Irina and I rushed to Xenovia, who was currently being healed by Asia.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
Asia had got her sitting on the couch. She looked quite roughed up. Her cloak and jumpsuit was tattered and she was covered in bruises.
"I'm fine," she said. "I wouldn't have gotten this far if I wasn't tough."
"Who did this to you?" Irina asked.
"Kokabiel ambushed us. He attacked me with a massive light attack. It wasn't a direct hit, but the force alone blew me away and I dropped Excalibur, which Freed took."
"Where's Yuuto?" I asked.
"I don't know. We got separated."
"Asia, stay here with Xenovia. I bet Mom wants to have a chat with Kokabiel about that window."
I walked out the front door to join everyone else to see Kokabiel in the sky directly, with his ten black wings.
"Ah. So, the gang's all here – The sisters of Lucifer and Leviathan and the son of Gabriel."
"Don't think so fast!" Mother exclaimed. "It is I who will be your opponent!"
"Don't make me laugh," Kokabiel replied. "Word has it that you have fallen far past your prime. Didn't you struggle against a mere human only eight years ago?"
"I'll show you who's past his prime, you fiend!"
"Well, that will have to wait. I wish to dispose of the children first."
"And why do you wish to take us on first, you may ask?" Rias asked.
"Well, it's quite simple, actually. Disposing of the three of you, those who are this close to the higher-ups in Heaven and Hell, will certainly spark another Great War between the Factions. One where I will be able to capitalize on the opportunity to attain the absolute power that Azazel and Shemhazai failed to grasp!"
"And why do you insist on that silly strategy to accomplish this?" I asked.
"I thought stealing the pieces of Excalibur would attract the attention of the Church. But all they sent were some grunts and two teenagers who think they can use Holy Swords. So perhaps killing three direct offspring of their head honchos will be a more appropriate wake-up call to both the Vatican and the Underworld."
"Then you must be prepared to face the Church and the Devils together," Sona commented. "They have put their differences aside for quite some time now."
"That's a challenge I'm willing to accept," Kokabiel said. "And besides, that so-called alliance is so flimsy I can probably breathe on it and it will snap!"
"Don't screw with us!" I exclaimed. "We've sent beings stronger than you packing before and we won't stop there!"
"You mean the Goddess Halja and that pathetic fight she had with you? She's so overconfident I can't believe she's kept it up for as long as she has. As for me, I'm willing to go all out and show I mean business! How about starting with your little school? Nice night for a war, isn't it!?"
He then suddenly fired a massive flash of light! Me, along with Rias, Sona, and Akeno put up shields to protect the rest of us, but he merely used it to vanish. No wonder Freed joined his side.
"We need to go to the school now," Rias said. "There's no telling what he's about to do."
"He said he was going to start with Kuoh Academy," Sona commented. "Given that he's a Leader-class, what he will go for next will be much more severe, potentially the entire town."
"Not to mention, if my math is right, he's now acquired four of these." I added, pulling out Excalibur Mimic from my left wrist. "With that kind of power, he can do great harm to the Underworld."
"You're gonna have to hold tight to that thing now, won't you?" Aika commented.
Of course. If he gets his hands on it, that would mean he only has two more before he completes Excalibur.
"You're right, Makoto," Irina said. "We need to stop Kokabiel before he causes considerable damage to multiple worlds."
"You all go ahead to the school," Mom said. "Makoto. Irina. Come with me."
We followed her to the basement, where she unlocked the door to her Trophy Room.
"I said I had a blade for you, Irina. And here it is."
She opened one of the glass cases.
"Is that?" Irina exclaimed.
"Yes. It's one of the swords your father gave to me, shortly after I acquired Ascalon. He told me to give it to you when you were ready."
She pulled out the sword, which looked similar to a Naval officer's sword, and unsheathed it.
It was a blade made of burnished steel and golden crystal hilt.
"I'm sure not ready for Hauteclere," Irina said. "I only started with Excalibur Mimic not too long ago!"
"It wouldn't hurt for you to give it a shot, given our current situation," Mom replied. "And besides, the key trait its wielder needs is purity of heart. I can't think of anyone who is more qualified than you."
She passed the blade to Irina, who held it, perplexed. "I don't know what to say."
"It looks great with you," Mom said as Irina sheathed the blade.
"So why did you bring me here?" I asked.
"Well…" Mom said, making a camera gesture with her fingers. "I just wanted to see how cute the two of you look together!"
"C'mon, Mother. This is serious business. Kokabiel's about to nuke the town."
"Ah, but it's been so long. It was only one summer, but I've been dying to see you two reunite."
"Oh, Gabriel, you're making me blush!" Irina said.
"So, I suppose you're going after Kokabiel with us, right?" I said to interrupt Mom's fantasies
"Not yet. I'm going to help Asia get Xenovia back to full strength. Besides, it's you, Rias, and Sona that he wants. I doubt he will accept any challenge with me involved, even at the lowered state I am in.
Besides, I did say that your power could potentially be stronger than mine, especially with the Dragon in the equation."
"We've created a barrier around the school in order to contain the destruction for as long as possible," Sona said to Rias as Irina and I arrived at the gate of the school.
"Is Ms. Gabriel coming?" Rias asked me.
"Later. Likely in about half an hour. She and Asia are helping Xenovia recuperate."
"I would suggest also requesting for assistance from Lord Sirzechs," Sona commented.
"Why didn't you ask your big sister?" Rias asked.
"Well, umm…"
"Yeah, I already contacted them," I replied. "ETA is about an hour from now."
"How did you get their contact information?" Rias asked me.
"Sirzechs gave his to me," I replied. "Along with Serafall's"
"Oh, great…" Sona said after I mentioned her sister. Is there something going on between them?
"With how dangerous Kokabiel is, we need all the help we can get," I added.
"My, my, you beat me to the punch, Makoto." Akeno said.
"Goodness," Rias said. "I guess that means our job will be to hold them off until help arrives."
"My group will maintain the barrier," Sona said, "You go in and deal with Kokabiel."
We continued inside. Aika promoted to Queen as we went in.
"I guess this is enemy territory now," she said.
"It is," Rias said. "We have between thirty minutes and an hour to hold him off until our reinforcements arrive. Let's take back this place so we can continue to go to school!"
"Whoo! Yeah! Learning!" I sarcastically cheered.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm."
We entered the schoolyard to find Kokabiel lounging on a floating throne.
"How much longer, Valper?"
"About five minutes," he replied.
I noticed a beam of light from the middle of the schoolyard where I could hear him. It was covered in a magic circle which four swords were placed.
What are those two working on?
"So, I guess Gabriel is a no-show," Kokabiel said to us. "Is Sirzechs or Serafall coming?"
"Well, for right now, you'll have to settle with-"
As I said that, he made the gym explode in a pillar of light!
"Oh shit!" I exclaimed.
"I doubt I can block an attack like that!" Aika said.
"This is boring. At least that gave me some amusement."
If that's mere amusement, there's no telling what he can do when he puts his back into it.
"Whatever you're scheming with Valper Galilei, we're putting a stop to it!" Rias exclaimed.
"Oh, really? Because some friends I brought from the Underworld would like to have a word about that."
As he said that, there was a rumbling from the ground and out emerged a massive dog-like creature with three heads.
"Oh, that's most definitely not a good boy." I commented.
"Say hello to Cerberus. The Guard Dog of Hell."
"Well, if that thing's from Hell, then our Holy Swords shall smite them!" Irina said, before charging headfirst after it with Hauteclere and exclaiming, "Amen!"
"Hey, wait for me Irina!" I said, brandishing Excalibur Mimic.
However, before we could get in range, their massive heads began shooting fire at us, preventing us from getting any closer to it without getting barbequed.
"Nice strategy, Irina," I commented.
Suddenly, the dog was stunned as it was attacked by lightning, fire, and destruction magic.
We looked up and saw Akeno, Ravel, and Rias.
"We got your back, Makoto!" Rias told me.
"Finish that beast off!" Ravel said.
Me and Irina leapt at both of the outer heads and each cut them off.
I took the opportunity to tap Cerberus with my Dividing Gear.
"DIVIDE!"
I'm saving that up for later.
The last head tried to avenge its siblings but it ate my Power of Retribution and the beast was vaporized.
We weren't out of the clear just yet. Two more appeared and were coming after us!
Koneko nodded at Hagane and picked her up, flinging her at great velocity towards the closer of the two.
In midair, Hagane transformed into her armor and uppercutted the dog.
That was my cue. I was about to get creative with my new Holy Sword toy.
I transformed Excalibur Mimic into a cord that lassoed the Cerberus towards me. I then transformed it back to blade form and cut it clean in half with a two-handed strike.
"DIVIDE!"
I didn't know that counted, but hey.
"My, that was quite the creative form of punishment. I'm impressed," Akeno commented.
But there was still... two more? How many of these bitches does Kokabiel have?
The first one went straight for me to avenge its comrade, but Aika blocked the flames and redirected the attack to knock it back, which Irina then capitalized on by cutting the beast in two.
The last one went for Irina.
Akeno and Ravel attempted to slow it down but it seemed to have learned from the last time, as one of the heads attacked the two of them and drew them away from it.
It was about to fry Irina before it was impaled by several swords erupting from the ground.
"Kept you waiting, huh?"
It was Yuuto!
"Glad to see you found your way," I commented.
"In more ways than one."
I flew at the incapacitated Cerberus and cut it in half.
"DIVIDE!"
"You appear to have accumulated quite a bit of power, Fujiwara," Kokabiel taunted, "What do you plan on doing with that?
I nodded at Rias and Akeno.
"THIS!"
The three of us launched a massive joint attack on Kokabiel.
Which he then proceeded to flick away as it dissipated into the barrier.
"Impossible!" Rias exclaimed.
"Impressive. You three certainly live up to your families' reputation. Of course, that also includes the reputation of being complete disappointments!"
"It's been completed!" Valper exclaimed.
That light source near Valper had disappated and the swords have vanished. In their place a singular sword had formed!
He merged the four Excaliburs together!
"Oh, this isn't good!" Ravel exclaimed.
"'Isn't good' is right, Lady Phenex!" Kokabiel commented. "The light that we used to fuse the pieces of Excalibur we've acquired also cast a spell on the ground beneath you. I'd say your little town has about twenty minutes until it collapses."
This is bad. We have the length of a typical anime episode to take this fallen angel asshole down and stop him from destroying the town. Mother's arrival will cut it way too close and it'll be too late by the time Sirzechs and Serafall get here. We're on our own to stop him.
"That's the most Unholy of Holy Swords I've ever seen!" Irina commented.
"Hey, Freed!" Valper said. "Why don't you take the Fused Excalibur from the circle and provide them with some third-act entertainment?"
"Sure thing, Gramps!" he said as he pulled out the new sword.
Irina, Yuuto, and I rushed after the two of them.
"I wonder what this does," Freed said as he struck the ground, causing a massive quake that knocked three of us back.
"Ah. So that's the power of Excalibur Destruction. Interesting."
I got back up quickly as he charged at us. I blocked his Fused Excalibur as sparks began to fly.
"I'm settling my business with the Wannabe Exorcist!" I told Yuuto. "You go and settle yours with Valper!"
He nodded and began approaching Valper Galilei.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?"
Suddenly, Irina was attacked by a duplicate of Freed!
"How do you like that!? That's Excalibur Nightmare's power. Its illusions are quite potent. And, while we're at it, this is Excalibur Transparency!"
He suddenly vanished!
The only thing that allowed me to guage where he was the gusts of wind I could only assume was from the speed of the Excalibur Rapidly piece he had earlier.
I went with my gut and managed to pinpoint where he was in the nick of time, clashing with his Excalibur as he broke out of Transparency.
"Y'know, it infuriates me how compatible you are with that thing, Angelface. My sword is four times what yours is and you're still keeping up!"
"I appreciate the compliment!"
As Irina and I were clashing with Freed and the duplicate he created, I could overhear Yuuto and Valper's conversation.
"And who are you supposed to be, boy?" he asked him.
"I am a survivor of the Holy Sword Project; One of the children you had killed. I was saved from the brink of death by my devil master."
"So, you're the boy who escaped. Small world, isn't it?."
"Tell me. Why did you, a so-called man of God, dispose of us like we were useless!?"
"My child, I wouldn't say you were useless. Simply disposing of them would be throwing away the time and energy I sacrificed for my fascination of the Holy Sword Excalibur. Their individual holy energy wasn't sufficient, so I had the bright idea of combining them into the correct amount!"
He held up a blue crystal. It emanated the same form of aura that Freed emanated earlier when he cut through Saji's Absorption Line.
"You killed them all? To create that!?"
"Well not just this specifically. This is the last one, though. I used three of them on Freed, there."
Yuuto was shedding tears of pure fury.
Irina had just cut off the head of Freed's Nightmare Illusion when she noticed the crystal.
"I've seen that before!"
"You're right, young lady," he said, tossing the crystal aside. "Even though the church called my research 'barbaric' and had me excommunicated, those hypocrites still had the gall to continue to use it for their own gain!"
I picked up that crystal that Valper tossed aside.
"What is it, Angelface, you find a penny?"
"So, this is the result of Valper's treachery…"
"You're his friend too, aren't you?"
I heard that strange voice, almost supernatural in tone.
I looked to my side to see a young girl, but her bluish hue made her look like some sort of ghost or afterimage. Is she one of the souls trapped in this crystal?
"I guess I am."
I noticed more spirits appearing next to me.
"That's odd," said Freed. "I didn't tell Excalibur Nightmare to do that…"
It's definitely not his sword. I bet the sheer amount of magic energy we used may have had a play on this.
"Well, a friend of his is a friend of us…" another one of them said as Freed was literally arguing with his sword over these afterimages.
Yuuto, who had been paralyzed by grief and fury, noticed the spirits next to me.
"Everyone?" he said, with visible joy showing on his face.
"Isaiah, let us help you," one of the spirits said to Yuuto.
"What?"
"You don't have to confront your past alone. We will be with you, even if our bodies cannot."
"Take it, Yuuto!" I said, tossing the crystal to him. "Let your old comrades help you avenge them so you can protect the comrades you have now!"
"You're right, Makoto! Thank you!"
As he said that, the crystal, along with all the spirits, began to merge within him!
"The Knight is peaking…" Albion told me.
"Could you be a bit more specific?"
"Just like your Sacred Gear, his power also fluctuates in response to the user's feelings. When they reach a certain peak, they can perform a transformation that reshapes order and chaos,
also known as a Balance Breaker."
Yuuto had summoned a single sword on the ground.
"Y'know, all this friendship bullshit is getting on my last nerve!" Freed said as he leapt to confront Yuuto. "I'm putting a stop to this!"
"I shall become the sword of both the President and of my comrades, both past and present!"
The sword began to glow with both light and darkness. Could this be?
"Sword Birth Balance Breaker! Sword of Betrayer!"
It then transformed, revealing a sword that not only emanated holy light, but also a dark energy, with demonic runes inscribed on it.
He had done the impossible! Yuuto Kiba summoned a Holy Demonic Sword!