The Chaos that consumes the world

IV

It was bright, even now, it was much too bright for him to tolerate.

He stuck to the alleyways, his form passing through them with ease, he drew little eyes to him and those who did chance a look barely spared even a fraction of a glance before they dismissed it as a trick of the light and nothing more.

He stopped walking, his right arm came up and clasped at the front of his coat, his tar like skin pulsed and bubbled, rippling like the surface of water as shape was jettisoned from it. Shooting forwards like a blur in the confined space, twisting around and launching itself back towards him, slamming into his shoulder and hooking itself down in place without even so much as causing a flinch in him.

There had been no underestimation on his part, he had found and examined several of the bounded field markers on the outskirts of the town without alerting a single one of them. From one magus to another, he considered the owner of the bounded field to be something of a peer, if only a little. Certainly enough that they required him to use his understanding to avoid tripping them.

It wouldn't do to alert the prey too soon that there was something on their trail, that would be far too troublesome if they caught wind of him and escaped.

All the same, it was something which earned his eye during examinations of the Rating game but nothing else. The tricks employed had been of minor note, anyone with an ounce of sense would have created similar constructs for combat against the devils. But it was always better to overestimate than to underestimate, after all…they were a peerage with relations to the Lucifer.

It would make sense that they would spare no expense in delivering only the very best mages into the company of the younger sister. Much like with the Sitri heiress.

His eyes turned onto the shape still perched on his shoulder, the black raven twisted its head and stared into his eyes. Crimson glowing orbs without an ounce of pupil within them, the blank gaze earned only a faint twitch of the lips from him before his features schooled. The mental command, as much command as flexing a limb would be considered one, was delivered and the bird moved in the same instant.

With a single flap of its wings, it took to the skies and high into the air, faster than any of its compatriots would have been capable of.

He would find where the current Emperor resided and then he would await nightfall, that would be the moment in which to strike.

His nose twitched.

His eyes narrowed.

Another sniff.

A snout emerged from beneath the coat, just far enough that it could take a deeper huff of the air. Growling, the wet snout retreated back into the mass of tar, the ripple fading away as the sensation passed through his mind. It was the aura of a rather powerful relic, not just any relic, the type that would bring a crawl to his skin.

A Holy Relic.

Though, for what reason would something such as that be within this place? A land of the devils with a Holy Relic of such a strong scent? A juxtaposition to be certain. His left hand came around, held horizontal against his chest, another ripple and a smaller shape jumped forth and into his waiting palm, bringing it around and holding it outright before him.

Small and furry, identical beady red eyes to the crow.

The tiny field mouse stared at him, he lowered it down to the ground and allowed it to spring out from his grasp, scampering away as a mere blur and darting around the corner. Rushing towards the direction he had caught the scent.

His hand balled back into a fist as he straightened himself out once more, tugging his coat out straight and adjusting it. Humming from the back of his throat, he mused this most recent development. Even a converted Devil would be unable to wield a Holy Relic of any power with skill, an exception was made for Sacred Gears but this was most certainly not that, it was raw…and yet it was mixed with another scent.

One of Alchemy.

The touch of man, he noted, and yet there was something more. Something beneath the thick stench of thaumaturgy that was different. It was the foundation of it, the strongest scent but still muddled. Yes, he could see it right at the base.

It was not artificial, it had been constructed by something other than a man. This was not an ordinary blessed Holy Weapon, this was a Divine Construct.

A Holy Relic which had been touched by the hands of man and altered somehow…

It would seem that he was no longer the only interested party in Kuoh.

How unfortunate for them, nothing more than a mere spot of poor timing had sealed their fate. If there was one thing about Holy Relics that he was certain of, it was normally held in the arms of Church dogs and used for the culling of Devils. However, these devils had become his prey and if there was one thing that he most certainly did not approve of.

That any hunter did not approve of.

It was something stealing away his prey.

It seemed as though he would be rather busy tonight, well…a light snack before the main event would hardly be rude. Especially when they might as well have been presenting themselves before him so eagerly.

His eyes itched.

He hated it when they did that.

Because it was never a good sign, whenever they did that it was just evidence to him that something bad was about to happen. It was never a case of if but when at this point. He'd been rubbing at them for the last couple minutes, ever since it first set in, he had been right in the middle of putting everything away when it first struck him, like that little rumbling fizz right behind.

At this point, he just wished he would get the vision and it would end, the waiting was the worst part for him.

It struck again, a little bit worse than before just as he was in the middle of putting the key in the lock. Unable to fight back the gasp as he brought his hands up and rubbed at his eyes, already the stinging was enough to bring him to tears. He didn't even understand why it hurt so badly, when he used them to try and find information about Asia it had been nothing more than a little prick, like being blasted in the face with cold air.

A hiss rippled out from him, he raised his right hand and pressed it flat against the wall as he hung his head low. Blinking profusely as he tried to banish the moisture away from his face. Once more giving them a rub over to remove the tears before opening them up, he was certain they would be bloodshot at this point. Was he trying to fight it? Was that the problem? He'd been actively looking the last time around but he wasn't now.

…But what would he see if he tried to look this time?

Every other time it was nothing but pain and misery…why would this time be any different? Even the tamest of them had done nothing but reveal the fact that Asia was sheltered beyond belief. The implications of that hadn't struck him until much later on and they were horrifying for a whole host of other reasons.

…Goodness, was this really what his life had become?

A sigh escaped him as the pain started to subside, but it was nothing more than a temporary fix at best. It would not be long before it came back again and when it did it would undoubtedly be quite terrible for him. With a shake of the head, he pulled the key out of his pocket and slipped it into the lock, turning it once until he heard a click and then putting it away once more.

He'd go home and then run through the whole thing.

Probably best to let Leona know as well, even if she didn't have any experience with this thing - by her own admission - it would still be smart to clue her into the whole ordeal with his burning eyes.

Blinking a couple more times to get out the last of the tears, the relief he felt was enough to earn another sigh. Turning around and making his way back through the hallway, right up until he heard a sound of shoes sliding against the floor. Briefly pausing and turning back around, just in time to hear the rapidly approaching sound of heels on the floor. Something was a bit weird about that.

When he ended up with a face full of Leona, he was rather dumbfounded.

She gripped his wrist like a vice and was dragging him along before he could even get another word out. Except if it had just been her he would have been a bit surprised but nothing else. Except when he saw the crowd of people flanking behind her - including the entire student council - and some guy he didn't know who looked like he had been pulled out of a costume drama. His confusion must have shown on his face, but he didn't get much of a response from anyone.

With his wrist in one hand and Asia tucked away in the other arm, Leona led them all through the halls as she continued without breaking pace. He winced slightly at her grip, briefly moving his hand to grab her own, only to pause just shy of touching her, looking around over his shoulder at everyone once again.

The second time around, he caught all their expressions and found himself unable to speak as he scanned each and every one of them. Stricken of blood, they looked ashen and rather mortified. His brows furrowed but he kept silent, lingering on each of the faces as some tripped over their own feet for a second - Tsubasa - and then continued on with a slightly hastened pace.

"What…er…" He voiced aloud, looking at them and then turning his focus back onto Leona, staring at the back of her head as she continued her rather swift pace. Not quite a jog but an exceedingly powerful walk. So much so that he had to quicken his own pace to avoid being dragged along, with how strong it felt like she was pulling him, he was slightly concerned that she would actually end up doing that if he slipped over. "What is going-"

His eyes landed on Asia, his brows furrowed and his lips parted as he noticed that the girl was actually slumped over Leona's shoulder, limbs hanging rather loosely and without any tension in them. It looked to all the world that she had just fallen asleep in the arms of his wife, but there was something about the silence that was deafening, and suddenly the burning in his eyes felt a lot more telling than ever before.

"Leo, what is-?"

"Just-" There was a sharp edge in the voice of Leona which stopped him dead in his sentence, he'd never heard her speak like that. The quiver right at the start before she found her strength, a faint noise escaped her that sounded like a shuddering breath. Except that didn't sound right, not even to him. Because that sounded more at home with himself than with her. "Just…don't ask any questions right now, Roman. Just wait until…wait until we get home."

His gaze lingered on her for a couple of seconds, then he hummed in agreement before he glanced down to where she was grabbing him. "Alright but can you loosen up my wrist is starting to hurt-"

She released him like she had burned herself, briefly stopping and staring at her own hand before she looked down at his, he saw the wide frantic look in her face as she looked towards his eyes. He almost recoiled from the stricken expression, as though she was ashamed of herself.

"Hey, no it's fine." The hasty reply was accompanied by him rolling up his sleeves, he internally cringed at the faint white marks along his skin where she had been gripping him but he otherwise offered her a smile. Rolling his wrist around a few times and then lowering the sleeve back down. "Nothing but a light squeeze is all, just a bit unprepared is all…Shall I assume it's something serious and just-"

"Please, Roman just-" She cut herself off once again, looking at him as though she was searching for the right words, when she did eventually speak, it was in a quiet and almost pleading tone of voice. "Can we just get home? Please."

He stared at her for a second, then to the assembled faces behind him for a moment and briefly towards Issei, the boy noticed him and then squinted, he didn't look quite as scared as everyone else but there was still a bit of tension in his expression, but it quickly gave way to bemusement as they stared at him, squinting a bit harder before they pointed towards their face. Specifically the eyes. "Have you been crying, Roman-sensei?"

Romani froze for a half second, then immediately nodded his head. "Y-yeah. Banged my shin on one of the beds. Really hurt. That's it."

Perhaps it was his wooden voice or the speed at which he answered, but he saw a flash of comprehension flash through Issei's eyes a second later, they widened for a bit and then narrowed just as swiftly, nodding his head rapidly up and down before speaking in a tone of utmost seriousness. "Sounds bad. You should really look into that, Roman-sensei. Make sure it's all good."

"Will do." He turned away, briefly catching Leona's eyes. She caught on just as swiftly then nodded once.

"I'll have a look, last thing I need is you hobbling around." There was something in her voice that he couldn't place, it sounded like relief but something else as well. And like that, they were off again before he could even get another word out, quickening his pace as they all marched without showing any sign of stopping.

He glanced over his shoulder once more, matching eyes with the white haired man and nodding to them once, bringing up his hand and waving to them. "Hey, Romani Archaman…School nurse. Nice to meet you…wish it was under better circumstances."

"I know who you are."

Romani's lips rolled inwards, he snapped his head back around and quickened his pace a little more until he was shoulder to shoulder with Leona. Because the way the man spoke wasn't intimidating at all, not in the least. Nor was the look in his eyes that was sharp enough to cut through steel walls scary to him at all. No way. It was definitely not the fact he was intimidated by the taller looking man who was probably some sort of Devil noble who knew what his name was.

No reason to be worried at all.

He stopped walking, ignoring the crowded streets for a brief moment and just returning to his senses fast enough to step out of the way of one of the passersby. Avoiding bumping into them, whispering a silent apology and giving them a faint smile before his expression hardened.

It felt like a gentle pulse, but it had been growing strong and stronger the further he walked. Turning his head left and right, his brows furrowed as he watched along the streets, keeping his expression level as he did so but little else. Rolling his jaw, he closed his eyes and moved further out of the way of the stream of people.

He focused solely on the pulsing feeling in his arm, the gentle rhythm.

Almost akin to a heartbeat.

Beat.

Silence.

Beat.

Silence.

Beat.

Silence.

Beat.

His eyes opened and he turned towards the west, he kept his eyes in that direction before he turned down and moved his hand to his pocket. Removing the small pamphlet from it and unfolding it, his black leather glove creased as he touched it, pausing for a moment at the sensation of having an arm again after so long.

It had been a while since he had a prosthetic, removing it to avoid attention.

It said a lot that it felt as though he had never lost the arm in the first place, for how natural it felt.

Dismissing that, he focused on the map of the town in front of him, narrowing his eyes and moving his hand along the surface of it. The rhythm of beats within him got faster and faster, then would slow. He'd stop on one street when it was at its fastest only for it to slow once more, dragging his finger along to the speed of the beating.

Movement.

He was tracking movement.

Jedidah was indeed a man of his word.

Controlling his breathing, he looked up and narrowed his eyes. Folding up the map and then pocketing it once more, he turned and started to walk in the direction he was indicated. Already he could feel the pulse of the arm quicken to match his stride. He was indeed on the right trail.

All he could hope was that whoever was wielding it would prove reasonable, but he was prepared for the alternative. It always boiled down to the alternative, though it might have been cynical for him to assume. The Excaliburs had been in use for well over fifteen hundred years now, the Church had kept them ever since…

He clenched his jaw, banishing the thoughts from his mind.

He was close now, he was oh so very close.

The cost of failure far outweighed anything else that could happen.

He could not fail now.

If they rejected his proposal…then he would be left with no choice but to take the shard from them by force.

He just really wished that it didn't come to that.

She was still unconscious, even as they eventually ended up in front of their door. He watched as Leona went in first, having to repeatedly assure her that he would be in after her after a single conversation with Issei, the blinking of his eyes had clued her into what he was actually going to be talking about.

Once she was in, he turned around and moved back towards the slightly fidgeting teenager, hands in his pocket and glancing all around as though he was looking for something, or if he thought something was looking for him. The nervous energy of everyone else standing around behind him towards his gate didn't do much to calm his nerves.

"So…" Romani muttered in a low voice once he was close enough. "I'll probably end up getting the rest of the story from Leo once I go in, in which case she'll almost certainly end up freaking me out when she does but should I assume that with all of you there and the whole…" he nodded towards the man still stood there, he wasn't sure the guy had so much as blinked in the entire time he'd been staring.

Issei slowly nodded his head. "It's really serious, Roman-sensei…that guy is Buchou's brothers knight." he all but hissed as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the man, his eyes glancing to the side briefly as he did so, then he continued on. "And he is here because it's really serious…I don't get it beyond that there is some sort of super-duper exorcist in Kuoh at the moment and Asia was really freaked out about it…like she passed out."

A grimace came upon his face, glancing over his shoulder towards the front of his door and then back towards the teen. Already he could feel the sweat building up on his nape, the slightly hastening beats of his heart. He thickly swallowed, his throat on the verge of going dry as he stared into the eyes of the teen, then back towards the man. "So is he here for protection for all of you…"

"...I think he's here…as a meat shield." He whispered the words out in a really low tone of voice, though Issei couldn't actually see the reaction of a man. The slight twist of the head from the fancily dressed individual was proof enough that he heard the comment, but the lack of anything else showed that he didn't disagree with it.

Or - and Romani was being very hopeful this was the actual reason - he just didn't see a reason to comment upon it and was letting Issei be slightly pessimistic.

He really hoped it wasn't the former, because the former was not very good for him. By his own understanding, and it was a very heart stopping understanding, Rias brother was a very important person with some very powerful allies. That guy over there would have been one of those allies and he was being described as a meat shield.

"At the moment we're all just…going back home and hoping for the best." Issei continued on, then wet his lips. "The…um…Vlov, his name is Vlov by the way, said he was going to keep an eye on everyone's house while the undertaker exorcist was in town until they either left or they made contact and…b-basically everyone is just hoping that they leave." he let out an awkward chuckle, rather stilted and showing just how nervous he was.

The tremble in his hands as he reached up and patted down the side of his neck was cementing the evidence further.

"B-but…umm…L-let me know how your knee turns out." He added on in a rather pleading tone of voice. "J-just so we can get some good news and stuff, right? Because everyone is freaking out so now I am freaking out and there's some pretty important people around here…j-just so we're all clear on the matter, right?"

He nodded his head up and down. "Right."

"Thanks." Issei let out a shuddering breath, bringing up his hand and waving as he turned around and walked back towards the large group. "See you tomorrow, Roman-sensei. Have a good night and take care of your shins."

"You too." Romani paused, then scrunched his expression. "I mean have a good night, not the take care of your shins part…I mean, obviously take care of yourselves, I wasn't implying otherwise but just be careful, alright?"

He got a few weak smiles in response to his blundering, but he didn't mind being the butt of a joke this time around. As long as it brought some sort of calm to them, then it was more than enough for him. Turning back around, he walked into the house and closed the door behind him with a click. It made him flinch, the silence of the house making the sound echo like a gunshot.

Approaching the living room, he stepped through the doors and found Leona setting Asia down on the sofa, crouching over her with the same troubled look as before, unchanged from the concern. Her eyes moved towards him as he entered, the two of them stared at one another in silence, Leona's eyes returned to Asia as her voice came out as a low whisper.

"I take it Issei more or less filled you in about what was going on?"

"A little." He replied, keeping his voice equally low. "A super exorcist."

"Hmmm." A quiet hum and a slow nod of the head, her eyes closed and she took in a deep breath. "Not entirely far off, I suppose…The Church has three different layers of enforcement within it. Exorcists, those you would typically use to handle low class Stray Devils or other such cases that do not require a strong hand…They're the most utilised branch of the Church."

His brows furrowed a touch. "Like the uhm…like the crazy guy from a couple of weeks ago?"

"Like Freed, yes." She affirmed, he grimaced at the thought of the man once more before he focused on her. "He was on the cusp of being skilled enough to put him into the second bracket. Those are the Executors, dispatched for much more difficult missions and a great deal more skilled. Certainly more so than anyone that the peerages around here would have encountered. I've met some of the upper bracket Executors and they are…very good at their jobs."

He didn't ask how she met them, he could just tell this was leading to the topic. "And the third would be the…Issei-kun called them undertaker or something."

A hollow snort from Leona, she sniffed and stood up, rubbing the underside of her nose as she did so. "I laugh but it's really not all that amusing…They're called Burial Agents and they're called upon when the Church…well…when the Church needs something or someone buried." her eyes moved towards him once more, the expression on her face was hardened like stone. "They are, without a doubt, the trump cards of the Holy Church…humans who have managed to reach the pinnacle of the species in both physical and spiritual existence, some would claim they have achieved an prowess with light which allows for the creation of Miracles upon the world."

Miracles?

"You mean like-"

"It's a rumour." She sharply cut him off, but her face didn't so much as twitch. "I've never seen anything like that, I've never so much as met one before, but everyone hears about them through reputation alone…Or they're around to see the aftermath of it when one of them passes through, they normally come up with some excuse in the end…some freak tornado wiping out an entire town to cover it up or something."

Romani blanched. "A-a freak tornado?"

"That's for the lower end ones but once you attract the attention of the Burial Agency, it's typically a case of…well, it doesn't matter how high they are in the power ranking of the agency, just the fact they are after you." She muttered with a shake of the head, stalking away from the sofa and towards the chair, turning and dropping down into it like a puppet without strings.

Romani took a step forwards and then stopped, glancing to Asia for a moment and then back towards her, lightly gulping as he did so. "S-so…it's very bad."

"...It's about as bad as it could get." Leona muttered lowly, falling forwards and catching her face in her hands, groaning into them. "The only way it could be worse is if the Archangel himself dropped down here and went for a wander…though at this point, it's much to the same effect. Roman, I cannot put it into enough words just how bad this situation is…" sweeping a hand out, she waved towards Asia. "And she has reason enough to be terrified, but they wouldn't…they wouldn't be here for her…"

He didn't like the doubt in her voice. "Leo…"

Her shoulders rose and fell, a faint inhale accompanied it, visibly building herself up. "...Another of the Burial Agents' role, though that is pretty much common policy among all agents of the Church, is to kill heretics…Asia, in becoming Devil, is about as big a heretic as you could find out here." bringing her head up, Leona looked him right in the eye with trembling orbs. "For her, it is like finding out that death himself has rocked up into town. Whether or not he is here for you doesn't matter, if they so much as see her it would be in their moral imperative to kill her on the spot and they would get away with it as well."

Romani stilled "Wh-"

"They're a Burial Agent, there isn't a single individual in this entire town who could even delay them for the better part of a couple of minutes." She paused for a moment, then twisted her expression. "With the exception of the Knight of Lucifer, but that's an entirely different matter, he's not going to risk a fight with a Burial Agent even for someone like Rias."

Stepping up, she pulled herself from the chair and approached him, her expression strained as she came to a stop right in front of him, her voice in a low whisper. "The truth of it is, Roman, the honest truth…none of the three factions wants to restart the great war and a Burial Agent doing what they are employed to do…isn't a reason to start a war with them."

All he could do was stare at her.

That was all he could do.

He understood what she was saying, what she was implying.

The words made grammatical sense in his head.

But he could not apply them to the real world, he refused to apply them to the real world.

She was saying that this person could just kill Asia for the crime of wanting friends, they could just kill her and get away with it and there would be nothing that any of them could do to stop them, they couldn't even protect her because it would risk a war and Asia just wasn't important enough for that.

That was what she was implying, he could see it in her eyes.

She could probably tell that he knew it as well.

"You mean they…they would just…" He weakly gestured towards the direction of Asia, the full weight of it pressed against the top of his head. Feeling as though he was going to have to sit down as well, after everything they all went through, after everything that Asia herself went through. The idea that they would just leave her alone to all of this was downright mortifying.

"It won't come to that." Leona placed her hands on his shoulders, pulling him down and towards eye level. The certainty in her voice wasn't quite matched by the doubt he could see in her eyes. It was such an alien thing that it took him a second to realise what it actually was…and it was only because he had seen those same eyes in the mirror so many times. "It will not come to that. Now the Burial Agent is accompanied by two other Exorcists, which in itself is unusual because they normally work alone and even if they have back up, they take Executors with them…now regular exorcists are strange."

It was just words she was saying, but it sounded like it was something worth clinging onto. He mutely nodded his head as she spoke.

"Furthermore, they arrived this morning and have been here for a few hours by now. If they were here for Asia then…" She trailed off, closing her eyes briefly and then opening them, delivering the next words as cold as ice. "If they were here for Asia, then they would have come for her while she was at school and yes…they would have. They'd have walked right in, wiped the minds of everyone else and then walked right back out."

"T-this isn't comforting…" He heaved.

"It's not, I know that but this is…they're here for a reason." She pressed further, gripping him by the shoulder rather tightly. "They're here for a reason that doesn't include Asia in it. Now if we keep her away from busy areas until they leave, then everything will be alright. She isn't the first to defect from the Holy Church and they don't chase down everyone who does that, just the high ranking individuals…if they wanted Asia dead, it would have been immediately after her excommunication, or rather there would never have been one in the first place."

"R-right…so…so what should I-"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Don't even think about doing anything." Her grip on him intensified, her voice taking on a much more urgent tone, eyes wide and pulling him right down to be eye level with her. "Don't do anything. Don't even react. They'll be in disguise but that's all I'm going to tell you. I'm not even going to tell you what they look like."

What? But then if he didn't know what they-

"Romani Archaman, you listen to the words I am telling you." She tightened her hold and pulled him from his thoughts. "If they so much as even suspect that you know what their true identity is, then they will kill you. Around here, the only ones who will know who and what they are would be those who are affiliated with Devils. That's it. Which means that if you know who they are, if you know what they look like, then they are instantly going to suspect you are in some way aligned with the Devils."

"But-"

"Romani." She stepped forwards, pressing her forehead against his. "Listen to me…the safest thing, the very safest thing for you, is to not have any idea what is going on. They're here for something…something that isn't us or the Devils. They've gone silent…there's plenty of other people who know what to look out for, they'll be keeping an eye on everything." she gazed into his eyes. "I will be keeping an eye on everything as well. That's fine though, I've got monitoring systems across Kuoh thanks to Rias permission."

"But then you-"

"They're not mages. They don't work like mages. They have talent - they have blessings - when it comes to Holy Power, but they don't know magic. It's not something they practise. The Burial Agency is very much against that sort of thing, they work with the strength of man and heaven. That alone…they'd sense the familiars but they'd never be able to track them down. Even then…I'm me."

She opened her mouth to speak, then abruptly stopped, her brows furrowed slightly and she turned towards the window facing the street.

Romani was midway through his own turn, somewhat surprised by her sudden actions-

His eyes burned.

His senses screamed.

Before he even realised what he was doing, his arms were around Leona's waist and they were both falling towards the floor, propelled by his legs which had pushed out from beneath him and tackled her.

A split second later.

His world was nothing more than noise and flying shrapnel, something like a cannon and a rush of wind washed over him, he became weightless as something washed over him, his body turned and he struck the ground hard, a sharp breath rushed out of him as something fell down on top of him with a clatter, a splintering noise of wood and falling glass followed.

The colours were still blurred, he could neither see nor feel anything, all he could really picture was blobs moving around in front of him, the air was chillier than he last remembered, a ringing shot through his ears, numb body refusing to so much as even obey him, lying atop the cold floor and utterly unable to move.

Where the wall had been, all he could see was a wide hole, a large cut out circle where the front facing windows of the house had been, and the shape which strolled right on through. Muffled noises as the figure in white brought up a hand and waved it around as though greeting them, something long and silver held in their hands which he couldn't make out.

A slow blink, the figure came to a stop and turned, looking down towards something for a moment before bringing their shoulders up and down.

"-ss it ain't a surprise she ended up here of all places." The ringing started to fade, a snide and mocking voice reached his ears, unfocused eyes blinking rapidly to try and get some sense of vision back into them, bit by bit, the world started to make more and more sense, but his body remained infirm, unable to so much as twitch a finger or even figure out if he was breathing or not.

"I mean, she always did have a soft spot for Devils…really giving into the whole temptation by the Devil thing…" A pause, the white haired man cackled and threw his head back. "Well, temptation of the Devils, but if she's into that sort of perverted, nasty shit, then hey! It is my moral imperative to strike her down like the degenerate heathen she has become!"

Spreading his arms wide, the white haired man grinned maliciously, all but dancing around on as he waved his arms up and down like some sort of bird before coming to an abrupt halt, taking in a deep breath and then exhaling once more. "Sorry about that, I'm getting all emotional about reuniting with my old chums once again…feels like years ago, right gals and…"

They squinted, seemingly seeing him for the first time, then tilting their head to the side and making a noise of bewilderment. He wasn't sure what the guy had to be surprised about, their brief staring contest ended when the man blinked, bringing up his other hand and revealing the large silver pistol held firmly in his grip, rubbing the back of his gun hand on his temple and humming to himself. "I'm gonna be honest, I don't know who that guy is…but I'm gonna assume he's a fellow Devil worshipper or Satan fucker or whatever you people call yourselves…"

A shrug. "So…Guess he dies as-woah!"

He stepped back, narrowly avoiding-

Romani widened his eyes.

The entire arm chair had been hurled at the man, the thing that had taken two delivery men to get inside the house was hurled right towards the man, ducking down underneath it as it punched right through the hole which had now been opened up in the front.

"Fucking christ!" The man danced back, cackling all the while and double taking what had just happened. "Jesus lady! If that's what your arms can do then I'm terrified as to what your thighs can do! You ever tried to crush a human head with those? Because I bet you could-"

A flash of light, the man moved from one spot to the other without even so much as looking as though he'd walked. Just teleported, a thin beam rushed past right where he had been standing, soon followed by a half dozen flashes of blue light.

Romani hissed and covered his eyes, finding the strength to roll onto his back and thud against something, opening them once more just enough to realise that it was the kitchen table that was lying on top of him. With a grunt, he pressed his hands against the underside of it, shoving it off and hissing as something nicked the palm of his hand, the table clattered against the ground, a nasty crunch accompanying it as it revealed the underside having been shredded.

He drew his hands back, staring at the trails of red now slipping down the front of his palms.

Something crashed to his right, his head whipped in that direction, ignoring the pain in his hands.

It was like someone had set off fireworks, bursts of blue light ripped across the remains of the living, tearing up the furniture and sending sparks and showers flying in every which way, through it all he was vaguely aware of the sound of laughter and something flashing between all the explosions, but he barely paid attention to that, rolling onto his forearms and keeping his hands off the floor, his eyes swept around the underside of the room until they landed on the first flash of blonde he caught.

The entire sofa had been flipped on its head, Asia barely visible in the small gap underneath it, the young girl only just looking as though she was coming to. Twisting around awkwardly and then making a small squeaking sound, or so he assumed if her jump was any indication-

"Wha-!?" He dropped down, covering the back of his head as the coffee table went flying right over the top of him. Snapping his eyes up just in time to realise it was only half the coffee table, the other half in the hands of Leona, already in the middle of swinging it like a club to the sword wielding madman. His arguments died in his throat, unable to do anything else but watch as the man shattered the table with a swing of the sword.

Then Leona was being slammed into the mantle with enough force that he saw the wood crack inwards, fissures ran right along towards the ceiling. His breath caught in his throat, stumbling forwards and rolling up, hissing as he placed his hands flat against the floor, something solid buried itself into them, staggering up and awkwardly stumbling forwards, slipping over on the uneven terrain and falling flat on his face.

"...Real knight in shining armour over here, huh guys?" He barely heard the comment from the man, dry and toneless. "Do you think if I stand here long enough he might be able to break enough bones on his walk before he gets to my feet…I mean, I could wait? I'm a patient man. Patience of a Saint, me."

Pushing off the ground, he raised his head and then froze.

His eyes were firmly planted on the barrel of the gun now pointed towards his forehead.

His throat ran dry, his trembling vision moved up the length of the weapon and towards the owner, the crimson eyes of the albino man locked onto his own, the man offered an almost casual smile as he nodded once. "Yo. I'm Freed. Resident Ex-Exorcist. Well…"

Sniffing, the man pushed himself up from the crouched position he had been in, taking a step backwards and keeping the gun pointed towards him. "Resident now because this lady here, real piece of work this one…actually, christ, I look between the two of you and I'm seeing fashion supermodel and the weirdo who probably keeps an uncomfortable distance around playgrounds. Well…proof of Miracles, if nothing else."

"Don't you-!"

"Way-hey!" The man blurred, Romani opened his mouth and made a gasping sound, Leona was pushed back against the wall, the sword pressed against her throat close enough that he could already see a trail of red moving down. "Easy there miss. Let's not do something that you're gonna regret. After all…I am a very forgiving man. You ruin all my fun times and I have found it in myself to forgive you…"

A brief pause, the man stepped backwards while keeping the sword pointed at Leona's throat. "Mainly because of this shiny little toy here. Very nice. Makes me go super fast, I tell you…Taking upskirt photo's has never been this easy. It's so easy it should be a sin…"

"It is."

The quiet whisper of Asia poking her head out from under the sofa drew the eyes of the room, the girl's gaze remained locked on the man, her body trembling. "Y-you can't-"

Freed made a face. "Sure I can, just a quick little flex of the muscle and then I embrace my childhood dream of becoming an interior decorator." a cursory glance around the room, a wide smile flickered across his face. "These walls could use a dash of scarlet rose, couldn't they? A lovely little bit of colour. I tell you, it'll be the talk of the town."

Taking in a deep breath, the man stepped backwards, looking around and then letting out another laugh. "I tell you what everyone, I have never felt so happy in my life. Me, this devil loving bitch, the nun who fucks around with actual demons - may or may not be literal there - and then Excalibur-chan!" he waved the sword in his hands before he paused, then glanced towards him once again. "And this guy who is…a guy? I took a look at some of your photo's while you were messing up the living room, by the way, you're a real boring fuck, aren't you?"

Romani just stared.

"Well…" A shrug, then he held up the pistol, the click echoed through the room as he pulled the hammer back. "Might as well get rid of the plus one before we move onto the main event, right? No one likes a fourth wheel."

His eyes moved from the gun towards Leona.

Her own eyes widened, she looked seconds from pushing off the wall-

"That's far enough, base cur."

Silence.

A new voice cut in.

They shifted their focus towards the hole in the wall, a new figure stood there, black fleece and grey trousers, leather gloves on each hand and brown boots.

He was a tall man, platinum blonde hair brushed back and down into what looked like a pony tail, face set in a stern frown and with piercing green eyes. The man took a single step into the room, his eyes moved across all of them before landing on Freed once more, seemingly tensing himself and looking as though he somehow got taller as he did so.

"...Who the fu-"

Romani blinked, he felt a rush of wind and suddenly Freed was no longer in front of him, he was actually nowhere to be seen at all. Deep trenches were carved through the floorboards and right the way past him, crash had him jolt and he turned his head, looking in the direction and seeing the back of the house blown open. He blinked twice, then gasped as he was gripped by the shoulders and pulled up, right to the face of the man who might well have just saved his life.

"Take your wife and daughter and depart quickly, I shall deal with him." The man's voice was urgent but still rather well mannered, even as he gently pushed him behind them, taking a step towards the hole Freed had vanished through. "Do as I say and do not turn back."

Romani stumbled, turned and then opened his mouth.

His words died as he watched the man rip the fleece from his body and toss it away without a second thought, light shimmered across the front of his person, the clothes he had been wearing started to fall away as though they had never existed at all, left in their place was rounded shiny steel armour, flapping underlay of teal fabric like a skirt and a billowing cape of white draped over his left arm right the way down to the floor.

With a flourish of movement, a long silver spear appeared in the man's right hand, being firmly planted in the ground with a crack. Romani barely even noticed the man's arm looked as though it was made of rusted bronze metal.

"Thanks." He replied, turning on his heel and rushing towards Leona a second later, not even waiting to question it before he threw her arm over his shoulder and was carrying her outside, the patter of feet alerted him to Asia rushing up to his side, he didn't so much as spare a glance over his shoulder when the heavy footfalls of the knight retreated away, accompanied by the clatter of debris.

He spared a single glance over his shoulder, then withheld the sigh of relief as he saw the family depart.

The momentary joy vanished as swiftly as it had arrived, stepping through the remainder of the house, while ensuring he didn't break anything any more than it already was, he moved out of the freshly made hole and into the back garden of the abode. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the white haired fiend, stumbling around and shaking his head from side to side.

Already the red mark on the side of his cheek where he had been struck made itself known, if they had time it would develop into a nasty bruise.

His lips grew tight, his eyes landed on the sword held in his hands. Though it bore no resemblance to its origin, a disjointed blade an additional split of the sword which extended out and then in, making it appear as though there was a diamond shape in the centre of the weapon.

Despite its admittedly peculiar design, he could sense it deep within himself. His arm pulsed faster like never before, though he did not so much as spare it a glance. It had been a single blow designed to end the fight, the man had brought up the sword at the last second to block his fist, though the momentum still pushed the flat of the sword into the side of his face and sent him out of the house.

"Pal…let me tell you something…" The man began, his posture held loose as he sent a rather sharp look in his direction. He kept silent, fighting back the urge to recklessly strike at them now out of pure anger. Not something he was prone to, but the idea of even a fragment of Excalibur in the hands of someone like this was…it made him sick.

"You are in for a world of hurt-"

Their arm flew up, the firearm discharged a half dozen times.

Not a single round met its mark, with a jerk he pulled the spear from the ground and twisted, sparks flew where it made contact with the bullets, then halted as the barrage stopped. The man blinked twice at him, then frowned in annoyance. He merely kept the spear gripped in his hands, continuing to stare at the man before he finally trusted himself enough to speak without appearing…impolite.

"It had been my intention to offer you the chance to surrender the fragment of Excalibur without the need for conflict." He announced, then adjusted his posture and narrowed his eyes, his arm hummed as he exhaled. "However, you may now consider that option rescinded before it was ever offered. You have demonstrated your true character, sir…As one who revels in evil, it falls to me to put an end to you."

A scrunch of the brows. The man looked bewildered "What the fuck are you-"

He didn't even wait for them to finish their crass choice of words, he struck first. The spear whistled and then shot forwards. The sense of the man saved him, the invisible blade of air slashed through the space where he had been, striking the tree behind him and cleaving it in twain right down the centre.

Pushing from the ground, he closed the distance in a single leap and struck once more.

She held up her hand.

They stopped behind her, eyes narrowed and she took stock of the air.

Something had shifted, that much she could tell just through experience. There was something happening and it was somewhere nearby.

Her hand moved down towards her waist, unclipping the compass from her side and holding it up, her eyes moved towards the face and stared towards the arrow. The small light projection twisted around several times before it came to a halt, pointing straight towards the east of where they were currently located.

Shifting her attention towards that area, she started to move without so much as a warning to the other two. They had been tracking it since it started to move but now she could tell by the warnings, it was drawing in power consistent with being in use. That she could feel a tingle of it's divine essence from here was proof enough.

And there was something more to it.

She glanced towards the compass once more as she moved, narrowing her eyes upon it as the indicator brightened rather considerably. It would only do that when more than one was in use, or perhaps in the hands of someone with enough strength to wield it. While their target could likely muster up such strength, it was not a weapon made to be wielded by any of the Heavens, former or otherwise.

Only humans could call upon the strength of Excalibur.

And the rogue exorcist of the region was unable to accomplish such a thing, even with the aid of the Grigori.

Another element, perhaps? Not impossible.

She prepared herself for combat.

He stopped walking with the others.

They didn't notice at first, but he could feel something twitching in the back of his mind, slowly he turned around and looked back towards the street where they had come from. They have to be more than a couple of streets away from where the Archaman's lived by for some reason, he felt strange.

He could not quite understand why that was, however, only that there was something the matter. His brows furrowed, his lips turned strained.

"What do you sense?"

Only a faint jolt, he turned towards his teacher and looked towards them with a troubled expression. "I'm not entirely certain, I thought for a moment I heard something but I'm not entirely sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me…It might just be getting too worked up about the current situation, I suppose-"

"A perception filter upon your mind." They announced rather suddenly and without warning, his attention snapped towards them, only just realising that they were not actually looking at him, but rather over the top of his head and in the direction they had just come from. "Not designed for someone such as I. A collision, strong and powerful. The locals will not have noticed it…a battle."

His teacher turned his eyes onto him. "Lead the lady Gremory back to safety and await my return."

Kiba didn't even get a chance to ask any of the dozens of questions that sprung up in his mind before his teacher was away, quite literally turning into nothing more than a strong gust of wind as they vanished right the way back they had come.

"What the hell?"

He turned in the direction of Issei, his fellow Devil looked between him and the direction his teacher had run off with. "Where the heck is he going?"

"...He said to return back-"

"Hell with that, where is he going?" Issei demanded rather urgently, taking a couple of steps forwards and frowning heavily. There was a rather strong power in those eyes of his and a hint of dread.

"Issei. We should get Buchou back home as quickly-"

Whatever he had to say, clearly Issei wasn't interested in hearing it, especially as his eyes moved away from him a moment later and his lips parted. Faintly whispering something under his breath before he rushed right the way past him, tearing off down the street with speed that caught even him by surprise.

"Issei wait!"

He did not, and Kiba found himself chasing after Issei before he even realised what was happening.