Outskirts of Vatican HQ:
With Samson:
Samson grunted as he lifted his mace and blocked a barrage of shots from one of the exorcists, heaving before roaring as he threw it and that exorcist only had a moment for their eyes to widen before the mace smashed into their chest & sent them flying through the air.
Pulling at the chain linked to his mace, he grabbed the weapon as it soared back to him before bringing and bringing it down onto the bridge with a bellow, grinning widely as a heavy shock wave sent the exorcists surrounding him flying off of the bridge & into the chilly waters below where he knew some of his archers were waiting to capture them.
Looking over to where he saw Heracles last fighting, he chuckled as he saw the man catching a blow from two exorcists by their wrists before roaring as he lifted them up and smashed them into the ground, his Sacred Gear activating & obscuring both exorcists with a large explosion.
"How are you doing over there?!" Samson exclaimed as he ducked, smashing his mace into the chest of an exorcist that tried to attack him from behind and Heracles grinned as he smashed his fist into the ground, an explosion setting off a shockwave that sent the enemies around him flying back.
"Good! We don't get much chance to cut loose!" Heracles shouted back before they both blinked as a large shock wave ripped through the space between them, both looking to the source of the shock wave to see a smirking Georgios walking towards them with Ascalon in their grasp while a giggling Jeanne skipped besides him.
"How goes the battle, you two?" Georgios asked as he ducked under a sword swing, Jeanne spinning & delivering a hook kick to the temple of the unlucky exorcist that had them flipping through the air.
"Much better, but if we could have killed, then it would have been awesome." Heracles said with a shrug, Samson nodding as Georgios chuckled.
"Well, unfortunately we have to catch them alive or else, we won't be fully prepared when the threat of the Khaos Brigade appears at our doorstep."
"Well, it's good to see that you all worry for the future of our world." An aged yet deep & powerful voice echoed across the bridge as Georgios finished speaking, every fight stopping as they caught sight of a giant of a man walking towards Georgios & his group.
Despite the fact that the man had long white hair and his face looked to be covered in wrinkles, the elderly man was a little over two meters tall, his limbs & neck as thick as tree stumps and his body muscles rippling with power as each step made the ground tremble slightly.
However, all of that didn't nearly compare to the overpowering aura that flowed into the air as soon as the man took slow steps towards the captains, everyone he passed silent in awe(for those allied with him) and bone-chilling fear(for those not allied with him) as Georgios frowned.
"His Eminence Vasco Strada. An honour to meet one such as you on the battlefield."
"Hahaha! Oh, no need for the Eminence. Vasco or Mr. Strada is fine and the honour is mine, Georgios the reincarnation of Saint George. You too Samson, reincarnation of the 13th Judge Samson of Ancient Israel."
"Hahaha! Good to see you haven't lost yourself to old age, Vasco Strada! I told you all those years ago that I would be the one to defeat you!"
"And I await that day, but until then, as an exorcist and a protector of Humanity, I shall do my utmost best to ensure the safety of every innocent being in this world even if I die in the process." Vasco declared with a smile and Georgios' frown deepened as his aura grew denser, watching as the blue blade in his grasp began to glow even brighter.
"Then I suppose the time for talking is over!"
"That's right!" Everyone blinked as a voice echoed across the battle field and Vasco chuckled before lifting his sword above his head, Xenovia bringing down Durandal with a bellow as it clashed with Vasco's blade and heavily cracked the bridge below him.
Samson didn't need any more invitation as he dashed forward, Vasco smirking as he raised a hand and leapt slightly back with Samson's heavy mace swing, the power of the blow and his jump sending him flying back into the abandoned city surrounding the HQ as Georgios spoke.
"All soldiers and exorcists, continue your battles!" He ordered before dashing to where Vasco and the rest had continued their battle, Jeanne & Heracles quick on his heels as the sounds of battle continued.
Arriving at where the battle was taking place just a few seconds later, Georgios bore witness to the sight of Samson being picked up by the leg like a child before the giant man was crudely spun and smashed into Xenovia as both were sent skidding across the ground & coming to a slow stop right in front of the former Saint.
"Are you two okay?" He asked, not taking his eyes off from the smiling Vasco and two groans was all he needed before he dashed forward.
Watching as Vasco was just as quick to swing his blade and sent a beam of Holy Energy carving through the ground towards him, he smirked as two Holy blades shot out from the ground under him and boosted him into the air & over the attack, nodding at Jeanne in thanks.
Vasco smirked at the airborne Saint before he lifted a hand and caught Heracles' fist with ease, a golden glow covering his hand & smothering the follow-up explosion with a muffled boom before Heracles blinked as heaven was replaced by earth, his eyes widening just a second before he wheezed as a boot crashed into his chest and sent him flipping through the air.
"Not bad, young one, but activate your explosions at the moment of impact instead of a second later." Vasco advised as he ducked and weaved without looking at the barrage of Holy Swords Jeanne shot at him, smiling at the girl as she growled before unsheathing her rapier and dashed forward.
Vasco smirked as he gripped his blade before he leaned out of the way of her opening thrust, watching as she pivoted just as Georgios appeared from behind her and slashed out at his waist.
Swiftly blocking the attack with his blue sword, he watched as the man dropped one hand from his blade and held out his hand to the ground, chuckling as a sword hilt shot out from the ground & Georgios unsheathed a flaming Holy sword.
Releasing the full aura of the blade in his grasp, Georgios smirked as he swung the blade downwards, watching as the purple flames coating it roared even higher and turned into a pillar of blazing flames that obscured Vasco from view as it crashed into the ground and severely charred it.
However, he clicked his tongue as he heard Vasco chuckling, dispelling the flames to see the man holding his sword above his head while a golden aura surrounding his form had protected both him and his sword from the flames.
"That sword looks eerily similar to Durandal." Georgios said with a frown as the flaming blade in his left hand shattered, dropping the dissipating hilt to the ground as he gripped the hilt of Ascalon with both hands.
"It does, doesn't it?" Vasco said with a smile, not confirming or denying Georgios' thoughts as he softly traced a finger along the edge of the blue blade.
'So, that is definitely a copy of Durandal that he most likely took from the Church just before he defection, but from what we know, Vasco has the highest level of compatibility with Durandal since Roland, so the blade might as well be the original Durandal with how powerful it is.' Georgios thought with a frown before he looked past Vasco to see Xenovia frowning as Durandal glowed in his grasp.
Watching as she glanced at him, he nodded and she nodded back as she gripped Durandal with both hands.
"Jeanne, cover." Georgios ordered and Jeanne didn't need any further confirmation as she slammed both of her hands onto the ground, Vasco humming as a literal forest made out of swords of varying sizes sprouted from the ground and clouded Vasco from view.
'Not too bad. Her mastery of her Sacred Gear is impressive and with this & the way she's been creating blades, she definitely must have been training herself to create numerous blades on the touch with ease.' Vasco thought with a smirk as he readied himself, a moment of silence being all he got before the swords shattered, a widely grinning Samson coated in a heavy aura as he roared before swinging his mace.
Vasco smirked as he went to block the blow before he rose an eyebrow as Samson ducked, raising an eyebrow as he lifted his sword up and parried a beam of Holy Energy to the side right before his second eyebrow joined the first as Georgios and Jeanne appeared on either side of him.
With swift thinking, he let go of the hilt of the Durandal lookalike as twin golden bubbles coated his fist, bringing them down and smacking Ascalon & Jeanne's rapier into the ground right before he flipped backwards to get some ground while catching his sword with a smile.
However, that was part of the plan as Heracles appeared from thin air behind him, Vasco noticing the sword in his left hand before he quickly raised his blade and blocked the explosive punch from Heracles, though not all as a bit of his shoulder got singed from the blow.
Quick reflexes saved Heracles from Vasco's counter as he activated the Holy Blade in his left hand and disappeared once more just as the air of his previous location quaked from Vasco punching it, appearing in a flash next to the others with a gasp as the sword in his hand shattered.
"Impressive. Not many can say that they have injured me in a battle let alone after I gave them a hard blow. You have my praise, young man." Vasco said with a smile and Heracles just gave him a thumbs-up as he continued taking deep breaths, calming his racing heart after he nearly had his head blown off.
"So, what now?" Samson asked Georgios, the Saint frowning before an idea came to mind as he smirked.
"Xenovia, you and I are taking him on. The rest of you, go and make sure that the rebels are captured."
"You sure?" Samson asked Georgios, sighing as the man nodded before he turned to Heracles and Jeanne.
"Let's go."
"Good luck, captain." Jeanne said to Georgios and the man smiled & nodded as the Maiden swiftly followed Samson to the bridge along with Heracles as Xenovia frowned and Vasco chuckled.
"Xenovia, our plan is simple. Keep attacking until he can't keep us down anymore. He may be powerful, but he's far past his prime."
"…Good enough for me." Xenovia said with a shrug before they turned as Vasco chuckled.
"Good plan, but in order to do that, you also have to make sure that I don't take you out in a single blow. Are you capable of doing so?"
"You never know until you try." Georgios said with a shrug and Vasco chuckled before he nodded, all three fighters lowering themselves into their stances as a tense silence hung in the atmosphere.
A small piece of a boulder lying at the edge of the battleground falling onto the ground was the signal as Xenovia bolted forward, both her and Vasco a blur as their blades clashed in a flurry of blows.
Georgios was not too far behind as he dashed forward, ducking and weaving in between the heavy swings of Durandal & hiding behind the large blue greatsword as he slipped a few fast blows in between her attacks only to curse as Vasco easily blocked & parried both of their attacks with a smile on their face.
Holy Energy ran abundant in the air as the three Holy Swords clashed, Xenovia gritting her teeth as she strained her body to keep up with the two veteran fighters.
Ducking under a swing from Vasco, Georgios went for a leg sweep that the man stepped over before he chuckled as he lifted his Durandal and blocked a strike from Xenovia, the blow cratering the ground below them just as Georgios jumped back as an absurd amount of Holy Aura flooded from his sword.
Leaping forward, a slight frown appeared on Vasco's face for the first time as he felt the pressure from Ascalon, gripping the hilt of his Durandal tightly as he flooded his own blade with Holy Energy just as Xenovia leapt to the side.
However, as Vasco swung his blade with a grunt and unleashed the concentrated aura in a concentrated beam, his eyes widened slightly and Georgios smirked as another Holy Aura appeared behind him, looking back slightly to see a grinning Xenovia already lifting her blade above her head as the air around her quaked.
"Rampage!/ Crash!" Georgios and Xenovia bellowed respectively as they swung their blades, Vasco smirking just before his form was obscured as a dragon-shaped beam of Holy Aura & a giant sword made out of Holy Aura crashed into him.
Xenovia grunted as she was sent flying by the explosion, the air around her heating up just before she gave Georgios a thankful smile as he caught her and landed a few dozen meters away from the explosion.
Putting her down, both fighters watched as the Holy Aura kept Vasco from view for the next few seconds before it stopped, the aura dissipating to reveal Vasco smiling as he walked out.
Although his chest was bare and cuts littered his upper body, Vasco didn't look worse for wear as he walked forward, rolling his shoulders as his Durandal overflowed with energy.
"Incredible. You have gained quite the control over your blades compared to the young woman that I met a few months ago. However, I will say that you're still holding yourself back from truly unleashing Durandal's power. Durandal is destruction incarnate. When you attack, you on't control it. You simply point and shoot like this." And as Vasco swung his blade, Xenovia quickly placed her sword in front of her as Georgios swung his as well, a glint of gold being their only warning before their vision was tinted gold as a colossal amount of Holy Energy formed into a beam as big as the one Xenovia unleashed.
Georgios grunted as the beam crashed into him, thanking the fact that Xenovia was unconsciously funnelling Holy Energy into him as that was the only reason why he was able to block Vasco's attack just long enough for it to dissipate.
Taking deep breaths as soon as the beam disappeared, Vasco smirked as Georgios sighed, looking back to see Xenovia just as tired before he turned back as Vasco spoke.
"Sending back the others was definitely not the best choice for you. If you had the others, then you would have won this battle."
"I suppose that is true, but what kind of Saint would I be if I do not sacrifice myself for the sake of my subordinates?" Georgios declared with a smirk as he gripped Ascalon, the pure aura of the blade overflowing as Vasco chuckled while nodding.
"Those are good words. Then, let me not waste your time on this world any longer, Saint."
"Now, now, your Eminence. Let's not be hasty." Everyone looked to the side as a new voice spoke, Vasco frowning at the sight of a young man with short black hair & pale grey eyes, his form covered by a black cloak as a black scythe was on his back while a small black dog with a sword on its forehead waddled happily besides the young man.
"A Grim Reaper? I thought your kind was currently stuck in a civil war?"
"Not a Grim Reaper of any kind, Mr. Strada. The name's Ikuse Tobio, leader of SLASH/ Dog and wielder of the Longinus Canis Lykaon."
"I see." Vasco muttered with a frown as he turned to keep both Georgios and Tobio in his vision, Xenovia staring at Tobio in shock while Georgios smirked.
"Did Azazel send you?"
"Yep and don't worry. Reinforcements from the Fallen Angels and the Angels as well as my team are currently having the others deal with the rebels." Georgios smiled in thanks before they turned to Vasco, the old man looking between them before he sighed and nodded as he dropped the Durandal replica to the ground & rose his hands in surrender.
"A battle between us would take too long and I'm not certain if I will come out the victor & still capable of continuing any other battles. I know when I'm defeated. You win."
"We'll make sure that no one is punished too severely." Georgios said as he picked up the Durandal replica and Vasco smiled as he nodded, holding his hands out as Tobio pulled out a pair of pitch black handcuffs before placing them around his wrists.
"Adamantite & Mythril handcuffs infused with magic suppression runes & holy aura suppression runes. Just a precaution." Tobio said as Vasco looked down at the runes and the elderly man hummed as they started walking back to the bridge, Xenovia sighing in relief before smiling at Georgios as he patted her on the head.
"Nice work, protege. Now, let us go end this foolish rebellion and head back home before your mother decides that keeping you here is better for her heart."
"Please don't." The bluenette pleaded and Georgios chuckled as he walked away, Xenovia limping after him while trying to convince him to not talk to Griselda.
A few minutes earlier:
With Siegfried:
Siegfried grunted as he blocked a slash from the side, Ewald looking bored as he spun around to dodge the sharp blade of Nothung as it cut through the very air besides him.
Gripping Excalibur Rapidly in his hands, he became a blur as he leapt backwards and to the side, easily weaving around the explosive & destructive aura of Tyrfing as the back half of the medical tent they were in was blown to bits before he spun and landed a vicious kick into Siegfried's chest.
Wheezing slightly as the blow sent him barrelling out of the tent, he flipped over & to his feet while a silver arm shot out from his back & grabbed the hilt of Dáinsleif, stabbing the blade into the ground.
A pillar of ice shot out from under his feet & pushed him skywards, flipping through the air just as a whip sword sliced through the tent & through his ice pillar, smirking at the sight of Ewald clicking his tongue as the sword in his left hand transformed back into a simple broadsword.
"I see your skills have not dulled." Ewald said with a frown as he watched out of the tattered remains of the tent, watching on as Siegfried landed in a crouch before he stood back up while the arm on his back leisurely rolled Dáinsleif in its grasp.
"And I see you've changed up your blades. Where's Nightmare & Transparency? Those are the ones you usually use with Rapidly or Mimic, are they not?"
"Alas, it appears someone in the Church had caught word of myself, Vasco and our students going rogue as those two had been taken away to the Orthodox Church in England just a week before our defection. However, as you know, I'm a master at all six of the Excalibur blades, so figuring out a new style of fighting for these was quite easy…as you can attest." Ewald grunted as he appeared at Siegfried's side, the silver haired man grunting as he barely blocked the slash from Rapidly before he spun & slashed outwards with Dáinsleif.
The air froze over as spears of ice shot out to Ewald at point blank yet the rogue exorcist didn't look worried as he leapt backwards, Mimic transforming into an urumi before his arm became a blur as he rapidly swung the numerous blades.
Siegfried hated to admit, but he had to admit that his former master was a genius at swordplay, watching for a split second to see the man easily destroy all of the shards before he snapped out of his awe as he threw Nothung, Tyrfing and Dáinsleif into the air while unsheathing the last of the three blades at his side.
"Balance Break: Chaos Edge Asura Ravage." Siegfried chanted as three more silver arms sprouted from his back, his power octupling as he caught the swords falling downwards before he dashed forward.
Ewald chuckled as he leaned backwards, looking up with glee at Siegfried as Nothung ripped the air above him asunder, flipping back and barely dodging the whirlwinds of Balmung before he leapt back while corkscrewing through the air to dodge the destructive explosions of Tyrfing.
Landing and stabbing Mimic into the ground, Siegfried smirked at the sight of Excalibur Blessing's radiant light flaring into existence as Ewald tossed it into the air before spinning and kicking the blade at him as he ripped Mimic from the ground & lunged forward.
Ewald turned into an agile blur of blows and slashes as he easily juggled the three blades in the air while also dodging the counter blows from Siegfried as the silver haired man tried to keep up with the unorthodox onslaught of blows.
Parrying a thrust from a now rapier Mimic that came from to the side, he didn't pay attention to the blade transforming into a whip sword as Balmung created a barrier of wind behind him, cursing the fact that his former master was still very much as flexible as he was in his younger days as he barely blocked the flurry of slashes that came from Ewald kicking Rapidly at weird yet precise angles.
Watching as the man left both Mimic and Rapidly floating in the air, Siegfried's eyes widened as he jumped up slightly and over a leg sweep before he grunted as Ewald spun and landed a kick into his side, though he was prepared this time as he swung the flat side of Dáinsleif into Ewald's leg.
Grinning in victory as a sheet of ice froze Ewald's leg, he cursed as the man caught Blessing and softly chanted under his breath, the holy aura of the blade burning away the demonic ice of Dáinsleif before, to Siegfried's shock, Ewald put the hilt of Blessing in his mouth as he caught both the airborne Rapidly and Mimic while jumping backwards.
'Shit! I took too long to take him out. Now I have to deal with his fucking style.' Siegfried cursed in his mind as he tightened the grip on his six swords while staring at the rogue exorcist, remembering that his Chaos Edge Asura Ravage was inspired by the man in front of him & his crazy yet powerful sword style.
'Not too bad. He's mastered using all six of his blades at the same time without cutting themselves, but now, it's time to see if he can actually fight with them in unison.' Ewald thought with a smirk as he crouched, a flash of silver being the only warning Siegfried had just as Ewald appeared from thin air behind him.
Blood splattered in the air as three diagonal slashes appeared on Siegfried's chest, the sheet of ice coating his upper body being the only thing that saved him from being sliced to ribbons before he grunted as he spun around.
Giant icicles appeared in the air around him as he swung Dáinsleif in a full circle, not finished as he stabbed Balmung into the air as a giant whirlwind ripped through the air around him as the icicles were carried into the raging tornado.
Not done yet, he focused before spinning as he swung Tyrfing and Nothung rapidly through the air around him and the air itself shattered as the whirlwind exploded outwards, Ewald frowning as he swung Mimic & it transformed into a whip sword that easily shattered the ice spears that came from the destroyed icicles shooting everywhere.
Frowning as he saw nothing in the middle where the tornado previously was, his senses blared at him from above and he quickly held Mimic & Rapidly above him as a heavy force slammed into him.
Looking upwards, he was surprised to see only Gram ricocheting back upwards just as pain exploded in his chest, looking down to see Siegfriend kneeling in front of him as he stabbed a light sword into his abdomen.
"I-I…see. Well done…my pupil." Ewald said with a smirk as he fell backwards, Siegfried letting out a deep breath as he fell to the ground on his knees while catching Gram by the hilt.
"Yeah, yeah." He grumbled as he felt the displeasure from Gram of being held by someone with a draconic aura, sheathing it as well as the light sword in his grasp as the other four demonic blades were already sheathed on his side.
"Sieg! Are you okay?!" Siegfried smiled as he heard Valerie's voice coming closer, looking back to see her along with Asia and the pigtailed friend of Xenovia running towards him.
"I'm fine. Asia, could you please heal him?" He asked and the girl nodded as she knelt besides Ewald, Twilight Healing appearing on her fingers as she placed her hands on Ewald's wound before a light green glow covered him as his wound closed slowly.
"Wait, you actually defeated Master Ewald on your own?" Irina asked in shock and Siegfried nodded before he turned his head as he heard a soft snort from Ewald.
"B-Barely. If I was in my prime, he would be dead."
"Shut up, old timer. I could kick your ass one hand tied behind my back."
"Come back for a rematch and I'll show you a thing or two for underestimating your master."
"Former teacher." Siegfried corrected, making Ewald chuckle before he winced as a flare of pain rippled through his chest.
"Keep still and stay quiet. You need it when you wake up to talk with the pope."
"Yeah, yeah, brat."
A/N: And there we go!
A quick chapter and ending to the Exorcist War, but if I'm being truthful, this wasn't exactly a war as it was simply the Organization keeping the exorcists occupied until reinforcement arrived.
Besides, Ewald and Vasco were never actually trying to kill anyone(apart from those that didn't belong to the Church), so this was just a way for me to quickly get them out of the way.
Next week, we move on to another war, but which one it is, no one will know.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!