, we will figure it out." Azazel interrupted with a dismissal wave of his hand.
"-but considering what happened on Kuoh that day, you guys should have been using it." A couple of groans escaped his friends and he shook his head. "Oh no, I am never letting you all forget it. An attack happened and none of you were prepared because of fashion."
"Dude, your armor looks bland. Deal with it." Issei tried to one up the redhead.
Only for the tables to be turned with, "Have you got any success on summoning your own armor in the last 10 minutes? No? Then don't complain when the work I do can save your life. Like when the enemy attacks an obvious target with an army." Another couple of grows followed.
"But you can't deny that fighting uncomfortable can make things difficult." Kiba pointed out and Shirou raised a finger to retort. "And some discomfort can ruin a magician's concentration. Same for devils."
Lowering his finger, Shirou nodded in surrender. "Fine. That is why I am going to work with Azazel anyway." He looked to the fallen angel who chuckled before looking back at his friends. "And considering you all will be training, that means I have no excuses but to do it."
"Happy to have you, ahahaha!" Azazel was always happy to have something new to research. "We still need to catch you up with everything though."
"Yeah, I also need to send you the recipe and samples." Shirou then pointed his thumb to his friends. "Or you can take one of those if they don't care that much either."
"Happy to."
"Nevertheless, what are we doing?" Rias asked as she turned to Kiritsugu who was patiently waiting for the conversation to end. "You asked us to prepare for combat and determined that Shiro is going to fight against us with Xenovia and Liz's assistance. Was that it?"
"Sorta." Admitted the tall man who was rubbing his chin. "Took you all more than 10 minutes to get here. Supposing you had to find a place to change in the castle, that is still 7 minutes to finally show up. Did you use the time wisely?" Already everyone could tell this was some sort of test.
A test Rias had no fear to take up with a smile and a nod. "Depending on the configuration and your gauntlet, I already have made several strategies for who will be fighting. Liz and Xenovia heard none, of course."
"Ooooh, that is why you wanted a different room. It wasn't for privacy." With Issei around, Xenovia didn't suspect it either. "Smart."
"Thank you."
"So you planned for multiple combat scenarios?" Kiritsugu asked carefully.
"Multiple kinds of 3v3 and if you are going to allow us to fight with more numbers or even if you are going to have us take turns on 1v3 matches." Rias announced proudly and Kiritsugu nodded his head.
Even the Magus Killer part of his brain couldn't disagree with her preparations, especially since Rias knew Shirou and his group capabilities.
He felt confident in his assessment. "At least, strategically speaking, she is already fairly competent. Top marks." The Magus Killer was looking at Sirzechs who just smiled. "Is there anything else?"
"Perhaps you should see her abilities in combat. Also how she leads under pressure." That was a clear indication of what he wanted and Kiritsugu nodded.
"The rules are going to be as follows; three against three, Rias must be one of the fighters, the fight is going to be in the arena with you being able to do whatever you want if not leaving it." He paused for questions, he expected questions.
Rias didn't disappoint. "And the victory conditions?"
"Good, victory does not always mean beating your opponent, something I noticed devils tend to focus on too much in their Rating Games." Kiritsugu had only watched two because Sirzechs insisted. "Knockout, surrender are the only conditions. A boundary field will be used to stop knockouts and for safety." He turned to Grayfia.
She nodded and stepped forward. "I shall be the judge of this match and will be taking care of you."
A nod later, Kiritsugu turned back to the younger devils. "Besides that, no tricks. Whatever strategy you already concocted, must be applied in any manner you see fit. Of course they won't be making it easy for you."
"Never." Xenovia commented with Durandal on her shoulder as Shirou nodded in agreement.
However a goddess decided to throw a wrench on those plans. "May I make a request?" All eyes turned to Medusa to hear her as she had a hand raised. "If possible, could I participate in my protector's place?"
"What do you mean?" Kiritsugu asked before anyone else.
"You need it to be a match with few people, correct? To better observe Rias' skills?" Medusa's deduction was correct and so he nodded. "Then I need to take someone's place to fight and my protector's is the logical choice."
"Medusa, what is wrong?" Shirou approached the purple haired goddess who turned her attention to him. "You never asked to participate in any sort of training."
"After the Rebel Cadre in Kokabiel and the Khaos Brigade attack, I became well aware that you can't protect me from those sort of threats, no matter how much you want to." Medusa raised a hand to stop Shirou from talking. "It isn't any failure on your part. The enemy is strong and I should be prepared in case combat reaches me, when you are either busy or already fighting an opponent of your own." She turned to Kiritsugu who looked clearly intrigued. "Which is why I ask you to let me try and fight. For far too long I was on the sidelines but combat is also part of my godhood. Time has come for me to stop denying that part, if only to make my protector's life easier."
Again Kiritsugu rubbed his chin before nodding. "Do you have any objections? Xenovia, Leysritt?"
While the homunculus didn't reply, showing neither care or concern, Xenovia nodded vigorously. "Of course not. If the future Mother of Heaven wants to fight, I will gladly watch her back."
"Please don't call me that." Xenovia chuckled in response but was sincere in her words.
As far as the former Exorcist was concerned, by showing the will to fight Medusa was proving herself a goddess worth following.
""'Mother of Heaven'?"" Zeoticus and Venelana asked their son at the same time who just shrugged. Azazel was having a laugh because of everything.
"Very well then." For his part, Kiritsugu saw no difference as that was Rias' test regardless. However he was satisfied that Medusa was looking for ways to expand her power.
Which still made Shirou somewhat concerned. "Are you sure?" He asked, approaching to whisper for her. "If your power grows, your appearance…"
"It is inevitable, regardless. I am just stalling by not trying to recoup my power and that won't help us." She smiled beautifully. "Besides, I do not wish to lose the friends I made, nor live with regret after."
"If you are sure." Shirou stepped back and relaxed.
Rias didn't. "Wait a minute, if Medusa is going to join the fray, can we get more time to strategize?"
Because the teams she had in mind accounted for Shirou's presence, not Medusa's, who she knew less about her capabilities and so things got extremely more complicated. She was planning to have Luvia on the match to try and counter her lover with her jewels but against a god's Authority she needed to rethink everything.
And as weak as she was, Medusa was a force to be reckoned with just by being a goddess, the quality of her mana was just far better than what any devil can output.
There were hundreds of arguments that most commanders needed to learn how to think on the fly but Kiritsugu wasn't going to use a single one of them as Sirzechs wanted him to see Rias' skills and a good strategy would make things easier for her to show off.
Also he was sure nobody present would like that. "Another ten minutes."
"Uhmm… Then can I ask for something too, Dono?" Okita Souji, who was almost hidden behind the Gremory Peerage, stepped forward with an excited grin.
"Of course, Okita. Make your request." Sirzechs replied, knowing his Knight wouldn't speak until he gave his approval.
By the way Okita was looking at him, eyes carrying hunger different from Rias' during nights or Koneko's during breakfast, Shirou could guess. "It seems I am still fighting someone today?"
"That is right!" She pointed at him with an eager grin and fierce eyes. "I wish to see how the warriors of my homeland fare. To test my sword against you, Emiya Shirou!" Everyone looked between the two and the redhead knew she was serious. "So let's do it!"
Kiba patted his friend on the back. "You really have E rank luck." While there was some jest, there was also pity.
"I thought you forgot about that." Shirou certainly felt a hint of fear in his core. But also excitement. "Well, if the great Okita Souji wants to test my blade, let's do it. Doubt I will be a fair sample of Japanese swordsmen but I won't make it easy for you."
"Great!" In the blink of an eye Lucifer's Knight was already in the middle of the arena, jumping from one foot to the other, skipping in place like a girl in a candy store. "Yes! Come on! Let's start already!" She began to punch the air.
Sirzechs chuckled and turned to Shirou. "Are you sure you want this fight? Okita isn't an easy opponent."
"Believe me, I know." The memories in her sword said it all. Still he marched for the ring with confidence.
"May I suggest we move to the center for better seats?" Zeoticus was certainly interested to finally see her daughter's magician in action.
"Great idea, father." Yet Rias turned to Grayfia. "Can you handle this fight too? Just to keep things from blowing up too much?"
Shirou stopped and turned. "Rias, you are exaggerating a bit. I am not nearly that destructive."
Grayfia broke a little of her professionalism and smile. "Regardless, I shall, just to be safe." Then she walked to the side, a magic circle taking her to the center of the arena. "You don't mind me keeping an eye on things, do you, Souji?"
"Of course not, Grayfia-san. I will try not to break anything important." Finally Okita Souji drew her sword, the same sword Shirou made for her. "Call when he is ready."
Once again the History of the weapon assaulted his mind and Shirou knew the kind of fight he was getting in, a fight against someone with hundreds of years of experience on swordplay and a level of genius that boggled his mind.
Yet he Traced his faithful Muramasa, knowing he needed a good sword to measure himself against the former Shinsengumi. "I am the bone of my sword." More preparations were still required and he felt mana run free in his body and weapon. Despite all this he felt it wasn't enough but only would know for sure when the fight started. "Ready here."
The Ultimate Maid looked to both sides before looking behind to see if everyone else was already on their seats. Once the audience was seated, Grayfia turned back. "Standard rules?"
"Fine by me." Okita positioned her sword high and a leg in front of the other. She was ready for a running start and stab.
"What are the standard rules?" Shirou asked just to be sure, his sword in front of him in a defensive posture and strong grip.
"Same back home, Shiro!" Rias shouted out loud. Even without hearing the question, she guessed it by his face.
Either way Grayfia reviewed it. "Any magic is allowed, victory by knockout or surrender." She waved her arm and a boundary field surrounded the arena. "Flight is of course allowed but until the fight ends, the premises of the arena are the only ones accepted. Anything else you wish to know, Emiya-sama?"
"How much can this boundary field take?" Shirou almost regretted the question when he saw how excited Okita was.
Grayfia couldn't help but smile confidently. "I am sustaining it myself. If you can break it then it would stand to reason you could even defeat me." Maid or not she was a devil and dared him to challenge her power. "Anything else you wish to know, Emiya-sama?"
"I guess not." Shirou looked back at Okita as she stopped shaking and only let a smile reflect how excited she was. "Whenever you are ready."
Grayfia looked to both sides, the fighters clearly ready, and raised an arm before bringing it down with a loud. "Begin!"
The clash of swords was instantaneous and so fast that Shirou was almost thrown off his feet. Managing to keep his balance, he noticed that Okita's smile remained genuine. "Show me what you got!" Demanded the Knight.
Pushing back Shirou followed it up with a slash that was dodged as Okita threw herself back, much to his surprise. It didn't last long as the devil came at him once again for a stab and he had to roll to the side to avoid the hit.
He failed as there was a small cut on his arm and the blonde returned to her previous posture. "First blood."
Shirou smiled. "Not done yet." This time he was the one charging, not willing to lose easily.
…..
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