Review Corner
Isaacbloodstorm - You. You understand my vision.
Chomusuke - Finally, someone who actually states a reason for dropping!
Several days after his visit to the art gallery, Kuraima was idly perusing the library at Kuoh Academy searching for a book to make a book report about in English class.
Although for a moment, Kuraima briefly forgot why he was in here in the first place and wound up searching through the manga section— which had a surprisingly decent variety to choose from.
That being said, there was also the bargain bin material that the Manga Club often produced. The art style wasn't as professional as the rest, but that didn't stop them from making homemade manga that was more often than not a pretty decent hit with the female students of Kuoh.
Today, however, one of them caught his eye.
A homebrew manga called My Boyfriend was Stolen by a Mafia Girl! Oh no?!.
Kuraima, having grown up in America where titles weren't so enthusiastic, chuckled.
'Okay, that's a pretty funny title— hold up.'
Picking up a copy, he gazed long and hard at the cover that featured a trio of alarmingly familiar faces.
'That is 100% me, Champ, and Helenski. What the fuck? They didn't even try to change up the character designs to not look like us. How appalling. This feels almost predatory.'
…
…
…
He immediately opened it up and started reading through it, not really noticing that one of the manga club members was peeking out from behind the corner.
The club member in question had a mischievous smile on her face— She'd eavesdropped on his conversation with Champ and possibly secured both a lead on a potential new artist AND a juicy new idea for a self-produced manga series. Two birds, one stone!
Several minutes passed until he reached the last page. Looking up from the manga, he noticed the person spying on him.
He looked at her dead in the eyes as he got up and approached her, the troublemaker's smile shrinking as he got closer and closer."
"People back in America have sued for less, y'know. Would be a shame if my girlfriend saw this, because then your club could be held accountable for emotional damages on top of whatever this is."
The girl from the Manga Club paled. There was a dangerous glint in Kuraima's eyes, as the room suddenly felt a little chillier.
"If you want to avoid going to court, then I want every copy of this manga taken off the shelves. Lock 'em away or destroy them, I don't care, as long as you're not selling them. I might even not report you to Sona or Rias if you comply. Capiche?"
The thought of Sona taking action against the Manga Club caused the girl to pale even further. They were already on thin ice with the whole yaoi business. "C…Capiche…"
Before walking away to resume his search for book report material, he leaned in close.
"You weren't wrong about the mafia part. I'll give you that."
He walked away, the air seemingly losing it's oppressive aura.
The girl from the Manga Club felt lightheaded, stumbling towards the table. Her legs gave out just as she sat down.
She honestly wished she'd just gotten on Sona's bad side.
Kuraima, in the meantime, thought it was really weird that the club member had caved in so easily. He felt a little bad, figuring that she must've just been really shy, so he turned around with the intent to apologize…
"Hey, so, uh—"
"Okayokayokay! I'll be your insider! I'll give you our contact details!" She handed him a slip of paper— a faux business card with the Manga Club's aforementioned contact details. Why did they even have that?!
"I-I'll cancel the manga, okay! You want to talk, you call and ask for me! Bye!"
She ran off, leaving Kuraima behind with the mother of all dumbfounded looks.
'…Ask for WHO? She didn't even tell me her name…'
…
'Am I really that scary?'
He pulled out his phone to check the time.
'Oh, shit, I'm gonna be late for today's ORC meeting!'
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Bathroom had a queue— hey, who are these two?"
Standing inside the clubroom were two girls he'd never seen before in large white cloaks, one of them having what was clearly a sword wrapped in cloth around her back.
"We're here on behalf of the Vatican, for you see—" The one with the twin-tails began while idly rubbing a spot on her upper arm, only to be interrupted by the girl whose hair had a singular green streak.
"We're here in Kuoh to recover stolen church property. The perpetrators escaped to this town, so we're here to make sure the local Devils do not interfere— or not already colluding with the Fallen Angels behind this. Now, tell us. What is your affiliation with the Devils here, to be able to walk into this room so freely with them?
"I'm just a friend of Rias here."
"A friend? So you choose to ally with the Devils? Of your own free will?"
"Well I dunno about the free will part. I was kind of called in here to be offered recruitment slash reincarnation, so on a technicality—"
"We do not care about technicalities." The one with the blue hair interrupted.
"Sheesh. Fine, fine, you Earth-chan look-alike." He leaned on one of the couches, next to where Koneko was sitting. "We're friends. Homies, even. Isn't that right?" He asked, holding a clenched fist up in the short girl's direction. She quickly got the message and returned the gesture with a fist bump.
"U-Uhm…" Helenski shyly opened the door, a little hesitant to enter the room fully due to the presence of these two strangers.
Sensing her Fallen lineage, the two church girls immediately took a combat stance, preparing to draw their swords, until Kuraima casually walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She may have been short, but Helenski was more than capable of supporting his weight— she hardly even gave way.
"Oh yeah, I guess I'm dating one too. Ain't she a cutie?"
"Uhm…we…ah…" The two church girls were honestly lost for words. They honestly weren't even sure how to deal with this heathen anymore.
"If it makes you feel any better, this is a relationship of true and mutual love."
"Okay, okay, we get it!"
"Good, good. Now, I'm just gonna sit over here since this seems to be an issue between ya'll and the Devils."
Pulling Helenski along with him, the two sat on the couch, leaning against one another as Kuraima took out his phone.
Kuraima - ayo champ.
Champ - What is it?
Kuraima - tell the others to be on the lookout for two church girls— white cloaks, one with a sword sword wrapped in cloth. Anyways hard to miss once you see them.
Kuraima - Just tell them to not engage unless attacked first. As per usual.
Champ - Swords?
Kuraima - …tell them to look out for anything else suspicious. We got more criminals in town. Big time criminals.
Kuraima - I cannot stress this enough. DNE. DO NOT ENGAGE UNLESS ONE OF OUR OWN IS DIRECTLY THREATENED. We're talking supernatural shit.
Kuraima - anyways check out this funny meme i found
Kuraima looked up just in time to see the earth-chan look-alike (in his eyes, at least.) confronting Asia.
"…but a devil? For one who was called a "saint" to have fallen as far as you have…do you still believe in our God? People may commit treason and still feel a sense of guilt, so there are some who do not lose their faith. I get that feeling from you."
"…I-It's just, I…uhm…that I-I cannot let go. B…Because I have always believed…"
"I see." The blue-haired girl began, unwrapping her sword, as it took on a golden glow. For a brief moment, the girl's eyes widened at the glow, but she quickly maintained her composure.
The Devils in the room, save for Helenski, flinched as the sword was brought out. "In that case, it's better that we kill you right now."
"I will behead you now, in the name of God. For he will reach out with his benevolent hand to even the most sinful."
Issei was about to valiantly jump in, but a single word from Kuraima stopped everyone in their tracks.
"Oi."
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped and everyone went quiet. Kuraima spoke in a frigid tone "Are you sure you want to be making threats against one of my friends?"
Everyones' heads turned as they gazed upon him, a glimmering and arcane necklace suddenly appearing around his neck. The girls sent by the Church began to grow pale.
"I nearly died for her, y'know. Do you ever wonder what it's like to become a human donut? It's not a pleasant experience, I'll tell you that much."
Nobody dared to talk or respond, they only stared at him. Helenski did hug him tightly, though.
"But hey. Listen. Did you honestly even think about what you just said before those words came out of your mouth? Think about whose territory you're in."
The blue-haired girl stood there for a few moments, before begrudgingly reapplying the wrappings to her sword.
Kuraima's menacing aura disappeared as he smiled. "Glad we could resolve this peacefully."
"Y-You're right. I…suppose I was out of line there."
The Church girls weren't exactly willing to ask for forgiveness from the Devils, but at the very least they weren't willing to make any more…unsavory comments.
"Now, will there be anything else to discuss?" Rias asked.
"No. I don't think so."
It was after the meeting with the church girls when Kuraima learned more about what was going on.
Turns out, someone had broken into the fucking Vatican and stolen some holy swords.
But not just any holy swords, nope!
They had stolen pieces of Excalibur, the legendary sword once wielded by King Arthur, which had apparently shattered into seven different swords, each with unique abilities.
Three had been stolen, and the two church girls both wielded one each.
"But why would the Church send only two people? This is like, what, basically the equivalent of a national emergency?"
"I'd say that it's to be discreet. But then why send two inexperienced young girls? Irina, I could understand. She was Issei's childhood friend— she'd be familiar with this place. But Xenovia? I don't know why they just didn't send one of their top exorcists."
"Who?"
"Oh. Right. You didn't get names. Irina is the one with the twintails and Xenovia is the one with blue hair."
"I see. Yeah, that IS weird…like, seriously? No backup?"
"…They're the second wave. Apparently, a group of Church exorcists were sent here, only to be completely wiped out."
"…You're serious."
She sighed wistfully, "Unfortunately."
Anyways, moving on. What did you do back there?"
Kuraima raised an eyebrow. "…eh?"
"When you stood up for Asia, I felt…a pressure of sorts."
"…I did that?"
"Can't imagine anyone else would've been capable of doing so."
"Well, I mean…I do have an ability kind of like that. That [Rage] thing. I can release it in small doses for a similar effect, but…I didn't make Jojo vampire noises when what you're talking about happened. So I have no clue."
"Huh. How interesting— Wait. Hold on. Jojo vampire noises?"
"Yeah. You can ask Issei. He'll back me up on that."
"….You'll have to show me sometime." She spoke with a sparkle in her eye, her inner weeb showing itself.
"…Come to think of it, I guess that's why that Manga Club girl was so afraid of me…"
"…Huh?"
"Don't worry about it, Rias. I think I've got it under control."
"…Okay."
…
…
…
"Hey, just asking…but where'd Kiba go?"
Just then, they heard the sounds of swords clashing outside the window.
Scrambling over to see the commotion, Rias, Kuraima, and the others could see that Kiba was currently in a sword fight against Xenovia.
Rushing outside, they made it there just in time to see Kiba's current, oversized sword get effortlessly shattered by the blue-haired girl's Excalibur, as she followed that up by slamming its pommel into his solar plexus, causing him to hack up a lot of phlegm before collapsing onto his knees.
"Your best weapons are your variety of swords and your swift movements. However, you lack the physical strength to wield such a large blade— all it did was curtail your speed."
Kuraima wasn't sure why, but he could've sworn the blade was starting to take on an ominous sheen as he and the others approached.
"You crave destruction? It doesn't suit you." She coldly stated as she turned away.
'Hey why the fuck does the Church outfit have a butt window—'
"…I-I yield." Kiba coughed some more, trying to regain his bearings.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Rias demanded, her Power of Destruction starting to flare up.
"He challenged us first!" Irina quickly replied.
Rias didn't buy it at first, her eyes narrowing.
"N-no. She's right, President…" Kiba spoke up, pushing himself back up onto his feet. "I challenged them first…"
While Helenski and Asia immediately ran over to use their healing abilities on him, Kuraima was the next to interject. "…Why the hell would you do that?! That's a holy sword— that's basically a refined slab of Kryptonite!"
"Haah…I thought that I would finally get another chance to destroy one of the so-called Holy Swords that took our lives…"
"Kiba, are you serious!? You're a low-class Devil. I know I said I'd help you get your revenge but come on man!"
"Haaaa…" Kiba just sighed in defeat.
"If that is all, we'll be taking our leave now." Xenovia stated, wrapping her sword back up. "Rias Gremory, your friend here is correct. You may want to train your servants a bit more— there's a limit to how far refinement can carry you."
Irina, as Kuraima had been told she was called, simply made a cute face. "If you wanna come back for round two, you're free to ask~!"
The two turned away, but Xenovia paused and turned around.
"One more thing. The "Vanishing Dragon" will awaken soon. Prepare yourself while you still can."
When the two finally left, Kuraima looked over at Issei.
"…Issei, wasn't that—"
"My childhood friend? Yeah…" he sighed, "I kind of wanted to try out my new technique on her since I found out she was a girl this whole time…"
"Issei-senpai is a filthy animal." Koneko simply stated, elbowing Issei in the gut.
Kuraima decided not to ask further about this so-called technique.
"Hold on, Yuuto!"
The Church Girls weren't the only ones who had intended to leave, as Rias stopped Kiba from walking away.
"You're a Knight serving the house of Gremory! You can't just go Stray on me!"
"…I'm sorry, Rias. I need some time alone."
He solemnly slipped from the redhead's grasp.
"It's thanks to my comrades that I was able to escape that place. That's why I have to honor their grudge and fight on."
"…Yuuto…why?" She asked as watched him leave the school grounds.
…
…
…
"Hey, Rias. Don't worry about it," Kuraima gave an awkward smile, "He'll be back long before you know it."
"I hope you're right, Kuraima."
'I hope so too…' He thought to himself.
Meanwhile…
As Irina and Xenovia walked down the street, the former let out a sigh, rubbing a spot on her arm.
"Was there something…strange about that boy to you?"
"The stranger with the Nephil?"
"…Yeah. Something about him…feels weird, and I'm not just talking about his Sacred Gear or his powers…"
"…Come to think of it." Xenovia glanced over her shoulder at the wrapped up sword. "I've never seen Excalibur Destruction glow like that, even in battle."
"…Yeah. Excalibur Mimic…" She glanced over at the inconspicuous-looking bracelet on her arm, "Has it been known to…act seemingly on its own? Even through the cloak, it squeezed my arm pretty tight…"
The two went silent for quite a bit, unsure of what to say.
Then, they saw a sign.
One that read: Paintings of Holy Figures Exhibition.