Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

In a world where all can be real, what does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of humanity? A meeting between a human and a devil will have them discovering the truth while chasing their dreams. My take on the combined worlds of Fate and DxD with characters from other franchises if they can be adapted to it. Harem.

35. Chapter 35

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

35- The King's Sword: The Quest

….

'How did things come down to this?' Shirou couldn't help but ask himself as he stood in the middle of the forest of the ORC. At his side was an increasingly unstable Kiba who looked ready to bite someone's head off while across from him stood the two visitors from the Church, both getting ready for combat. 'This can go really wrong if we are not careful.'

He once again looked at Kiba who was waiting for the Exorcists to get ready with clear impatience. This was supposed to be a spar but Shirou was almost sure the Knight had no intention of honoring that compromise and that it may be up to him to stop his friend.

Closer to the building itself were the other members of the ORC together with an amused but a little concerned Yoruichi and a confused and clearly distressed Genshirou who really looked like he didn't want to be there.

The rest of the devils also didn't look pleased with recent events but things spiraled out of their control to the point that even Rias wasn't confident she could stop what was about to happen. A quick glance between her and Akeno showed that they were ready to move just in case but the King knew that she would need to trust Shirou to stop Kiba if things escalated.

Between the students of Kuoh only Rin remained calm as she paid attention to the events with great interest. As a magus she was mostly curious about the weapons that are about to be used and if Shirou will be able to do something about them in more ways than one.

The redhead magus couldn't help with his concern about the events of the last few minutes and the possible impending disaster but soon he started to get into the mindset for the fight that was about to come.

Despite how much Shirou didn't like what was happening he knew that a mistake would not only make things worse but also leave Kiba by himself when the blond Knight was already unstable enough that Shirou was concerned in the first place. Any injury or weakness on his part would mean that the person with the most chance of stopping his friend would be unable to act.

So Shirou's gaze was direct for his soon to be opponents and he couldn't help but ask himself again, 'How did things come down to this?'

Unlike before where the duo was using white cloaks to cover their bodies fully, those now are open like capes as the two girls revealed their proper battle attires which got eyebrows raised from Shirou and others while he heard Issei asking if he should join the Church only to be reminded he was a devil.

'I am sure someone there has a fetish. On the other hand that kind of outfit makes grabbing it almost if not outright impossible and if well made with the proper materials then it can be really efficient, possibly more resistant than most armors.' Shirou analyzed the clothes carefully but really wished he had a sample to work with.

The Church's representatives are now dressed in skin-tight battle suits, leotards with Xenovia having short sleeves while Irina had none, pauldrons with matching fingerless gloves that extended to their biceps and high-thigh boots, all of which are adorned with straps.

Both also have crucifixes around their necks and despite Issei's comment, Shirou can see how those clothes can be efficient and practical as he tried to Structural Analysis them only to be rebuffed by the blessing waved in the fabric.

But he already expected his magecraft to fail on the clothes, at least with his eyes. He at least could tell that those outfits were more than just practical and that its protections were different from the capes but they were there and combined with other factors he knew that this wouldn't be an easy fight.

However while things didn't start properly, his mind still was distracted enough to think on other things. 'At least now I can understand why the cloaks, walking with those outfits around the street would be … distracting for most people.'

Shirou had to agree with Issei that the two girls looked good with them, even if he wasn't a pervert he could admire their filling curves on those clothes as they prepared but his mind was completely on guard once the sword still on bandages began to be revealed.

The blue haired one of the pair, Xenovia, looked completely calm if not happy as she slowly unveils her sword with patience and care to not tore the bandages out. After this little spar, as it was being called, she still had a mission to accomplish and the disguise for her sword was still necessary so as to not risk a gust of wind revealing it beneath her cloak.

No, Xenovia wouldn't risk her mission because of something like that. She believes that God would help with her efforts but she has no wish on bothering Him with things she could prevent when possible. It was a belief she held dearly, a duty of any Exorcist in her own opinion.

The more bandages began to fall the more of the sword's true form began to be unveiled, the fake appearance revealing something that looked nothing which was hidden beneath its bandages; a huge two handed weapon with a grip long enough that Xenovia would need three hands to hold it completely with a cross around the pommel.

Shirou felt the curiosity of a blacksmith as he saw the ax-like guard and a chain-like form connecting the guard with the blade, a huge and long thing that ends with three points. He tried to imagine himself making something like that but couldn't.

'Flawed.' Shirou evaluated in an instant on the back of his mind but said nothing as he didn't want to get another Exorcist irritated with himself. 'That blade is a mess. It is almost like whoever was forging it had no idea of what they were doing. The guard looks too heavy, the chain, if I can call it that, looks like the weaker point and the three points are more like overkill than anything ... Is this what people call professional pride?'

Yet he was still apprehensive, even without using his magecraft Shirou could tell that the sword had power. But he couldn't help but feel some disappointment as compared to some of the Noble Phantasms he met, this Fragment of Excalibur was sorely lacking.

'Well, after Excalibur was broken I suppose you can't expect whoever fixed them to do a good job. Or to know what they were doing.' Shirou himself broke a Noble Phantasm, his own Muramasa once. Even that it was a weak comparison since as far as swords went the two were completely different and he understood that. His eyes turned to the chestnut haired girl who was giving him a glare and still hadn't revealed her sword. 'And there is still that to deal with.'

If Shirou knew he would have earned the light brown haired girl eniminity he would have kept his mouth shut during their previous debate.

Much like her partner, Irina also revealed her blade but she didn't need to take her time or be patient, which actually helped to keep her upset with Shirou as her eyes didn't leave him as her hand moved to a white string tied to her arm.

When Irina touched it, Shirou paid close attention to how the simple string started to transform into a proper sword and gave it a nod of appreciation. Unlike Xenovia's sword that he could only see as a mess in design, Irina's was a proper katana, with a golden guard. It was a big weapon and the girl needed to use two hands to hold it properly but it was the kind of sword that Shirou could appreciate.

With the exception of Kiba who was already disturbed previously, every single devil around looked bothered by the swords and their presence. Yoruichi also looked at them with some caution from Rias' shoulder that showed those who knew her identity how dangerous the swords really were.

But much like Shirou, Rin couldn't help herself but admire the weapons even if for different reasons. 'After they were broken, the Fragments of Excalibur were reforged through the Church's alchemy. I really wish that I had Shirou-kun's eyes right now.' She threw her classmate a clance and chuckled at seeing how focused the redhead was. 'They don't know it yet but just by the fact they are using swords that means Shirou-kun has all the advantage he needs.'

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shirou could see Kiba flinch but it wasn't from hesitation, himself back.

"If you don't want to fight you can go. I can take them 2 on 1." Kiba's offer was so charged with contempt that Shirou truly believed he would do it.

He just didn't believe that Kiba would survive the attempt.. " I don't think I have much of a choice." Shirou hoped his words would get a reaction but Kiba just gave a nod.

"You better not be planning to escape, pagan!" Irina points her sword at Shirou. "You shall pay for your blasphemes against the Lord's works."

For a second the seriousness escaped Xenovia's face as she spoke with a small chuckle. "I would say that besides consorting with devils he has committed no crime against God." The small glare that Irina gave her just had her smiling a little more. "That I know of."

"He is a heretic and shall be punished!" Irina declared full of determination, much to her partner and the spectators amusement.

Shirou could feel an eyebrow twitch in frustration as some people on the side chuckled or laughed at his predicament.

'How did I get into this mess again?' Shirou knew exactly how, it all happened a short few minutes ago.

…

Issei's surprise entrance actually managed to calm Kiba down a little bit, much to the majority's relief. 'I would call this perfect timing.' Shirou thought to himself as he let his friend's arm go but still kept a hand on his shoulder to push him back. "Kiba. No." He said with a harsh whisper.

"Shirou, it is right there." Kiba spoke between his teeth.

"This is not the time nor the place for this." Shirou protested in warning, his expression clear. "You try anything without reason and I will stop you."

Kiba could only flinch at the warning, seeing that his friend was completely serious and ready for a fight if he tried anything.

While that interaction was happening, Rias was informing Issei of the situation. "These two Church representatives came to Fuyuki to collect some swords that were stolen from their territory. More specifically, they came here to ask for permission to operate in the area for a time."

"Mostly because we had no choice." Xenovia replied with a small glare. "I suppose these are your servants too?"

That was an easy question but Rias took a quick glance at Asia before replying. "Two of them are while one of them is a Pawn from my friend, Sona. Say hello Saji."

"Heh?!" The Pawn was surprised by suddenly receiving a glare from the blue haired girl in the middle of the room but quickly bowed for his introduction. "Saji Genshirou! Pawn from the Sitri's Peerage! A pleasure to meet you!"

Xenovia gave him a judging glance and Saji could feel himself flinch a little before she nodded at him in greeting. "Good morning. I suppose I should inform you that your King was polite and already gave us permission to proceed with our mission with a promise of no interference." She turned to Rias, her eyes still sharp and her posture aggressive. "Are you going to do the same, lady Gremory?"

Rias made sure that her face showed no reaction but took note of Xenovia's disposition. 'She is surrounded by devils and she knows exactly who I am and yet she doesn't back down an inch. Is that just confidence or arrogance?' But knowing what the Exorcist was carrying, Rias could easily believe in both. "Are you sure that the Excalibur Fragments you lost are really on our territory?"

"Wait, Excalibur? King Arthur's sword?" Issei asked in shock and he didn't notice Kiba flinch and glare at Xenovia.

Deciding to repeat her argument, the blue haired exorcist turned to Issei, taking note of Asia before speaking. "That is unfortunately true. After it was broken in the Battle of Camlann, Excalibur was collected and reforged by the members of the Church at the time." She holds the object covered in bandages with reverence, the implication clear. "Recreating the original sword was deemed a waste so they split its powers into 7 Fragments to better benefit humanity. 6 remained with the Church while the last one was returned to the descendents of King Arthur as a show of respect." That sounded weird to some present but they didn't interrupt the Exorcist. "Recently 4 of the Excalibur Fragments under the Church were stolen and the two of us were sent with the mission of retrieving them. Of course, for such a mission we were also given the remaining Fragments, technically the strongest Excaliburs, to retrieve the others."

The very same moment the concealed sword appeared, Kiba tried to advance but Shirou's grip on his shoulder stopped the Knight fully. Their eyes meet and the magus Reinforced his hand to show that if Kiba tried to start something it wouldn't be as easy as he wished to escape the redhead's grip.

With some hesitation and a small glare towards Shirou, Kiba stepped back to his side and placed his hands behind his back while putting up his best fake smile.

Everyone that knew Kiba's past was relieved by him staying put, Rias sent a sad but grateful smile at Shirou who nodded discreetly. Turning her attention fully back to Xenovia, Rias noticed the brown eyes of the girl paying close attention to her every move and then retreated the sword back inside her cape.

Rias recognized the gesture for what it was. 'At least she knows that antagonizing us isn't going to help with her mission.' She decided to get back to business. "Since Sona already gave her permission I find myself with little reason to not do the same." Another quick glance at Kiba showed her that he didn't react. "Did she give you any warnings?"

"Besides the protection of the secrecy of the moonlit world, the Sitri Heiress also established we are free to do as we pleased in the condition we don't harm any inhabitant of the land unprovoked." Something reasonable enough to Xenovia. "I made clear that if someone from here has any of the stolen Fragments then they automatically forfeit any protection."

That declaration made some people look at Xenovia with suspicion and caution. "And how would you know they have a Fragment in the first place?" Rias' tone made clear that if she didn't like the answer then there was going to be a fight.

"We have our methods." Xenovia had no intention of elaborating. "But rest assured, despite this nation not following the One True God, we have no intention of starting any confusion that would endanger our mission or reveal to the thieves we managed to track them here."

Again she had no intention of disclosing how the Church was tracking the Excaliburs and Rias knew that Xenovia wasn't going to bulge on that.

So the devil tried to change the subject to gauge the woman's reaction and get more information. "I find it odd that the Church would give up one of the Excalibur Fragments so easily. Do you guys have that much respect for King Arthur?"

"His family remained a staunch ally of the Church for hundreds of years. Normally in circumstances like this, they would be the ones sent to retrieve the swords." Xenovia admitted with a mixture of respect and disappointment.

Akeno took that as her cue to continue the conversation. "Is that because of their ancestor's connection with the sword?" It was the logical question to ask even if they knew that wasn't probably the truth because not a single devil believed the Church would give up an asset like Excalibur out of respect .

For a second Xenovia glanced at her partner, noticing how her eyes were still on the Pawn as she was gathering the pieces together about something. With a shake of her head, the blue haired Exorcist replied, "The Pendragon Family has a history of producing True Holy Swords Wielders. It would be a waste for our predecessor to not consider such an advantage."

"So it is true that only those with the Light Element can use Holy Swords?" Rin's magus side couldn't help but ask as she kept up with the conversation. Noticing the attention turning to her, Rin shrugged. "Many magicians have researched the Excaliburs, even if the Church never allowed one to properly study them. Plenty of books elaborate in cursory glances or incomplete studies since the Church didn't allow them to even touch the blades unless it was to stab them."

"Of course we wouldn't. Why should we trust heretics and heathens with some of our strongest weapons?" Xenovia spoke like the very idea was an offense to her before smiling cheekily. "Let me tell you something, magus, while it is true that the Light Element may help one to hold the swords, there are those that are born to use them."

Rin actually blinks in surprise both at the information and that Xenovia knew she was a magus. "That is … good to know." She replied honestly and the blue haired exorcist nodded, happy to have educated someone on the topic. 'She is a little prideful, isn't she?' That thought was also shared by most who noticed that Xenovia gave more information than they had before about Holy Swords.

But Kiba already knew that, he knew it very well and his fist was trembling with anger behind his back as he kept his fake smile easily.

Then a voice that was silent for a while spoke again. "You are Issei, aren't you? Hyoudou Issei?" Curiosity and hesitation filled the chestnut haired girl's tone and soon everyone, including Issei, were looking at the Exorcist. "It is you, isn't it?"

"Do I… know you?" Issei asked back with a frown as he was now paying close attention to the girl's face. 'She looks familiar.'

Not one to beat around the metaphorical bush, Xenovia questions her partner, "That is your childhood friend, Irina?"

"Wait, Irina?" Issei couldn't believe for a second before his mind connected the dots. "Shidou Irina?"

"Yes, that's me." Irina replied with a pop of her tongue and a smile that surprised everyone. "It is really you!" She almost shouted in joy before moving for a hug.

While he wasn't one to deny a huge from a beautiful girl, and the opportunity to feel her up a bit, Issei was still having difficulties to process everything. "Hold on! Just hold on!" The two separated but stayed close still at arm's length. "The Irina that I knew was a boy!"

The girl in question looked a little upset. "So mean Issei. I know I was a bit of a tomboy back then but I was always a girl."

"You are- you were-" Issei was now managing to process some memories of his childhood, finally noticing some things that he never thought about before.

The glares Irina's father gave him every time they had a sleepover, the times they were playing and some boys hesitated to invite Irina over, how his mother spoke fondly of a possible future with the two of them together and even of grandchildren.

"Is he alright?" Xenovia watched the events out of curiosity. "Is it normal for a devil to get red like that?"

"Give him a minute, I think he is processing." Akeno was happy to inform and she was the only one amused by the turn of events.

"Issei? Hellooo~ earth to Issei~'' Irina called her old friend over and started to snap her fingers in front of his face. "I didn't look that much like a boy before, did I?"

That question managed to snap Issei out of his confusion. "Yes! Yes I was sure you were a boy! I thought we were bros!"

"To be fair it takes a while for a girl to develop enough to, you know, actually look like a girl." Saji, who had two younger siblings, tried to argue his friend's case. "Except, you know, that part."

"Oh…" Issei finally managed to say. "For a moment I thought I was an idiot."

"You still are, kinda." Saji found himself saying and his fellow Pawn couldn't disagree.

"I wasn't one to act too girly either." Irina admitted while scratching her head. "Considering how many messes we got ourselves in." She smiled nostalgically. "How we used to run around, break windows when we played inside, climb everywhere…"

And Issei had fond memories of those 'messes'. "Remember the tall tree in Tomasahi-san's backyard? That one close to the two trees?"

"Oh yeah, didn't we say we were going to climb inside his home because we thought it was haunted? And when we finally got in we saw that huge dog?" She raised her arms above her head to show the size that she remembered.

"And then our parents had to get us when Tomasahi-san took us out of the tree?" Issei let out a small laugh at the memory.

Irina couldn't help but cover her face with embarrassment. "Good Lord, we were grounded for days."

"At least the ice cream he gave us was good." Issei's comment made her laugh and some people around were even feeling as intruders as they shared the story. "Is it really you, Irina?"

"Yes, sorry it took me so long to come back here, Issei." She then looked around, remembering where they were. "What are you doing here? Your family never had nothing to do with the supernatural."

With some apprehension, considering that he remembered how religious Irina's father was, Issei tried to answer delicately. "I sorta… kinda got… reincarnated as a devil."

Irina jumped back in disbelief, looking at his friend with horror as Xenovia just shook her head. "Gremory told us that these two were her servants, remember?" She then turned to Issei himself and the other devils. "Even if you are a devil now, you are also a friend of Irina so I believe it is polite that I introduce myself; I'm Xenovia Quarta, Exorcist."

Still a little shocked at Irina's reaction, Issei remembered his manners and offered the blue haired woman a small bow. "Hyoudou Issei, the Pawn of Rias Gremory."

Before the present King could stop things from continuing, the next person was already speaking. "And I am Asia Argento, a Bishop of Rias Gremory."

"You said your name was Asia Argento?" Rias knew by Xenovia's tone that she was right in not introducing her Bishop but now it was too late and she knew that the blue haired Exorcist had no intention of letting that go.

"Yes, I am." Asia replied innocently and with some confusion, which many present could see only ticked Xenovia off.

"The Holy Maiden Asia Argento? The Blessed Healer? Are you that Asia, the Holy Maiden?" Now Xenovia's attitude was different. Gone was the modicum of respect and even her professionalism as she looked at Asia with a cold mask of indifference.

And Asia catched on to that, she could feel the disapproval on Xenovia's tone and see it in her eyes. Some people were about to intervene when she replied. "Yes… I was that Holy Maiden."

"And now you are a devil?" The disapproval was so pronounced that even Issei, who was still a little lost because of Irina, managed to pick on it and turn his attention to Xenovia.

"Yes." Asia said timidly and Xenovia just gave her a glare as if the former nun had pronounced the worst insult she ever heard.

"Don't you have any shame for betraying God?" The Exorcist spoke clearly and with anger.

That was enough for some people to lose their patience. "Don't you have any shame for accusing someone like that?" Shirou said back quickly, his feet carrying him closer to the center of the room and anger in his eyes. "Besides, Asia didn't betray her God. She just decided to take another path in life."

Turning around slightly to the redhead magus, Xenovia remembered reports that mentioned the Magician of Rias Gremory, someone who was supposed to have a considerable level of skill with swords.

Her eyes went low and when she noticed the calluses on his hands Xenovia was sure the reports were correct. 'This man is a fighter.' But she wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "I just asked for the truth. She, who was once one of the most famous and prosperous Holy Maidens of the last few years, even a Saint Candidate because of her abilities and piosity, now is a devil. An enemy of God." Xenovia turned fully, ready to clash with Shirou if necessary. "She should be ashamed of her condition."

"Her 'condition' as you called it is not of your business." Rias got up from her seat and her aura showed that if Xenovia took another step there would be blood. "And if you are to take that attitude with my peerage then I will personally kick you out of my town, Excalibur Fragments or not."

Everyone turned to look at the blue haired Exorcist to see how she would react, every devil ready for a fight and to jump on her if she dared to utter a single threat at the Heiress of Gremory, Kiba's glare daring the woman to even twitch wrong so he could attack freely.

Under different circumstances Xenovia wouldn't hesitate to take up the challenge, she would relish it, confident of both her skill and swords that she could take down everyone in the building.

But her mission was her main priority and so she refrained but not before turning to Asia with some pity in her eyes. "Do you wish for me to take your accursed life?"

"How dare you?" Rias was about to attack when Xenovia raised a hand in peace.

"I am not challenging your authority, lady Gremory, much less asking for a fight." She had a job to do and wouldn't put it in jeopardy regardless of the devils. "But I can't let a former Holy Maiden as a devil without asking sincerely if that is how she wishes to spend eternity." Brown eyes met green as she looked at Asia with some compassion. "Is that what you want? To live all your life, to spend all eternity, away from His Light?"

Those words were cutting Asia deep. Just hearing someone speak about God's Light with such passion and offering her a return to His Glory was enough that made her tremble.

Asia recognized the offer for what it was, Xenovia was fully willing to kill her, no questions asked, to return her to what she considered a proper path and the Exorcist was doing it in a way that she believed that Rias couldn't challenge or disagree with.

Xenovia was trying to make Asia ask for death as a loophole, not to start a conflict but to finish her life as a devil in a show of mercy. She was trusting that Rias would hold back upon the implicit promise that the devil wouldn't act unless Xenovia acted first.

But she underestimated Rias, the pressure around the room grew heavy as the redhead devil looked ready to kill the blue haired Exorcist.

Only Shirou's presence stopped her as she saw him move in her line of sight and their eyes met. He also looked furious but showed that he had no intention of letting her start an incident, Rias raising an eyebrow in question as he looked back and she saw what he was seeing.

Much like Xenovia's eyes remained firm when she was making her offer, Asia didn't lose heart as she looked back at the Exorcist, refusing to shy away from the taller girl. Even if the words cut her deep, she refused to be intimidated and remained firm in her place.

Barely a few seconds had passed before Asia replied. "The Light of the Lord is still with me."

"What?" Xenovia asked in legitimate confusion.

"I may be a devil now but I didn't reject Him. I never could." Asia joined her hands in prayer despite not being able to pray. "I still love my Lord, I still remember all the hymns and the lessons, I still remember His love." She said softly with her eyes closed. "I am a devil now but I am sure that God's love," everyone could see that she flinched at just saying the name with reverence, "is still with me. He didn't abandon me, He never would. Neither would I abandon Him. But I also decided to live my life as I see fit."

Asia looks back at the woman and Xenovia's expression finally shows her surprise at the blonde's smile and shining eyes. 'This are truly the eyes of a devil? So full of compassion?'

Her offer wasn't made out of spite but out of true belief that it was the right thing to do and yet Asia was showing a faith that Xenovia couldn't call wrong either.

"I am Asia Argento, Bishop of Rias Gremory. I may not be a follower of the Lord anymore but I still love Him. I also chose to love my friends and to stay with them for as long as we can live together."

"Asia." Issei couldn't help but speak and look at Asia with pride and happiness, much to Irina's frustration which made her puff her cheeks. He wasn't the only one moved as the other members of the ORC all saw Asia's strength and how she managed to remain firm despite Xenovia's aggression.

Looking back at her, Shirou's eyes told Rias a clear message. 'See?' All Rias could do was chuckle and nod. Asia would be just fine in this situation without them.

Xenovia on the other hand wasn't moved, she was frustrated and irritated. 'Focus on the mission.' She told herself as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I see you are now fully lost. A pity to see a Holy Maiden reduced to such a sorry state."

Her face was impassive and resolute but the sadness in her words surprised those that noticed them. However some didn't.

The words didn't affect Asia but Issei, after seeing her conviction, lost his patience with the Exorcist. "Who are you to talk to Asia like that?" All the confusion was gone from him as his focus was on the blue haired Exorcist.

Thinking that the brown haired devil was just confused, Xenovia fully expresses her reasoning. "As followers of God, to be turned into a devil is to reject our calling. What she did was heretic and her only hope of redemption is a clean death while asking for the Lord's forgiveness."

'She completely lacks tact.' More than one person thought at the declaration as Xenovia openly admitted her intentions of killing Asia if she had asked.

Issei, who hadn't understood the context of the previous conversation before, was just more angry. "Who do you think you are? You have no idea of what Asia lived through or how much she suffered!" He remembered when Asia told him that he was her first friend.

"She was a Holy Maiden, one of the most prized followers of God. She should be happy to be doing her duty. It was an honor that she squandered and rejected her calling" Xenovia stated plainly and for her that was the absolute truth.

Issei didn't care. "Screw honor. You think she should be doing something that made her unhappy just because of duty? Fuck your duty!"

Xenovia was ready to attack Issei for he just insulted not only her but also her companions, mission and sacrifices, but Irina raised an arm and held her back. "Calm down, Xenovia. Issei doesn't know what he is talking about."

"He is insulting our duty to God." Xenovia said between closed teeth but Irina motioned with her head to the side to show all the other devils, Shirou and Rin ready to attack her. Realizing that a conflict right now would be detrimental, the blue haired Exorcist stepped back. "Be glad that you are under your King's protection or else I would teach you a lesson."

With his temper already on its limit, Issei didn't back down from the challenge. "You wanna do it? Let's do it! Just say the time and the place!"

"Ho~" After a challenge like that, Xenovia's eyes gained an edge and suddenly Issei felt like in the presence of a predator. "You better be careful, I'm not like any opponent you faced before and will gladly cut down a disrespectful man like you."

Despite not having much experience in such situations, Issei could tell that Xenovia meant every world, the same way she did with Asia. 'What is this? This intensity?' The brown haired Pawn could feel the determination in the Exorcist's eyes. 'She wants to kill me?' Ddraig remained silent as his host processed the event.

A hand landed gently on Xenovia's shoulder, Shirou had enough. "You better focus on your mission than challenging everyone around you."

Looking back from the corner of her eye, Xenovia replied. "He is the one who wants a fight."

"Maybe we should have a fight, or a spar at least." Kiba found the moment perfect to intervene and direct the conversation to his advantage.

"Kiba-" Rias tried to stop her Knight but he wasn't going to stop, not with a chance like that.

"It doesn't need to be to the death, just a small spar." Kiba quickly amended, trying to make the other devils accept the suggestion. "Since they are going to be walking around our territory, it is only fair we know some of what they can do while also… cleaning the air so to speak."

Everyone that knew Kiba could tell how much he was trying to force the situation, even beneath a mask of civility and pragmatism. His fake smile was out in full force but no one who knew him could be relaxed around it, it was just too unsettling.

"What a brilliant idea." Irina didn't know Kiba and took his words at face value. "A chance to show Issei- I mean, everyone the capabilities of the Exorcists and how we shall accomplish our mission without any problems." She looked at Issei who blinked at the change of pace. "Then I will fight Issei. You don't mind, do you, Xenovia?"

Not caring, or really understanding what was going on, Xenovia was happy to nod anyway. "A fight sounds like a good way to show our competency in a manner that the Gremory Heiress can't complain about."

"Then I shall fight you if your partner is too busy with Issei." By his part, Kiba didn't care about his opponent, both had Excalibur's Fragments and he planned to break both given the chance.

Rias could see that she was losing more and more control of the situation, not only that but the way that Kiba was acting showed that interfering would be a terrible idea because he was already ready to attack.

'Why did that blasted sword have to end in Fuyuki of all places?' Rias wanted to scream at that fact. "Are you planning to kill my peerage?" She asked Xenovia bluntly and was surprised when the woman scoffed.

"Not without reason or if they don't ask for it first." The blue haired said back as Irina shook her head.

"We wouldn't do that unless they were in the way of our mission. Or if they wish to return to the grace of the Lord." She turned to Issei. "Say the world, Issei, and I shall free you from the condition of a devil. I am sure that the Lord shall not hesitate and accept your pure soul in His halls once you have moved beyond it. Amem."

"How long has it been since you left the town again?" Akeno couldn't help but ask with a tense smile. "I mean, not that Issei isn't a good boy but…"

"I don't think God would be that accepting of him with his pervertness." Saji whispered but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Irina didn't allow herself to be detained. "It doesn't matter. He being a devil is a test, a test of faith. If he asks me to free him and I pray enough I am sure the Lord would willingly receive him in Heaven." Irina spoke with conviction. "After all the Lord forgives all and loves all."

"It is still Ise's decision." Rias was quick to say and everyone looked at said Pawn who just shook his head.

"No, no. Thank you but I'm fine as I am now." Issei said as gently as he could.

"Are you sure?" Irina asked with a small pout and when Issei nodded she looked a little depressed before smiling again. "Then I shall show you the glory of the Lord through combat. Once you see His blessings then you shall know there will be nothing to fear and allow me to send you to Heaven."

Kiba sneered at the thought but even if no one was looking he hid it with a smile. "Then it is settled; I will fight Xenovia-san while Ise will fight his childhood friend."

"Wait! Hold on a minute!" Issei asked with a frown but Irina was just smiling in his direction.

"Don't worry, Issei. I will show you that the proper path is through the Lord's Light and that with His grace we may find ways beyond your condition." She then clapped her hands. "The Lord may even be able to turn you back into a human if you repent." Issei could only look at her nervously at the implication, his face clearly not pleased with the prospect.

"If everything is settled then I suppose we should do this outside?" Growing tired with her partner's banter, Xenovia questioned Rias who looked at a fierce Kiba who wasn't going to back down.

With a small sigh Rias considered things as fast as she could. 'There is Kiba's situation, the Exorcists practically wanting to knock some heads and the Fragments to worry about, both theirs and the ones in town.' She didn't doubt that the Excalibur's fragments were really in Fuyuki; the Church had stayed away from the place until now and their intelligence was usually excellent on these matters. "Are you going to use the Excaliburs on this spar? You can borrow some swords from us if you want to minimize the risks."

Rias noticed Kiba twitch his shoulder but he could do nothing if Xenovia or Irina accepted the replacements.

Irina was the first to refuse. "To show our capabilities it would be best with our own swords."

The redhead King had no intention of quitting. "I can assure you that Shiro, my magician, has forged hundreds of swords, some even works of art. I am sure we can find a temporary replacement for a spar."

"Lady Gremory, we won't kill your servants but don't ask us to part with our Excaliburs." Xenovia told the devil with a small glare. "Take no offense to it but I don't trust you enough to let it be abandoned on your feet."

"Then we will face the Excaliburs." Kiba announced outloud, not giving anyone else a chance to try and change the Exorcists' minds. "I suppose it will be a good opportunity to show my junior that she still has a lot to learn."

"Truly you are most kind, senpai." Xenovia bit the bait and began to walk out of the office with Kiba in tow. There was no stopping them now.

Until Irina turned to Shirou, the closest person to her besides Issei, and offered him a huge tupe. "What is this?" Asked the magus in confusion.

"A very important painting of a saint." A loud facepalm followed Irina's words and most could tell that Xenovia disagreed. "Since we are going to fight it would be safer to leave it with someone else. Just to be safe." Her violet eyes bore into Shirou's amber ones. "Can I trust you to guard it, magus?"

"Sure." Shirou saw no problems with it, sounding like an easy enough job. 'If I have to interfere in the fight I will have to be careful but that doesn't sound too hard.'

However upon receiving the tube, Shirou grew a little curious as he took a look at it with some respect before using Structural Analysis both to discern what kind of painting he was guarding while also figuring out how much it was really worth just in case he ended up damaging it in some way.

The feedback he got was surprising considering how much care the Exorcist had with the painting. "Eh… I am sorry to inform you but… this is not the painting of a saint."

Irina looked at the magus with confusion, noticing the closed tube before replying. "What do you mean? You didn't even open it. It is also a clear portrait of Saint Agustine of Hippo."

Xenovia was about to let out a groan but was surprised when Shirou replied back. "No. It isn't. The painter of this thing just threw some colors together and tried to sell it as a piece of modern art for a couple of years before… faking it as the painting of a saint… when a girl came looking…"

For a moment everyone stayed quiet, even Kiba who was anxious to get going and start the fight noticed how Irina stood still like a statue as Shirou realized that he shouldn't have said anything.

It was because of Irina's face and how her smile now looked a little uncanny. It wasn't the friendly smile or the smile of someone trying to be polite or even a fake one like Kiba's.

No, this was a smile of someone that was actively forcing themselves to smile as if to not show a face of absolute anger. "I fear you are mistaken. That is definitively the painting of a saint." Irina spoke slowly and resolutely. "Besides, how can you tell the kind of painting it is when you haven't even seen it?"

A little intimidated but honest to a fault, Shirou answered the rhetorical question. "I used Structural Analysis on the tube… it is a magecraft that allows someone to see the history of objects."

Unlike the horror that began to dawn on her partner, Xenovia was close to doing a little dance, her hand leaving her face and revealing a huge smile and eyes that were shining in victory. "So you can tell in detail what that painting is?" Shirou nodded and the blue haired Exorcist felt like Christmas came early. "Of anything?"

"If it isn't protected by something then yes… I am better with swords." Shirou tried to downplay his abilities a little. To say that Xenovia was pleased was an understatement as she began to laugh madly. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything?"

For a second everyone could only watch Xenovia laugh as Irina's smile remained glued on her face before she took the tube off from Shirou's hands and passed it to Issei. "I am sorry Issei but I won't be able to show you the glory of the Lord today. At least not directly."

"Huh? Woah oh! I got it! I got it!" With his previous fury forgotten amidst the confusion, Issei almost let the tube fall before Asia and Saji ran to his rescue. "Thanks guys." The two blondes nodded their heads as Xenovia was still laughing like a mad woman and Issei looked at his childhood friend in confusion. "Weren't we supposed to fight?"

"You can still admire Lord's judgment from the side as I smite the liar." Irina, full of determination and righteous fury, points at Shirou as the magus already knew his problems weren't over. "For I challenge you for this spar!"

On one hand Shirou was happy that Issei was out of the 'line of fire' against the swords that were tailor made to kill devils. "Why?" On the other he was legitimately confused how he got into this mess.

"For lying about the portrait of a saint and how it isn't really a painting of a saint!" Irina proclaimed, Xenovia laughing all the while. "So I can't guide Issei on the proper path until I have defeated you."

"Wasn't one of the 10 Commandments about not venerating images?" Rin, who was mishandling the quote on purpose just to tease her fellow twin tailed haired girl some more, commented off handedly.

It had the desired effect as Irina shivered and couldn't reply as Xenovia finally controlled herself enough to say, "She is right, Irina. Gremory's magician is not doing anything wrong and only pointing out how worthless your painting is."

"He is lying!" Irina glared at her partner, knowing how much Xenovia was enjoying the situation. "'Liar, liar, pants of fire'."

"Should we tell her that Shirou-kun can't lie to save his life?" Akeno asked in a corner, just loud enough that everyone could hear but not getting in the middle of the show.

"Then he is mistaken." Irina accepted that possibility and kept looking at Shirou, obviously waiting for an apology.

"I am sorry but…" Shirou debated lying, or at least trying to. He knew he had a lot of tells but there was a chance that Irina wouldn't notice them. "I am telling the truth. That painting is a piece of modern art… not the portrait of a saint."

Asia, who liked to admire the statues of the church where she lived and liked art in general, was now curious enough to open the tube to take a peek. Unfortunately she was a little clumsy and the grip on Issei's and Saji's hands slipped, letting the painting fall for all to see. "Eh… sorry."

The apology of the former nun didn't distract everyone who took a look at said image with various degrees of amusement and confusion. "That is… an artistic choice." Rias commented with a chuckle. "If we can call that art."

The tails on Irina's hair twiched. "Is that supposed to be a lake?" Yoruichi asked while tilting her head.

Shirou could see the smile back on the Exorcist face, looking more uncanny. "No, I think it is a building… or a table." Akeno took a step closer for further examination.

A small twitch of Irina's shoulder alerted Shirou that her patience was on her limit. "I can't see anything." Saji admitted.

"I think that is a field with flowers." Asia tried to say with optimism and for a moment Irina looked a little more calm.

Then the hardest blow came for the chestnut haired Exorcist. "Looks like someone took a dump and painted it." Shirou was sure he heard something crack as Xenovia began to laugh madly again.

"Issei-san!" Asia protested at the language.

Noticing the present company and the language he used, Issei was quick to apologize. "Sorry, sorry. Maybe it is a boat or something."

But at that point it was too late, Irina was glaring at Shirou, blaming him for everything that happened in the last few minutes as her partner laughed at the situation, Xenovia's face started to become as blue as her hair.

'I should have kept my mouth shut.'

…

"Prepare to pay for your crimes against the relics of the Church, pagan!" Irina declared with her sword pointing at Shirou like this was a formal duel.

"Irina, I must remind you that this is a spar." Xenovia informed her partner with a chuckle, still happy that someone was able to reveal that Irina's painting was a fake. "You can't maim or kill him."

"I still will make that pagan regret for disrespecting the image of a saint." She was still glaring at Shirou who wasn't as intimidated as much as he was nervous at the girl's disposition.

While was a little concerned by the Exorcist's attitude, Shirou was confident that things didn't need to escalate much on their side of the conflict. 'Okay, I don't think things can get any worse with her. I just have to focus on keeping Kiba in check so he doesn't do anything he will regret later.'

"Is this a bad time to point out that Shiro isn't a pagan? Technically he doesn't pray to any gods." Yoruichi joked to try and lighten the mood.

"Heathen!" And it worked as many found the way that Irina changed her insult amusing and funny while Shirou let out a groan.

"Sorry." Yoruichi said out loud as Rias scratched the back of her head.

Meanwhile Shirou had to deal with the intensity of Irina's glare which grew even hotter after her change of insults. 'I didn't even say anything!' He still found it interesting that there was no hate in the girl's eyes or disposition. 'It is like she really just wants to discipline me. Hopefully that means that she won't really go for anything drastic.'

"What can you tell me about their swords?" Despite how angry Kiba was his goal was still clear; he plans to destroy Excalibur in its entirety and so he didn't hesitate to ask Shirou for anything which would give him an advantage.

With a sigh, Shirou was happy that his friend was at least considering strategy and not just charging like a madman as he half feared it would happen.

"Your ability allows you to see the history of things, right?" Xenovia asked out loud, holding her sword for him to see. "Do you need to touch them or is this enough?"

"Are you sure that there is no problem showing your sword like that?" Having already revealed Structural Analysis, Shirou had no problem in talking about it.

"You can fish for any information you want, it won't make a difference, heathen!" Irina also held her sword fully out. "Get ready to take a beating and repent for your sins!"

"Either they are really confident or they are underestimating the full capabilities of Structural Analysis." Rias commented with a smile, happy that Shirou was going to have an easier time thanks to the Exorcists' confidence.

"It is more like Shirou's Structural Analysis is unique and is actually relevant to this situation." Rin supplied the devils and Akeno was quick to agree.

"Neither Rin nor I can compete with him on that, specially when it comes to swords." Then the Queen of Gremory glanced at the Excalibur's Fragments with some wariness. "But those are not simple swords." The acknowledgment of that fact placed some of the spectators on edge.

Now that both blades were free for the world to see, Shirou didn't hesitate, his curiosity and caution demanded that he prepare fully for the fight to come. These are his opponents' weapons, swords that can make devils tremble with only their presence and Shirou wasn't going to underestimate them, fragments or not.

And so his circuits flared and Shirou was able to see the swords' history. He barely began to delve on it before feeling something odd about the blades.

Something was wrong, he didn't know what but he was sure that something was wrong. For a second that felt like an eternity he took a dive on the swords' past, he could see their names; Excalibur Destruction, the Holy Sword of Destruction and Excalibur Mimic, the Holy Sword of Mimicry. He could see how many beings they had killed, how much blood was spilled by them. For them.

Shirou saw how they resided in churches, heavily guarded with blessings and the strongest Exorcists and then learned how they were used before to hunt any who opposed them, to kill any and all in their path.

Something was wrong and Shirou didn't know what. It was like the history was missing something, something that he couldn't identify but he could tell that there were gaps or some kind of abstinence from the information he was taking in.

Despite taking the information about the weapons fully, it was like the history of the two Excaliburs were the same but different at the same time and the memories he was getting were confusing him because of the gaps he couldn't fill.

Turning his full focus on a single weapon, Excalibur Mimic, Shirou tried to start from the recent story. The information wasn't being sorted properly even with one sword and that was confusing his mind in some way.

'This makes no sense.' Shirou saw when Irina received her mission and the sword, the girl wielding it with pride and skill. He could see her fight off people that tried to take it away from her.

Static

Mimic has been left in the church for far too long, its last user having passed away and Shirou saw their story too.

What Shirou saw disgusted him. 'Is this the most Holy of Swords?' Holding a hand to his mouth, the magus almost felt like vomiting as he saw dozens of innocents being cut down before the user had been killed by someone. 'I expected a story like that from a Muramasa, not from an Excalibur!'

Even as his eyes closed his mind was still filled with images of the past as he saw many beings, monstrous and human alike, even beg for mercy only for Mimic to cut their necks.

Yet it was like the sword itself was rejecting those actions, that history of blood. Looking back at it Shirou couldn't help himself but be astonished by how much bloodshed that sword had seen, he was just not prepared for it.

But what really shook him to his core wasn't the history of blood behind the blade, that was not unusual and he could live with it even if it was surprising.

It was the reaction of the sword itself, something that completely catched Shirou off guard and made him balk in disbelief.

Static

But there was something else that the redhead magus noticed, something he didn't know how to explain. 'That sword… it was trying to stop itself from being used?' The thought of a sentient weapon did cross his mind in the past but it was all theoretical at that point as even Muramasa or Bakuya were more like carriers of the will of their creators than sentient.

A similar thing would be sacred gears, those which housed the souls of beings with great power like the Boosted Gear seemed to be more active but Kiba's own sacred gear also had some sort of autonomy or at least the impulse to help its host.

"Are you done, magician?" Xenovia asked amused at seeing Shirou's reaction. "Or are the swords of God a little too much for you?"

"Shirou?" Kiba asked carefully as the redhead recovered his composure, Structural Analysis feeding him the other blade's history.

This time Shirou was ready and he didn't show his discomfort at the strange nature of the Excalibur Destruction, it was similar to Mimic and even the process was the same. When he saw Xenovia receiving it after a few years stuck in the Church he saw a young woman resolute and ready to do her duty.

The previous owners weren't really remarkable, they could be either cruel or kind in any way that humans could be. What kept bothering Shirou was the nature of the sword itself, that was why he had a negative reaction before as the Excaliburs seemed to reject every owner they had but at the same time accepted them.

Static

"I was just surprised, that is it." Shirou's eyes turn to Excalibur Destruction. "These swords have a long history of blood."

"That is not really surprising." Xenovia told Shirou with a frown. "For as long there are enemies of the Church then they will always be necessary."

A frown made its way to Shirou's own face. "Kinda paradoxical, don't you think? Since the Church is supposed to preach love and all that." A paradox, that was the best way that Shirou could describe the conditions of the Excaliburs Fragments; it both accepted and rejected their users at the same time whether they were either cruel or kind. 'It is like the sword is fighting itself.'

"Since we allowed you to take a look at our swords you wouldn't mind telling us what you saw, would you?" Xenovia asked with a smile. "Neither I or Irina had the Excaliburs for long so I doubt that any information you would find would be relevant."

"Is that true?" Kiba asked Shirou, his eyes stuck on Xenovia's as he summoned Holy Eraser to his side.

"Yes, neither of them had it for more than a month at this point. I still saw what the blades can do." Shirou told the Knight with confidence. "Destruction is a high pressure blade that has the capability of destroying anything that it touches similarly to the Power of Destruction." Xenovia raised an eyebrow while Rias looked at the sword curiously. "Mimic can change into anything within some limits but for the most part it is easily capable of breaking the laws of physics like the conservation of matter by changing its size, shape and even the material while still being as hard as the steel it was made from."

Now Xenovia was truly impressed. "I don't think he was lying about your painting, Irina." All that the brown haired girl could do was pout.

"Like the Power of Destruction? Are you sure, Shiro?" Rias asked from the side as her lover nodded his head.

"Close enough. Its potential is low and can't break things apart as much as you can, but… swords, armor, even flesh. Excalibur Destruction easily broke all of them apart with some challenge even when they had magic backing them up. It is like the brute force of the owner doesn't matter to it when attacking." Shirou didn't know how to make things simpler than that explanation but the sword itself was confusing him.

Instead of sounding upset by the revelations, Xenovia smilled. "Makes you wonder how powerful the original Excalibur was, don't you agree devils?" She held it up, ready to fight. "You also forgot to mention that its Holy aura can exterminate any devil from High Class or lower with ease." A white light covered Destruction for a moment before it subsided. "Of course we won't be using that on a spar."

'There are a lot of things I am leaving out.' But knowing those swords' history just increased his concern. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Because now he was sure of something, Kiba couldn't win.

But the Knight didn't realize that yet or didn't care. "Maybe it is a good thing you couldn't see much, that will make this a fair fight."

"I think the same." Xenovia affirmed with Irina taking a few steps away from her side.

There was so much that Shirou wanted to say or ask, especially about the natures of those swords and the gaps in their history. Looking at them at the same time Shirou tried to use Structural Analysis again and his mind found it easier to connect some pieces by recalling previously gained information while he tried to process further.

Yet something still eluded him as Shirou could see both swords being forged into different blades, each using a small part of the Excalibur. The original blade was still inside them and so the magus tried to push further and deeper as his mind processed the pieces.

Static

It lasted a second but Shirou suddenly could see glimpses of something, a light and a field of battle. Then he saw a sword breaking but he couldn't make out details, only that it was broken and there was a huge sadness emanating from it.

Static

After blinking the image disappeared from his head and all he could see from his mind were the priests and smiths from the Church reforging the blade into the Fragments before him. 'Even Noble Phantasms aren't this complicated.' Something clicked on his mind and Shirou was shocked. 'Those aren't Noble Phantasms! But how?! Excalibur is possibly the most famous sword in the world!'

From Europe to every other continent, the Legend of King Arthur and his Knights was one of the most known tales of Humanity and his name was synonymous with his sword. For centuries that was where the main core of the chivalric ideals came from. And very few people would know about King Arthur from Britain without knowing about Excalibur even if they ignored all the rest.

'The very idea that Excalibur isn't a Noble Phantasm is just ridiculous.' Shirou found himself frowning at the notion.

"Ready to start, senpai?" Back in the real time Xenovia was excited to get moving and Shirou realized that he had no time to ponder.

"Whenever you are." Kiba said back with a smile, finally his opportunity, his goal, was in sight. The Knight had every intention of making the most of it and taking Excalibur down completely, even if by destroying it one Fragment at time.

The blond Knight barely noticed he was shaking and his smile became more genuine at the idea of breaking Excalibur once and for all.

"And you?" Irina asked Shirou, now looking far less upset but still annoyed with him. "Where is your weapon? Or are you planning to fight Excalibur with just your hands."

"Please don't call that excuse of a sword Excalibur." Shirou frowned as Irina and others were surprised at the comment. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me." He traced a simple katana made of wyvern's bones and assumed a basic kendo posture.

'Is that because of Avalon?' Rias deduced with a frown as her concern grew at every passing moment. 'No. Avalon never gave any indication of doing anything with his mind. Potentially his reaction was because of the swords themselves. Or maybe it is something else affecting Shiro.' Her glance at Kiba showed her that her concerns were valid.

It was normal for a devil to fear and respect the name Excalibur but Rias was starting to hate it and even if her distaste couldn't compare to Kiba's. She honestly wouldn't be too upset if that sword was gone from the face of the Earth.

"You shouldn't underestimate the works of the Church." Irina declared proudly, her mind already with a few tricks prepared to surprise and defeat another sword user.

"I am not. I just feel that these swords aren't worthy of the name Excalibur." Shirou confessed, once again surprising almost everyone present. He blamed his attitude on the swords' contradictions.

In other circumstances that kind of information may have been enough to stop the spar. "Enough talk!" Unfortunately Kiba had lost his patience and began his advance, his target clear.

Everyone watching had to give credit to both Exorcists as they immediately noticed the Knight's charge, despite him moving as fast as a car, and kept their cool.

Showing the results of years of training and teamwork, Irina quickly jumped to the side to give Xenovia space to engage Kiba freely. The blue haired girl on the other hand doesn't go for any fancy maneuvers, just lifts her sword and waits for the Knight to make contact.

Sparks fly as Holy Eraser clashes against Excalibur Destruction and Kiba was already gritting his teeth as he can feel his blade struggling against the Holy Sword just from contact.

"A nice sword you have there, senpai. A pity it can't compete with an Excalibur." Xenovia taunted as Holy Energy began to surround the blade at her command. She frowned a second later at noticing Kiba smiling.

"You shouldn't underestimate me!" With a mental command, Holy Eraser eats the energy that Excalibur Destruction was letting out, surprising Xenovia a little as she shifted her footing to hold Kiba back more firmly. "Holy Eraser was made for this moment! I won't lose to Excalibur!"

Both push each other back and the swords collide three more times as Xenovia pays close attention to Holy Eraser. "I suppose I can't underestimate a former Exorcist prospect." Kiba gritted his teeth a little more in anger at being reminded that in the past he trained for one day to reach the same occupation as the woman before him. "However," with a mental command, Excalibur Destruction destroys Holy Eraser, surprising the Knight whose sword failed to consume the huge quantity of energy it had let out in a second, "you shouldn't underestimate Excalibur."

Angry at the result of the collision but not detained, Kiba remade Holy Eraser stronger than before and charged at the Exorcist again. Xenovia had no problem with this as she preferred to fight by directly clashing against her opponent.

Some of the spectators noted that Kiba wasn't using tricks or his speed properly, just clashing Holy Eraser against Excalibur Destruction again and again while keeping its ability active.

Not that it mattered as Xenovia could just break Holy Eraser easily thanks to Destruction's own ability whenever she wanted. It wasn't even a competition, while Holy Eraser was made from a special metal born from Kiba's sacred gear it clearly couldn't compete with Excalibur Destruction and Kiba knew it.

Changing his tactic for a second, Kiba created his most resistant sword, the same one he used during his training against Setsuna, making Rias and Yoruichi both sigh. "He is not fighting properly." The nekomata commented.

"No, he isn't." Rias said next as the swords clashed.

"Should we interfere?" Akeno took her attention away from Shirou's fight to ask but Rias shook her head.

"Kiba isn't stable right now. I want to stop him but I fear what he will do if we try." The Heiress shook her head. "But Xenovia is proving to be skilled, she is keeping pace with a Knight's speed even if he isn't fighting properly."

"Her reactions are good but Kiba is making it easier by fighting into a straight line." Yoruichi commented as Kiba had gone for a quick overhead slash that Xenovia blocked with a hand on the handle and the other in Excalibur Destruction's side as it got surrounded by Holy Energy and broke another sword. "If he doesn't start to use his head he is going to lose. Her control with that sword is too good."

"Hard to believe she only had it for a short while. If Shiro hadn't confirmed it then I say she trained with it her whole life." The redhead devil commented as her eyes remained on Kiba's fight out of concern but took a short glance at Shirou's fight.

If Kiba and Xenovia fight was about power and aggressivity then Shirou and Irina's was more about finesse and technique. Both sides were showing skill with their swords, their handling of their weapons perfect as they both collided by just a few seconds each time before retreating and changing their approach.

So far Irina didn't use any tricks with Mimic and Shirou was focusing his full attention on a single blade.

Both were equally skilled but anyone could see that Shirou wasn't fully using Reinforcement just yet, it was just a competition of skill between the two.

Irina was a little worried about fighting a magus and found odd that Shirou was using a sword in the beginning, she had no real experience fighting with magicians, much less those using swords, but was trained to spot any magic circle or trick that they could use. More than once her instructors compared the experience to fighting against a devil focused on magic which she had some reference to thanks to stray hunts.

But despite being a magician and outside of making a sword out of mana, Irina noticed that there weren't any cheap tricks from Shirou's part and soon they fell in a kind of rhythm that fighters usually got in when they weren't fighting for victory but just testing the waters and measuring each other's strengths.

They were truly sparing and that was what Shirou wanted, he had no intention of fighting Irina and now that the girl's anger had subsided he found himself againts a skilled swordswoman.

He also was making an effort to try and keep some of his attention on Kiba's fight but that was a little harder than he expected as Irina was a legitimately good fighter and the form that Excalibur Mimic took allowed her to fight at her full capability.

A quick struggle between their swords had Irina retreating a couple of steps. "Can I ask you something?" The young woman started politely.

"Sure."

"Why aren't you using any magic?" It was contradicting everything the young Exorcist learned about fighting magicians and it was throwing her off.

"Because this is a spar?" It sounded more like an excuse, even to Shirou himself but he shrugged. "I also used to be part of the kendo club and when I sparred with someone that couldn't use magic or had no other advantage I just don't use anything other than my skills." He chuckled a little at the memories. "Not going to lie, this is a little nostalgic."

Irina blinked in surprise, realizing that she also was sparing like she did when training with other Exorcists or trainees. "You can use them, you know." The offer surprised Shirou. "It is how you magicians fight, right?" A look of confusion in her direction had the brown haired girl a little nervous. "I mean, you also need to give everything you can on a spar."

"I suppose… but it wouldn't be fair." Shirou said back, his ears catching that another of Kiba's swords had broken and he was losing his patience as he summoned another one. "I mean, unless you can use magic."

"I would never use something like that and you shouldn't underestimate the training techniques of the Church." Irina pointed her sword at him again but this time there was no aggressivity, only a warning. "I will go all out from now on! You better do the same!"

Not knowing exactly what that meant but respecting the warning his opponent was giving him, Shirou nodded his head and prepared his circuits for Reinforcement. Half of him expected Irina to start using Excalibur Mimic but the other was wary of the kind of training she lived through since that was what she was mentioned.

The second part of him was proven right as Irina closed her eyes and took a deep breath, Shirou didn't felt any mana being used but he could tell that the demeanor of the girl changed as she looked more ready for the fight and moved faster with a both hands holding her sword to the side she charged.

Shirou noticed that Irina's speed had increased considerably and raised his guard to stop her sword just in time, both his hands in the handle. He didn't notice when the kick came to his side and was a little surprised when her left leg had left the ground in an instant to hit him before returning to help Irina push him back.

Recovering his balance, the redhead magus tried to shift the fight in his favor by sending a kick of his own but Irina jumped exactly the height she needed to dodge him and kick his chest. Shirou was surprised by the show of agility as he took a few steps back, watching as Irina landed.

The chestnut haired maiden offered the magus a small smile, a little mischievous but also gentle, as she advanced again. Not wishing to be kicked a third time, Shirou changed gears to the offensive as his sword moved to crash with hers in a position he would be free to move his legs to intercept any surprises.

It was then that he noticed that only one hand was on Excalibur Mimic, much to his surprise, as the katanas deflected each other and he took a punch on his left cheek followed by a kick on his abdomen.

More out of surprise than any real damage, Shirou took a couple steps back and began to fight on the defensive as Irina kept pushing his blade to the side and trying to deliver punches or kicks.

But now the redhead was more wise to the Exorcist's capabilities and easily intercepted a kick with his knee before pushing the brown haired girl back.'That sword should be too heavy for her to use with one hand like that.' Shirou noticed as he placed his other hand on the back of his blade and began to push harder, both weapons stopping close to her chest.

'He is stronger than I thought. Aren't all magicians supposed to be scrawny scholars?' Irina frowned as now had both hands on the handle of her own sword but couldn't stop Shirou's bigger mass from pushing her back and she noticed that the two were getting close to a tree which she would hit back first. 'Not gonna happen!'

When they were just a couple of steps closer to the tree, Irina quickly jumped back and planted her feet in it. Shirou expected her to push him back but Irina turned and ran up so fast that she was at the top in less than a second.

"Are those two really humans?" Saji couldn't help but ask. "They are moving so fast!"

"You shouldn't be surprised, Saji-san. They are holding back so far." Akeno graciously informed as most of her attention was on the magus' fight.

With just a hand Irina grabbed some of the branches and jumped to another tree, Shirou in pursuit in the ground while noticing that she was easily holding a big katana with just one hand. "You are modifying the weight of your sword, aren't you?"

"Shouldn't I?" Irina asked back curiously as she held herself close to the top of another tree. "Is it too unfair?"

"Yes, you should. That just shows me that I have to take things a little more seriously." Shirou was a little caught off guard by how easily Irina was moving but he wasn't really surprised.

"Oh, are you going to use some magic spell?" A child-like curiosity shows herself as Irina pays close attention to Shirou who chuckles at her face full of wonder.

"Kinda." Shirou could already feel the effects of Reinforcement affecting his body. "Done."

"Already?" Irina looked around and Shirou didn't move until her eyes were back on him. "Nothing happened."

"It wasn't anything flashy, I just Reinforced my body." Shirou watched to see if Irina recognized the name of the spell and wasn't disappointed with the exclamation of understanding.

"No magic circles mean you are a magus, right?" Irina asked back, her legs ready for another jump as she was taught that magicians who could Reinforce their body were much faster and stronger than their normal counterparts. "Shouldn't your nerves be glowing or something?"

Seeing his opponent ready, Shirou chuckled again. "I am a little more advanced than that." Then he jumped at full speed towards Irina who barely saw him moving but managed to block his attack.

'He is fast.' Irina thinks as the two trade blows. 'Too fast!' She could already tell that Shirou was now faster than her and that if she wasn't erasing and returning Excalibur Mimic's weight constantly then she wouldn't be keeping up.

For a moment they heard a loud sound as the branch they were using began to crack. Irina escaped first but Shirou was right behind in a different branch as the fight continued.

Realizing that she wasn't winning a prolonged fight, Irina tried to retreat again only for Shirou to keep pursuing. The little space on the branches made fighting harder for them as they could barely move anything else or their arms or risk losing their balance.

The reason why Irina had gone to the trees was to try and avoid direct combat but now Shirou was too fast and she couldn't properly compete. She had to do something before she was defeated and with as much strength as she could, Irina tried to push Shirou's off with her sword but unlike her the redhead magus wasn't struggling.

"Maybe we should go down!" That was all the warning Shirou gave as he cut the branch Irina was using and she began to fall.

Demonstrating flexibility and agility, Irina quickly kicked the tree and flipped mid air to land on her feet. She barely had time to recover her bearing as Shirou was already on her again but now they were on the ground and her footing was more stable even if she still couldn't compete with him directly.

"Not bad." Shirou complemented. "You are really well trained." He made sure to not press too much to give the girl a chance to answer.

"I trained since I was a child." Irina admitted with some pride. "My family has been protectors of the Church for generations."

"Do you want to stop now?" Shirou asked gently, another glance going to Kiba's fight as the Knight looked more unstable while he was busy with Irina. Then he saw the little glare she was giving him. "I mean no offense but I have no issues with you and my friend was the one who started this whole thing."

"You still aren't taking this fight seriously." Irina realized with a frown as she pushed his sword against him.

"Neither are you." Shirou said back with a smile. 'Don't remind her of the painting, don't remind her of the painting, just don't remind her of the painting!'

Then Irina smiled back. "Then you wouldn't mind if I took this up a notch?" Her smile was mischievous again but still gentle. "You know that I have had this sword for a while now." She commented, both glancing at Excalibur Mimic. "I kinda want to see what I can do with it."

"That-" There was no time to reply as Excalibur Mimic began to grow bigger and heavier by at least five times, Shirou was beginning to struggle as the position of the blades had him hold the full weight. "Shit."

"Language~" Irina declared as she suddenly jumped back, almost making the magus lose her balance as the sword katana on her hands returned to normal and Holy Energy surrounded it. "Now face the weapon of the Lord! Excalibur Mimic!"

Shirou didn't know what threw him off more, the little wink that Irina gave him or the fact that a steel sword, Holy or not, extended and also cut him from half of a football's field range.

It wasn't surprising since his Structural Analysis gave him the information that Excalibur Mimic could transform into virtually anything but still a little jarring. "What is with me and women with whips?!" Because that was what Mimic was at the moment, a while whose whole length was also a blade.

"They are good weapons!" Akeno replied with a smile.

"Not helping, Akeno!" Shirou replied as the sword whip quickly began to move, Irina showing descent control with the weapon. The redhead moved fast to stop a cut on his shoulder while using his magecraft to check the information about it again. "How can you use that so well? You never trained with it for more than a day."

At the observation, Irina looked at Shirou with confusion before smiling. "I read the manual." Her hand kept controlling the sword whip to keep Shirou on the defensive.

"Manual? That thing has a manual?" Shirou would have facepalmed if that didn't mean losing an ear.

Finding the situation funny, Irina mischief showed itself fully. "Didn't your magecraft tell you about that?"

Another block and a dodge to the side saved Shirou as he tried to advance only to have to stop the giant blade from cutting off his arm. "That isn't how it works!" He shouted both in reference to his magecraft as the situation itself. "You can't just pick up a sword and master it with no prior help! That is insane!"

The logic at least escaped Shirou who needed Reinforcement to compensate for muscle memory and help him understand a new weapon.

Since Irina already confirmed that she doesn't use magic, the girl looked too honest to be lying for an advantage, then her movements shouldn't be as perfect as they were or at least not as controlled.

Instead the sword that was now as nimble as a whip didn't lose its speed or the girl didn't lose pace as Excalibur Mimic always would find its mark if Shirou wasn't paying attention and blocking the weapon..

He still paid attention to every wrist movement the Exorcist did while she started to get cheerful mid fight "Maybe I am a genius~" Irina's arm moved faster and Shirou was forced to jump and dodge Excalibur Mimic before making another sword. "Are you serious now?"

The magus ignored her as he tried to reevaluate the situation. 'Is there some sort of trick with Excalibur Mimic that I am not seeing?' Even if he understood the sword's history, its full capabilities were still a mess on his head because of the gaps that eluded him. 'Maybe its transformation capabilities are about control?'

Using two swords Shirou found much easier to stop the onslaught before charging at Irina, he wasn't even holding back his Reinforcement anymore and running at her at his full speed which some noted was faster than Kiba's.

Excalibur Mimic responded to the wishes of its owner and quickly retracted when Irina noticed Shirou advancing. If the magus was taking five seconds to reach her because of the distance, the sword returned to a normal katana's length in one and quickly the Exorcist shot it at Shirou in a straight line faster than him in another second.

With his sharp perception Shirou could see the attack going for his shoulder and he only had enough time to block it with his two swords before he was properly hit. Using the momentum of his run to dodge to the side while the tip of Excalibur Mimic kept advancing a couple more seconds as a panicked Irina tried to get it back.

Once again the response was immediate, despite the Exorcist's surprise of how Shirou managed to stop an otherwise crippling wound for a fighter, Irina managed to recover and command the sword to return back to normal.

She wasn't fast enough to stop Shirou who managed to hit her leg with the side of his sword before she took a swing at him and the magus had to jump back to avoid it. Irina then pointed her sword at him again and Shirou managed to avoid it by moving his upper body to the side.

"Yes, now I am sure. You have no practice with that sword." Shirou commented, noticing how her reactions actually had a delay. "Excalibur Mimic can almost instantaneously transform into anything but you need time to process what you need."

"Really?" With a shift of her wrist, Irina commanded the sword back but Shirou knew that wasn't necessary. "I just think and it does things."

"Was that in the manual?" Shirou asked with a grin that had Irina pouting. "Your sword can turn into virtually anything you want it to be but you still need time to think on what you want. Until you decide on a course of action it can't do anything." He watched as the Exorcist stared at her sword with even more wonder. "That really wasn't in your manual, wasn't it?"

"No, It wasn't. Nobody told me that. They told me to just trust the sword and my faith in the Lord and it would protect me." Like with a kid in an ice cream store, Irina looked really happy with herself. "The fact that I barely thought about what I wanted and it still moved like that just shows how deep the Lord's love is."

'What?' Shirou did his best to unpack the sentence but there was something wrong with it. "I… don't think that is how this works."

"Of course it is! The Lord rewards His followers' faith and this sword is proof of that." Irina held Excalibur Mimic high, treating it more like a treasure than a weapon. "Thank you Lord for your kindness and for giving me the instrument to enact your will. I shall do my best to live by your teachings and to finish my mission. Amem."

Shirou noticed some of the devils flinching which meant that the prayer was true and her desire sincere. That bothered him, it bothered him in a way that he couldn't explain and barely comprehend as everytime he looked at the sword he felt a disgust that wasn't his own.

Reaching deep inside himself, Shirou felt a presence that had followed him since his baptism by fire but that he only noticed less than a year ago. He could feel the golden glow and a heat similar to the sun close to his chest, basking him in a light that he couldn't see but could feel.

And it was the same as always, Avalon was not reacting to Excalibur's presence or at least to its Fragments.

That felt odd to Shirou who thought that if there was anything that would move the legendary sheath, even a little, would be the presence of its sword.

'But I still feel loathing, despair and impotence. If not from Avalon, where are those feelings coming from?' Looking back to Irina, Shirou noticed that the girl was ready to continue and prepared himself. 'I have to think about that later.'

Was all he could promise as Excalibur Mimic extended itself once again and he moved to parry it.

"Issei, no offense but your childhood friend scares me." Saji couldn't help but comment while watching Shirou dodge and deflect as fast as he could, knowing he wouldn't do half as well in the same situation. "Definitely can believe you thought she was a guy this whole time."

"I don't know~ us girls can be scary too." Akeno was happy to comment as she gave Saji a gentle smile that he found menacing for some reason. "At least we can say that Shirou-kun found all that training to fight against a whip useful."

"Huh?" Saji couldn't understand what the Queen was saying and Rias, only paying half attention to the conversation while trying to follow both fights, gave a short explanation.

"Her favorite weapon is a whip."

"Oh." Saji replied in understanding to repeat himself a few seconds later. "Oh." He looked at Akeno and saw a mix between a sultry smile and a grin. "Oh!"

"They didn't get that far." Yoruichi found it easier than Rias to keep up with the conversation while watching the fights. She was also aware that some people were hiding and watching from the club.

At the nekomata's interference, Akeno pouted. "Spoilsport." It only earned a chuckle from the older woman disguised as a cat. "Shirou-kun is still holding back quite a bit to avoid injuring his opponent." She placed a hand on Issei's shoulder who almost jumped. "You don't need to worry about her that much, Ise."

The Pawn nodded. "I know that. I have seen some of the damage he can do. It 's just…"

"Issei-san just doesn't want his old friend getting hurt." Asia said with a small smile and the brown haired Pawn couldn't help but admire how she had already recovered from Xenovia's harsh words.

However there was more. "I never thought she was someone like this." Issei admitted as he watched Irina apparently trying to take Shirou's head off. "Damn her parents didn't look like a bunch of fighters from the Church, just a nice couple. Her mother used to give me cookies every time I visited." But then he thought of her father. "Well, her dad did look like he could take someone and break them in half but…"

"He didn't act like it?" Akeno offered as a suggestion, coaxing Issei to continue.

"Only when someone tried to mess with Irina… which in highsight…" Issei could admit that while Irina acted more like a boy her father always treated her like a girl. 'And considering how she is dressing I can say she grew up just fine.'

"Issei-san." He turned to Asia who was pouting. "Should you really be thinking of your childhood friend like that?"

"With those clothes even I am thinking about it." Saji with a small perverted grin before remembering that most of the company were women. "Ah! I mean-"

Rin only had half an ear on Saji's attempt to defend himself, she was barely paying attention to her classmates around her as she was completely focused on Shirou's fight.

While her Structural Analysis wasn't on Shirou's level, Rin was quite observant and had her full attention directed towards the spar between her fellow magus and the Exorcist. She had no troubles in keeping up with them and much like Shirou she had already deduced some of the capabilities of the Excalibur Mimic just by watching and hearing the fight.

'I don't know who gave her that sword but whoever did either saw Shidou Irina's true potential or got a lucky break.' Rin's thoughts, much like Shirou's, revolved around Excalibur Mimic at the moment. But unlike the redhead who needed to worry about fighting she had the advantage of a third person perspective which made it easier for her to study Mimic. 'If I were to guess I would say that during creation of that sword its power was directed to the user's belief and not to the sword itself. That would make Mimic malleable since in reality it would hold no true form. Taking into account that Shidou Irina's faith in her God is absolute from prior interaction, then you have a weapon that can do almost anything, including ignoring the laws of physics. In other words a vessel for a phenomenon similar to True Magic.'

When compiling that with what she heard Shirou say, Rin knew that the weapon must have some limits like the fact that in whatever it transformed it couldn't just break apart or be easily broken.

Compiling the data and comparing it with her previous knowledge, Rin came to some conclusions; Excalibur Mimic wasn't really True Magic however how similar. Couldn't break apart, it was as durable as anything else as it would be as a sword, it completely obeys its user, it can complete its process with just the user imagination but when they focused then the process was faster and more efficient.

But while it was extremely versatile the sword itself had limits, limits that it couldn't break and rules that it had to follow. Sure the sword alone could do things science couldn't reproduce and magic had a hard time getting into but it wasn't like a sacred gear ever evolving or a True Magic which was naturally unique by itself.

'I will need to compare notes with Shirou-kun later. He is the smith and alchemist here, there must be more that I am missing.' Rin hated to admit it but that just wasn't her speciality.

Turning her aqua eyes towards Kiba's fight she shook her head as the blond's Knight giant sword, taller than a tree, simply broke under the power of Excalibur Destruction.

Such an incident had her comparing it with a sacred gear, finding similarities between the existences but Rin found it weird. 'Could a Noble Phantasm beat the Excaliburs? Yes, quite easily.' She blinked at the easy realization. 'There is something really wrong with this scenario.'

It was hard to deny that Excalibur was one of the most known swords in the word, both inside and outside of the moonlit community.

But the knowledge of its fate after King Arthur was only widely spread to those already in the know and that diminished the possibility of the Excalibur Fragments being actual Noble Phantasms while the sword itself had to be one just by the sheer fame that it would have accumulated, not even counting on what the sword actually was.

'Wait a minute, if a Muramasa is a Noble Phantasm, why aren't these swords Noble Phantasms too? If they were, I am sure Shirou-kun would have commented something. Or even just warned Kiba about the danger.' That was what Rin found peculiar, her eyes turning to Shirou again. 'He made no comment of those swords being Noble Phantasms and isn't treating Ise's friend as a threat.' She bit one of her nails, trying to figure out what the swords were classified as. 'What wouldn't I give to pick your brain right now, Emiya.'

One thing Rin was for sure, many in the moonlit world would give an arm or a leg to be in Shirou's shoes right now despite how many times he came close to losing an arm.

"Don't worry. Boys will be boys." Akeno calmed the Sitri Pawn with a smile, her eyes turning to Kiba for a moment. "Right, Buchou?"

"Kiba is going to lose this." Rias announced much to the younger devils' surprise.

"Are you sure, Buchou?" Saji asked respectfully. "I mean, he looks like he can still keep going."

Shaking her head, Rias decided to say nothing as another sword broke and Kiba was thrown away from Xenovia, hitting a tree. Yoruichi decided to elaborate. "Fighting as he is, it won't take long before the end. No amount of energy born of anger can change that."

"Why?" Issei asked, his eyes leaving his childhood friend for a moment in concern to his more recent one. "I mean, I'm not that good at feeling energy yet but I think Kiba could kick all of the fried chicken's team right now."

Yoriuchi shook her feline head and gave the Knight a sad look. "Because when people try to force something when they aren't ready, they self-destruct."

As another sword broke and Kiba was forced to retreat again, Xenovia remained in the same place she had been for the last few minutes. 'How many different swords are there now? Eight? Nine?' The blue haired Exorcist shrugged and looked at Rias who was still watching the fight. 'I'm sure this is enough to show we are competent. But then again, she is probably letting us fight because of his problems.'

Xenovia wasn't fully aware of Kiba's past but she was informed about him and the gist of it, she had some sympathy for those that suffered in the hands of the monsters hiding inside the organization she was part of and that was why she didn't offered Kiba the same thing she offered Asia and was willing to fight him from the beginning; as a member of the Church, the same organization that almost killed him and destroyed his life she was ready to take some of his anger in combat.

But that didn't mean she was willing to risk her mission or that Kiba would find an easy opponent, if his desire was to break Excalibur he could try but Xenovia wouldn't shrink out of her duty in keeping one of the strongest swords from the Church safe and intact.

'God can't be everywhere, that is why we take some of His burden and raise our swords.' It was a contradictory idea for Xenovia but something her caretaker insisted she never forgot and that helped her keep her focus even when meeting someone like Kiba who carried righteous anger against her Church. 'I still have a mission to finish.' Sympathy only gave her so much patience. "Are we done, senpai?"

The question snapped Kiba off his berserker-like rage and brought his attention away from the sword for the first time in a while to glare at Xenovia. "I am just getting started."

"Are you sure about that, senpai? You aren't looking too good." Xenovia stated bluntly which made Kiba irritated. However what infuriated him further was when the brown eyes of the girl moved towards Rias' position.

Kiba wasn't thinking about why Xenovia was looking at Rias, it could be for caution or warning or anything else both related or unrelated to why she was in Fuyuki in the first place.

He only saw that his opponent, an Excalibur Holder, was ignoring him. That was enough to make his blood boil but to also change his focus away from the sword even if just a little.

Now Kiba's objective changed, however temporarily, from 'destroy Excalibur' to 'defeat Xenovia then destroy Excalibur'. That actually helped him focus, something that surprised both his opponent and the audience as he stopped his mad charges.

Despite his anger, Kiba was still somewhat of a gentleman and so defeating Xenovia didn't mean killing her so when he began to evaluate his options as the thought of seriously injuring the girl didn't cross his head.

At least for the moment, his rage wasn't in full control of his actions even if just barely.

Quickly going over a list of his swords, Kiba decided to use something that he was sure would catch the Exorcist off guard. With a flick of his wrist and twitch of his fingers a cyan short sword with double edge and a handle as big as the blade showed up on his hands.

Some of the devils recognized it. It was a new sword and something that Kiba had made to challenge Riser Phenex but it was incomplete at that point and he just finished working it recently..

Almost every member of the ORC knew what it could do if Kiba truly finished it, a bridge between two states of a single element fully under his control. For a moment the devils thought that he had a chance to actually win.

It was a sword that Kiba had quite confidence in, a show of his progress and growth. If Holy Eraser was his oldest creation and the most reliable, this one was the newest and most unreliable but much more powerful than any of its predecessors.

Kiba charged again and immediately Xenovia noticed there was a shift on the Knight's attitude, he was being more measured and the sword he was holding wasn't heavy from what she could see and he was still holding it with his two hands, just making her suspect that something was up.

In any other fight she would be the one on the offensive but Xenovia was trying to not hurt Kiba too much, still she was cautious and kept her shoulders firm as the Knight approached with the speed of an olympian athlete. Considering her opponent was a devil the blue haired Exorcist wasn't going to lower her guard because the sword doesn't look like a proper one.

Everybody watching took note that the young woman didn't move despite Kiba giving her an opening with an apparent early swing from a sword that was obviously too short to hit her.

It was when the arch of the sword was too close to completion that Kiba had to accept that Xenovia wasn't going to fall for his trap. "Ice Tyrant!" Declared the Knight as the evolution and combination of the previous ice and water swords began to use his mana to create a huge block of ice in the shape of a sword just a second before it collided with Excalibur Destruction.

Xenovia gritted her teeth but her preparations paid off as Kiba still wasn't strong enough to push her and she managed to fight the devil back before the effect of her sword took hold and the ice was pulverized.

It was exactly what Kiba was waiting for as despite the ice being connected to the sword the weapon itself, which used properties of his old swords to create water and other attempts of ice swords to freeze it, was intact and was short enough that with his speed he could pass by Xenovia's guard and hit her.

The blue haired woman saw it happening, her body trained to fight against faster opponents never lost sight of the weapon itself and for the first time since the match properly began she began to move by instinct, evading a hit that almost cut her chest open.

With a small smile, allowing her competitive side to show itself, Xenovia brought Excalibur Destruction back, colliding with another sword of ice, more thin but resistant enough to stop the blade. Took her a second to destroy the ice and at that point Kiba was already taking his distance again.

This time Xenovia gave chase, her impulses and preferences making her abandon her passive attitude as Kiba was forced to duck against a blow from Excalibur Destruction, the prized possession of the Church getting stuck into a tree.

The devil saw his opportunity and ice began to form again to cut Xenovia's arm off, something he was sure Asia could fix or at least he hopped, when splinters from the destroyed tree hit him on the back of his neck and broke his concentration.

Moving her sword between her hands, Xenovia goes for a stab on Kiba's legs only for him to shift his position quickly and bat her sword to the side. She just brought it back, this time with an aura of Holy ready to destroy his weapon upon direct contact and he had to make a shield of ice that blew up as he retreated at full speed with some of it hitting him.

For her the ice barely touched the blue haired Exorcist who examined her sword with a frown. 'It's destructive power is strong and easy to control but compared to… No, comparing them is unfair. Both are gifts from God.' Her focus returned to the Knight who made another Ice Tyrant. "As expected of Sword Birth."

"You knew about my sacred gear?" Kiba bit his tongue after the question, realizing how pointless it was. "Of course you do, you knew I was here."

"We were debriefed about as much information as we could get about the Heiresses residing in Fuyuki and their peerages." Information gathering was a common thing between the Factions.

"But you clearly knew more about me than anyone else." Kiba stated, his anger stirring behind his eyes.

"Of course, the Church keeps a look on the missing flock of the Lord."

Not liking how she phrased it, Kiba retorted. "You mean an asset."

The way he said irritated Xenovia a little. "You can't blame all of us for what those heretics did to you."

"I can." Kiba couldn't hold back a wince at the effort he was doing by creating two huge swords of ice as he attacked again. In the summer heat it was even harder to make the ice but once he succeeded they would remain even if he stopped using the swords until all of it melted.

But the other problem was that Kiba wasn't the most physically strong of their group, he knew for a fact that only Asia was weaker than him with Issei already stronger after a couple of days of training and a boost or two.

He disregarded that, what the Knight wanted was attack power and now that Xenovia moved from her previous position he was sure he was going in the right direction.

Kiba didn't even know the price for his shortsightedness, he was slower and closer to the human limits, something that Xenovia noticed easily together with other things; she could see how the ice was uneven, ruining his balance and how he was struggling to pull the swords together with him for his attack.

As someone trained to fight against opponents faster and stronger than her, Xenovia could estimate that Kiba wasn't any faster than most human athletes, a category of humans that the special training of the Church had helped her surpass a long time ago.

Taking note of his advance and that she had already moved so there was no point in staying in a single spot even as a show of force, Xenovia moved to meet his charge and that doomed Kiba's approach.

Excalibur Destruction moved first and Kiba pulled his left arm with his full strength to swat it aside to then strike her with his right. He lost as Excalibur Destruction easily got rid of both weapons and Xenovia then used its side to hit him on the chest.

The hit was quite strong for a human and Kiba fell down on his back as Xenovia took a step back herself to appear non threatening. To her the fight was done and she noticed that Rias appreciated her trying to disengage and end the situation.

Satisfied that she could continue with her mission Xenovia asked calmly and respectfully, "Are we done, senpai?"

Grabbing some of the dirt to his side, Kiba glared as the blue haired Exorcist realized she underestimated his rage. "'Done'? No, we aren't 'done'!"

"Kiba! That is enough! Stand down!" Rias called for him but the Knight ignored his King as he attempted to get up.

"Don't interfere, Buchou!" The sound of despair on Kiba's voice shocked all present in the forest as even Shirou and Irina stopped their fight. "I am not done! I will destroy Excalibur!"

'I don't know what to do in this sort of situation.' It wasn't the first time Xenovia saw anger against her organization but the raw emotion leaving Kiba was different than any other she heard before. "I believe that this is enough. You can't break Excalibur."

"I can." Kiba denied with a whisper while trying to get up. In the distance he heard someone's voice telling him to stop.

"You are exhausted and clearly running low on mana." Xenovia pointed out, not completely sure as she couldn't sense his condition and could only go by the amount of sweat and how difficult it was for the Knight to get up. "And I have a mission to finish."

Finality; that was what Kiba heard in Xenovia's voice. "To you this may be just a job. But to me this is the most important fight of my life!"

Xenovia gave him sad eyes but Kiba wasn't detained as he finally got up. She gave Rias a look and the King of Gremory was already moving in their direction together with her Queen, both clearly indicating that they were stopping the fight.

Not hearing the words from Rias, ignoring anything else but the blade in front of him, Kiba lost any patience or restraint as demonic energy began to circulate around him, surprising and scaring some of the audience.

"No!" Shirou was the first to react and run in Kiba's direction, much to Irina's surprise as Rias also formed Born To Be Wild and moved it to restrain her Knight as more and more energy gathered on his right hand.

Soon a huge dark gray sword appeared and a fire of similar colors covered Kiba's body completely destroying Rias' Born To Be Wild, ripping it to pieces so fast that the pureblood devil couldn't react much to her shock.

All her training and instincts told Xenovia something; Kiba was becoming a stray devil right before her eyes. It was the energy he was letting loose, the madness in his eyes, his brutal attitude towards his King's power, all that was indication of the transformation from a rational devil into one of the monsters that chased and killed humans.

And she was trained to deal with such monsters.

The shift was instantaneous, faster than Kiba's even; from a warrior on a spar to a warrior on the battlefield her eyes gained a new edge that showed her intentions of neutralizing the threat at any cost.

That was what she was trained to do and her grip on her sword grew firmer as any shred of mercy and sympathy disappeared beneath the gaze of an amazon ready to rip her enemy apart.

Even her immediate mission wasn't a concern as the primary directive to all the Exorcists was always there; kill all who stray from the proper path and threaten to harm innocents, in the name of God.

The blond Knight was already moving, Xenovia was already ready to counter attack and kill the devil covered in gray fire that made him look like he had escaped to hell itself. The moment that Kiba charged, Xenovia didn't hesitate as his eyes promised death to anyone close to him.

But others moved faster than the Exorcist as a whip made of lighting coiled around Kiba's arm and forced him to drop his sword, the flames going away with it, and Shirou grabbed the blond by the head and his other arm, slamming him on the ground as Kiba still tried to escape.

"Let me go!" Kiba struggled to break free but the redhead and raven head refused silently, a small discharge and Shirou tightening his grip stopping any attempt from the Knight to break free. "LET ME GO!"

"You are out of your mind." Shirou stated clearly, even literally as he felt some of the gray fire burning him but also noticing a cut on his arm. 'It changed again.' He observed for a second before focusing on immobilizing the Knight.

"I apologize for this." Rias, noticing that her lover and second in command had everything under control, quickly moved to stay in front of her Knight to show she was in control of the situation. "I must say that you proved your power and I shall have no issues in allowing you and your partner to search Fuyuki for the missing Fragments."

At that point Rias didn't have much of a choice and no reason to bar the Exorcists from her territory any longer, on contrary, the sooner they left Kuoh's area the better as Kiba grew too unstable.

Irina approached Xenovia with a wary glance towards the still mad Knight and she hadn't lowered her sword completely in fear that Kiba would break out of the grip of his companions and attack her.

It was Xenovia moving first that had the light brown haired girl relax. "I thank you for your cooperation, lady Gremory." She took out the tape it was being used for Excalibur Destruction before and began to hide it again.

As Excalibur Mimic became a simple rope for Irina to tie in her arm, Rias was happy by how easy it was to convince both Exorcists to lay down their arms. Xenovia was the one that impressed her the most, going from a relaxed spar to battle ready to relaxed again in the turn of a dime.

"I must request that you forgive Kiba for his… attitude in the last few minutes." It was Rias saying indirectly that she didn't want troubles and that she was going to take care of her Piece's punishment.

Looking back at Rias and not really understanding the subtlety behind her words, Xenovia just states "It is clear he isn't a stray devil fully. If he was, I wouldn't hesitate to cut him down this instant."

The redhead devil couldn't help but find it impressive how Xenovia could threaten her peerage on her presence and she couldn't refute the blue haired Exorcist because she wouldn't be in the wrong in this case as Kiba was acting like a stray devil.

That and the fact that just standing close to an unleashed Excalibur Destruction was bothering her immensely held Rias tongue. Now that she was that much closer to Xenovia, so close that Rias was sure that the blue haired woman could kill her before her peerage properly reacted, she realized the dangerous position she placed herself in.

But she remained firm because Kiba needed her, he needed to control himself and for the Exorcists to leave before he got killed. For that Rias would remain standing close to Xenovia, effectively making herself a hostage to show that she didn't want any trouble.

Yoruichi then brushed her leg, acting like a normal cat while reminding her that she wasn't alone. 'Thank you.'

"Besides, you approved of our mission. By the rules of the ceasefire I have no more conflict with either him or your House." Xenovia didn't realize that Rias had let out a sigh of relief at the declaration. "I suppose I should apologize, even if you are devils."

Now Rias grew curious at that statement. "Why?"

A pensive Xenovia hesitated to speak but Irina found the situation amusing so she spoke instead. "We heard from our superiors what happened to him and Xenovia-chan probably just wanted him to unwind a little."

"Don't call me 'chan'." Xenovia protested with a grumpiness that Rias would find cute if the situation wasn't so dire.

Kiba for his part heard loud and clear what Irina had said and stopped struggling when she continued. "Yeah, that particular bad guy was excommunicated and is a criminal for his crimes. Xenovia-chan," a growl of warning didn't stop Irina, "probably wanted your Knight to hit her with his sword a few times to help him calm down. Weird right?"

"Hitting something always helps me." Xenovia said to the side. "But his problem is worse than I thought so I shouldn't have goaded him into a fight. For that I apologize."

Not really knowing what to say, Rias stayed silent as Issei, Asia and Saji approached then, the Pawn of Sitri a couple of steps behind, while Rin moved to help with Kiba. "Well, that didn't help." Issei was quick to point out. "You shouldn't have been rude to Asia or Kiba."

"Issei-san, please calm down." Asia placed a hand on his chest but the Pawn was still fuming. Not caring about what she said to Asia, mostly because she felt she was on the right, Xenovia just kept tying up her sword.

Saji found that process curious and a waste of time. "Shouldn't you have a sheath or something?" Irina chuckled at the question while Xenovia glared at Saji for interrupting her work.

"Excalibur Destruction doesn't like sheaths or anything similar. It always breaks them." Xenovia, much like Irina, also received a manual with instructions of how to best take care of her sword.

Even if it was written not by God or His angels it was still useful and relevant thanks to the contributors. It was decided that since the Fragments were made by humans and for humans it would be their duty to create the instructions for the weapons. So the manuals of the Excaliburs were written by the alchemists and then by the Holders of the Fragments who changed with the generations with each and everyone imparting some of their knowledge.

Both Xenovia and Irina read all of it and while the blue haired one of the pair wasn't much of a reader she gave the manual she received all the attention she felt it deserved, especially since it had mentions of other swords much like her real one.

She was someone with experience with Holy Swords and was stunned by the similarities and differences between each Excalibur Fragment and another sword she was interested in. The similarities were expected and thanks to her experience Xenovia learned to control Excalibur Destruction in just a few days while Irina still needed another week.

But the Excalibur Destruction wasn't the strongest sword Xenovia had to deal with and the manual didn't give her any insight on how to master her real weapon. However it explained why she suspected her own weapon didn't have a scabbard either as it was similar enough to Excalibur Destruction she believed it had the same problem.

"My sword is too powerful and it always destroys any container too weak the Church tried to place it in." Xenovia kept her work steady to make sure nothing of the blade stayed revealed since it would break the illusion. "Wood, steel, any kind of metal really. Excalibur Destruction represents the destructive potential of the original Excalibur and even if reduced it won't be easily contained."

"Yeah, I remember one of the priests at the Church saying that only Avalon could truly contain it, remember." Irina asked her friend with a warm smile and none of them noticed how Rias moved a little to make sure Shirou was out of their sight, just to be safe. "Can you imagine how powerful the original was? It was truly a Divine weapon."

Not liking how people were referring to that sword with so much reverence, Kiba couldn't help but free his head enough to snarl. "It is because of it that so many died."

All the attention turned to the Knight and Akeno let her whip fade with a glance at Shirou who nodded at her. The magus took a step back and allowed Kiba to sit up, now that most of the ORC members were closer it was clear to the blond he couldn't do anything so he only frowned and glared at the Exorcists.

"If just Excalibur didn't exist, then no one would have to die because of it." For a moment he wasn't in the forest of Fuyuki but in the woods where Rias found him, trying to escape in the snow at the sound of machine guns and screams. "That is not a Divine weapon but a Cursed one that has people fighting for it."

Rias was massaging the bridge of her nose as the Exorcists frowned, everyone was uncomfortable with the statement as it appeared Kiba still wanted to fight but now that his fury had been spent the Knight looked more depressed than anything.

Since Xenovia didn't like what Kiba said she tried to come up with a counter argument and fortunately her superiors had given it to her as a negotiation tool in case Rias didn't want to talk in the first place. "Valper Galilei is said to be arriving in this town."

"What?!" Kiba almost screamed in shock as many looked at the blue haired Exorcist and waited for her to elaborate.

Not really surprised by her partner's straightforward approach, Irina took over. "That is how we knew to look for the Excaliburs in Fuyuki. One of our sources revealed that he was coming here to try and reforge the original."

"Is that even possible?" Rias asked with some caution.

"Who the hell is this Valper?" Issei asked what he, Asia and Saji wanted to know.

"A monster on man's skin." Kiba said with gritted teeth, all his anger back but on a new target.

"If you want to blame someone for what happened, don't blame the sword, blame that monster." Xenovia said with finality as she saw it as the most logical solution. "His obsession in trying to be equal to God by restoring His work made him commit all those crimes. Even if there is nothing certain about the theft of the other Fragments, pretty much everyone is sure that he must be the main responsable."

Something didn't feel right for Shirou. "Shouldn't someone like that be dead? Or at least in a prison to never see the light of day again?"

At that moment Irina looked nervous but Xenovia clearly wasn't going to say anything so she spoke with a sigh. "Unfortunately there were traitors among our ranks at the time that… helped him escape." She noticed the glare from Kiba sent her way and quickly waved her hands. "But they were caught and punished afterwards. Lord Michael himself descended from the Heavens, interrogated them and once determined their guilt and lack of true regret he smitted them in the name of the Lord."

"If the information is right then that monster is around Fuyuki, hiding like the rat he is." Xenovia declared as she finished covering her sword. "We just want the Excalibur Fragments. If you find and kill him, you would be doing us a favor." She turns to Rias and offers her a nod before turning towards Kiba. "Regardless, we have a mission to do. Stay out of our way and we won't have any troubles."

"Can the two of you even do it?" Akeno asked with some skepticism. "I don't mean to offend, the two of you are strong and your swords are powerful but if the Archbishop of Genocide found some allies that even managed to steal some of the Fragments…"

"We were sent to this mission and will finish it, whatever it takes." Xenovia's fierce look showed no doubts and Irina nodded just after she talked to show she also had no fear.

"Doesn't change the fact he may have some organization behind him. That would at least explain how he stole the other Fragments in the first place." Rin could see how someone with Valper's knowledge could direct others to do his biddings, especially with a prize like Excalibur on the line. "If that is the case and the Fragments are really here, what makes you believe that this isn't a trap of some sort? As far as you know that may be false intel or there may be hundreds here ready to kill you to take the swords you so generously brought here."

The younger devils flinched at Rin's suggestion since it meant that Irina and Xenovia would be facing a potential army without any help.

"Don't underestimate us. If that monster is here we shall deliver him to justice while we reclaim the weapons and anyone who gets on our way will pay with their lives." Xenovia didn't even bat an eye at the idea of the odds she was facing.

"But they may have a gang or a whole army!" Issei spoke more in concern from Irina who he was looking at. "This is suicide! Why aren't you calling for help if there are so many of them?"

"Because this is our territory and they aren't sure." Rias realized with some thought. "If the reports are correct, and they probably are since the Church is good on those, then the Archbishop of Genocide is here and the other Fragments are as well with whatever organization decided to help him." She wasn't well versed on those so no names jumped to the front of his mind but of something she was certain. "Ise is right; this is a suicide mission. At best you will be facing just a couple dozen people, at worst up to a hundred."

"But how did they enter Fuyuki? Isn't this our territory?" Issei asked in a panic but Rias shook her head.

"We can't keep an eye on every human or every road. Unless it is someone with considerable magical power nobody would notice." The whole thing reminded Rias of the Rearguard and she didn't like that one bit.

"Why did you call him 'Ise'? Is that a nickname?" Irina suddenly asked and the brown haired Pawn looked at her with shock and concern.

With a shrug, Rias saw no problem in answering Issei's childhood friend. "There is another devil called Issei around here so we call him 'Ise' and the other 'Issei'."

"And you like that?" Irina asked with a tilt of her head.

"Kinda." Issei told her old friend but he was too concerned with other things to think about that. "Forget about it! You-"

"I wanna call you that too!" Irina declared happly before pouting. "Mou~ why didn't I think of that when I was younger? We should have nicknames for each other!"

"That must be the most obvious attempt to change the subject I have ever seen." Rin commented, snapping Issei from his confusion.

"Why are only you two here? This is too dangerous! It's a whole army!" Everybody knew that Issei may be exaggerating because they really don't know who was helping Valper or if it was really him who stole the Excaliburs Fragments in the first place.

But the uncertainty didn't mean he was necessarily wrong either, the unknown factor was still there and it may represent a larger organization hidden in the shadows, a true army.

And both the Exorcists knew that, it was clear by the way that Irina smiled. "You saw how strong we are. Don't worry. We are going to bring those bad guys to justice."

'They are ready to die.' Shirou realized with a frown. 'It's true that the Church can't just send an army uninvited and the lead to the Fragments may not pawn out but these two … not only there were sent here with the last Fragments as bait but to try and flush out whatever this organization is even at the cost of their lives.' He could feel his anger starting to bubble at the people who sent the two to Fuyuki. 'They are bait to reveal their enemy and then either they will return victorious or the Church will know who to blame … I hate politics.'

While Shirou realized the context of the Exorcists' presence strategically, Rias saw the potential political nightmare that may start. 'They already know that we devils had nothing to do with the situation but with someone like the Archbishop of Genocide in our town…' She frowned. 'They aren't here just to ask permission, the Church is signaling to us that they don't want any trouble or else they would try to send a hidden army themselves.'

It was no secret that most organizations, even countries, can't watch their territory borders the whole time and the Church in general had a considerable amount of human manpower available. It wouldn't be hard, even if it needs to take some time, for them all to mobilize and she wouldn't be able to see it coming and they knew it.

Even if most members of the Church were just normal but in general pious people, numbers had a quality of their own depending on the opponent and if there was one organization who could amass a huge army when working fully towards one goal that was the Church and its many branches.

'Is the Church worried about who might be backing this?' Rias wouldn't lie to herself, she was worried. 'All this could all be nothing and only a mad man running around where he shouldn't, or this may be the prelude to another war.'

"But it is just the two of you…" Irina just kept smiling and Issei didn't know what to say about her reassurances, he saw that she was strong but that wasn't enough for him.

"Do you two need assistance?" Shirou offered with a sharp glare and many already expected it.

"Not at all. This is our mission, Magician of Gremory." Xenovia stated plainly.

However Shirou wasn't one to quit easily. "I won't steal the Excaliburs if that is what you fear. I can give you back up if necessary and then you can leave with it."

"That is right! We can help you!" Issei grabbed on to the hope that if Irina was going to get into a dangerous situation he would be there to back her up.

The two Exorcists looked at each other, Irina motioning to the ORC group with a smile but Xenovia shook her head and the chestnut haired girl frowned. "Come on Xenovia, it's Issei. He wouldn't cheat on us or anything."

"You haven't seen each other in years. As far as you know, he may have changed." Xenovia then turned to look at Rias. "We wasted enough time and already got the permission we came for. Let's go. We have a job to do."

Shirou was about to protest when he saw the look on Rias' face before she shook her head. He raised an eyebrow as if to ask what was wrong but she just spelled 'trust me' and he backed down.

Some also noticed that Kiba was about to say something, to complain or maybe to offer to go himself only for Born To Be Wild to appear at his side and close his mouth with a hand.

Only when the Stand made its appearance was that Kiba looked to his King and noticed that Rias was now glaring at him, an ominous aura covering her body before she directed her attention towards the two departing Exorcists.

"I wish you luck in your mission and once again apologize about any problems."

Issei didn't like what he heard. "But Buchou-"

"They aren't here to ask for help, Ise. That isn't how we work." Rias received another nod from Xenovia and a relieved smile from Irina as she didn't want to risk her friend's life either way.

"My thanks lady Gremory." Xenovia said respectfully, using the lessons drilled on her by her guardian. 'Thank God this is over.'

"Thank you. And don't worry, Ise. We will probably pass by your house before leaving. You still live in the same place, right?"

"Ah, well, yeah but-" Issei was still concerned but Yoruichi jumped on his shoulder.

"Let them go. Excalibur is too dangerous for a devil like you." The nekomata whispered and she could feel him tense his shoulders. "Do you want to give Rias more troubles?"

As she gave a glance in Kiba's direction, Yoruichi made sure that Issei did the same to see how the Knight was still struggling, however slightly, against the Stand who kept a firm hold on the blond devil.

"The situation is more complicated than it looks." Yoriuchi whispered gently as she jumped down from his shoulder and Issei watched as Irina waved in her departure before the Exorcists covered themselves with their capes and they looked like simple girls with bright clothes, not warriors on a mission.

Only when the Exorcists were out of view did Rias turn towards Kiba and the Knight once again took note that the redhead devil was clearly furious.

But she calmed down when the other redhead present spoke. "Please tell me you have a plan." Shirou clearly didn't like the situation and everyone could see that he wanted to go with the Exorcists. "They are no Executors but they are strong and their weapons are some of the most dangerous I have ever seen, excluding Noble Phantasms, but I don't think they can do this by themselves in the worst case scenario."

"Of course they can't, Fuyuki is too big and they are at a complete disadvantage." Rin also didn't like the situation, neither hostile forces in her town or the unknown factors. "So what is the plan, Rias-sama?"

"The plan at the moment is us having a conversation, right Kiba?" Rias replied, not taking her eyes from her Knight as she started to go back to the clubhouse.

Everybody else took a moment to look at each other, understanding that Rias was mad and that her peerage was her priority at the moment.

"Maybe I should go." Saji commented uncertainly and nervously only for Rias to quickly turn to him with a gentle look.

"You don't need to. I have an idea and maybe a representative from Sona is more than warranted if just for legitimacy's sake." She started walking again, Born To Be Wild dragging Kiba by the legs.

Once again everyone looked at each other as even Yoruichi couldn't guess what Rias was planning. "Well~ what are we waiting for? Don't you all want to see Kiba being punished?" Akeno got everyone moving with some concern.

When they got inside the clubhouse Rias immediately throwed Kiba on one of the couches on the entrance. The place was modified from the days when the building was the Kuoh Academy proper, gone were the lockers for shoes for dozens of students with only a smaller one to the side for the devils to use and now on their place were four couches with space for six to four people and a couple of chairs with a small table on the center.

As Koneko, Liz and Medusa made their way down the stairs that lead to the main offices, everyone else entered to see Rias advancing towards Kiba.

The Knight himself closed his eyes and waited for punishment. "Are you hurt?" Rias' question surprised him and Kiba looked back at a concerned pair of blue eyes. "Did Excalibur cut you anywhere? Do you need Asia to heal you?"

A little confused and shocked, Kiba shakes his head. "No, she didn't use the edge on me."

"Good." Rias said with a smile before slapping Kiba's face. "Are you an idiot?! Do you want to die?!"

To some it was the first time they ever heard Rias raise her voice and the anger in her eyes towards someone from her peerage was something to behold to all.

Even Kiba could do nothing but sit down there stunned as his cheek grew red from the slap he received. It was clear that Rias didn't want to really hurt him, with the Power of Destruction and her Stand she could do much worse, but the slap was a way for her to express how angry and disappointed she was with him.

Many still couldn't believe that Rias had acted like that but others could understand how stressed she was and how worried Kiba made her so they said nothing.

The pureblood devil began to pace around in frustration, her steps echoing in the main entrance as the rest stayed silent.

When Rias finally spoked, it was clear she was full of worry. "I can't believe you were so careless, Kiba. I know you have problems because of Excalibur! I understand and don't blame you but that is no excuse to try and kill yourself!"

The Knight tried to defend himself. "I wasn't-"

"You were!" Rias shot it down and her face showed she had no patience for excuses. "And Excalibur Destruction of them all! It would only be worse if you had tried to face Blessing instead!"

"Is there a difference?" Issei asked with a whisper which Rias heard.

"Oh but there is!" Rias turned to look at her Pawn and she took a deep breath when she noticed he was nervous. "Excalibur Blessing is famous around the Underworld because its power is like poison to us devils."

"Poison? Are you serious? Are we sure those swords are Holy?" Saji felt a little nervous saying that but nobody blamed him for it.

"Of course they are. We are the devils, remember?" The raven haired Queen spoke gently. "All Excalibur Fragments can pretty much kill all weaker devils with ease because of their Holy Aura but Blessing's Holy Aura is off the charts. It is the only one that most devils actually know what it does because of the stories surrounding the deaths of its victims." Akeno tried to think on how to elaborate but unlike Rias she didn't grow up with those stories.

Yoruichi decided to step in. "It isn't just devils, Excalibur Blessing has a reputation of being a gentle sword to help in the rituals of the Church but it is said that in battle it can basically burn the mana inside a person."

"And since devils are dependent on magic, that can be fatal." Shirou realized with a frown. "Is that the same to yokais?"

"You can bet your ass on that." Yoruichi replied with an irritated tone. "Blessing just isn't a far more dangerous sword since its power is for more peaceful purposes and the sword itself is weaker, even having an almost dull edge. But it still can nasty side effects if one isn't careful."

"It probably is worthless against anyone strong enough to not be cut by it." Rin realized with a frown of distaste, really not liking the idea of something like that around Fuyuki. "At the least it can weaken beings of magic like most of you and at most it can promise a slow death. Probably it can even have adverse effects on us, magicians, too."

"It is considered a weaker sword in other aspects too; its dull edge obviously makes it unsuited for traditional combat, it needs to remain on the body of the enemy to really start to deal damage and is considered so frail that it had to be repaired more than once." Yoruichi finished her train of thought with a chuckle. "I think that Kiba's skin is strong enough that Blessing may not be able to hurt him. He would have trouble fighting but he could still fight."

"It doesn't matter. It is the principle of the thing because Destruction certainly could have killed him." Rias knew she was right and everyone else knew that as well. "I was purposely avoiding even asking about those damned things, fearing that Kiba would hear and do something stupid."

Medusa, who was watching the whole confrontation from the club, felt that she should add something. "Indeed. That sword has enough power that all you devils would probably die against it." That surprised most of the present. "I can feel mana better than any of you and I felt how Excalibur Destruction, that is an apt name by the way, was able to disrupt any of Kiba's constructs before breaking them."

"Because it can destroy the mana used to create constructs as well." Shirou said in agreement, having grasped the same thing thanks to his magecraft. "But its range is limited, the blade needs to actually touch something to use its ability. Ranged weaponry or blasts of power are valid counters against it."

"As expected of my protector, I came to the same conclusion." Medusa was sure there were others but those were the best ones for those present. "In any case Kiba had no chance of winning unless his constructs were stronger or more defined which became less and less likely towards the end of the fight."

It was a bitter pill for Kiba to swallow that his rage had held him back especially since his last attempt was interrupted. "How can you guys tell? You didn't let me finish the fight." Of one thing he was sure; "I could have won. I would have broken Excalibur!"

"""No, you wouldn't!""" Shirou, Rias and Yoruichi said at the same time, with Shirou certain but gentle, Rias a little frustrated with clear concern and Yoruichi apathy about his emotions.

The three look at each other, waiting to see who would continue first. It was none of them. "You were completely open." Leysritt started to walk forward to look at Kiba's condition before shaking her head. "Also tired and slow. Useless."

"That flame also appears to have no defenses whatsoever." Medusa said next, walking alongside Koneko but separating as she stepped towards Shirou while the white haired girl moved closer to Rias and Kiba. "Your swords were barely keeping up, that fire wouldn't have saved you."

With that in mind Kiba could only look down in frustration. "Why am I still so weak?"

"You are not weak, Kiba." Rias kneeled to get close to him and gently placed a hand on his unmarked cheek to delicately make sure he was looking at her. "But you are losing control of yourself, risking your life when you don't need to and hurting those close to you."

Both of them looked at Shirou whose arm had some blood but the wound was already closed thanks to Asia. "I just can't stop, Buchou. With Excalibur, when it comes to it… I can't just control myself." Sadness and anger were mixed with his words as Kiba knew he couldn't let this go "Then there is Valper."

The amount of vitriol on Kiba's voice only surprised Saji who had no clue of why the Knight was like that but stayed quiet for his schoolmate's sake.

Koneko got closer to her friend and held his arm, calming him down. "I don't like seeing you like this, senpai."

"I know, Koneko but I just." He gently placed a hand on her own and tried to take hers out but she refused to let go. "I need to do this. I need to find that bastard and get rid of that sword." The white haired girl's eyes actually made Kiba hesitate but he steeled his resolve and looked at his King. "I need to do this, Buchou."

Rias stood up, any compassion and care leaving her features. "Even if I order you not to?" She asked with steel in her voice, her own determination shining through.

"Even then." Kiba said back and he felt Koneko hold his arm more firmly.

Akeno moved to the side to make sure Kiba could see her. "Do you understand what you are saying, Kiba? This is not just a minor act of disobedience. Not only are you disobeying your King but you are also letting yourself be dominated by anger and madness.

"You are becoming a stray." Koneko said softly as her own past made her shake a little.

"Wait a minute! You guys are serious?" Issei didn't like where this conversation was going.

Asia also was extremely distraught at the implications. "Kiba-san, I understand how much you are suffering but please don't leave us."

Shaking his head, the Knight looked to the Bishop. "Do you? I know that you care but I find it hard to believe that you can understand what I am going through." There was no bite on his words and the former nun just smiled.

"Are you really going to become a stray? What is going to happen with you? Grow swords on your arm or something?" Even Issei could see that they were wearing Kiba down. "Can you imagine how the girls around school would react?" Then a frown made its way to the Pawns face. "Never mind, they probably would still find you hot or something- Uff."

A swift hit from Rias' elbow silenced Issei. "You know that we don't want to lose you, especially by you becoming a stray."

"I don't want to do this, I don't want to become a stray." Kiba confessed with a look of sadness. "But this, the Excalibur, isn't something that I can just back down from."

"I know that doing something like that feels like abandoning your friends." Shirou commented while not approaching to let the Gremory Peerage handle most of the situation. "But you have people that care for you and are worried. You know that, Kiba."

"I know." Kiba replied weakly, his resolve may have wavered but he couldn't back down. "It is just… I need to see this done, to see this to the end."

"Excalibur or Valper?" Rias asked gently, trying to discern exactly what Kiba wanted.

"Both." The Knight's anger clearly began to come back just at hearing the names said together. "Maybe I can't destroy the Excaliburs, maybe I am not strong enough, but I have to try." Koneko's proximity was the only thing stopping him from trembling. "And Valper, what he has done… I could kill him one thousand times and it would still not be enough."

There was no hesitation at that statement, no measure of fear or uncertainty. Kiba absolutely meant what he said and no one was going to reprehend him for it even if not all knew all he suffered.

"Okay." Rias suddenly said, turning her back to her Knight while deep in thought.

Her words had a ripple effect that had all eyes turning on her instead of Kiba. "What do you mean, Buchou?" Issei asked with some fear.

"I said 'okay' as in if Kiba wants to do it then I won't order the contrary." Rias waved her hand off to indicate that it wasn't a big deal but Issei just started to panic.

"You mean you are going to let him become a-"

"Don't you dare to finish that though, Issei." Rias warned with a glare in his direction that had Issei stepping back in fear. The redhead devil then took a deep breath. "He doesn't need to become a stray if I sanction his actions and support him."

"You mean it, Buchou?" The relief on Kiba's voice was clear and it showed how much he was struggling about disobeying his King's orders.

"Yes. I can see you are passionate about this and that you need some closure." Rias turned to look Kiba in the eyes again and the Knight looked much better. "But there are conditions."

"Of course! Anything!" Kiba sounded excited by having Rias in his corner despite how many mistakes he made in the last hour.

Rias pointed at Kiba and then to some of her peerage. "Number one: You aren't going alone, Issei, Koneko and Asia are going with you."

"We are?" Issei was surprised by the sudden change of attitude.

"Of course you are. Do you trust that Kiba isn't going to start run around town and doing something stupid without supervision?" Rias asked rhetorically.

The Knight felt a little offended. "I wouldn't-" Then he remembered all he did in the last few weeks. "Well, I wouldn't abandon my companions."

"Fufufu, that is what she is counting on." Akeno pointed out.

"That is right!" Rias admitted happily. "You guys also have the work of keeping an eye on him. If Kiba leaves your sight for a moment you are to call and we all are going to tie him up until the whole thing blows over." Then she turned to Koneko with a serious look. "You suspect he is about to do something stupid or suicidal don't ask questions; knock him out and drag him back here if needed."

Koneko nodded back without batting an eye at the order. "Yes, Buchou." She immediately looked at Kiba and Yoruichi almost laughed at how her eyes were shining. There was little doubt that Koneko liked that order.

"I feel she is a little more enthusiastic there than she should be." Saji commented to the side and almost jumped when Rias turned her eyes on him. "Mep."

"Can I ask you to go with them too?" Many were surprised at the request, including the Pawn himself. "I know that you have nothing to do with everything but I would like more people to keep an eye on the situation if possible."

"I am not sure if I should." Saji began to run ideas in his head to try and decline as gently as possible. "Maybe if I consulted my King? I mean, Kaichou may be able to help."

"Unfortunately we have little time as my second condition requires you guys to leave as fast as possible." Ras turned to Kiba and stated, "You need to ask the Exorcists for permission to participate in this."

"Do we?" Asia couldn't hide her surprise. "I don't know if we should…"

"It is both to stop a conflict of interests and to give each other more reinforcements. The more time you waste here, the harder it may be to find them." Rias looked back at the blond Pawn of Sitri who looked nervous. "Knowing Sona she is already making calls to warn some of our clients about the potential dangerous elements in town and she could take a while to pick up my call."

"But why don't you send Emiya-san then?" Saji once again tried to be respectful and Shioru was about to volunteer when he saw Rias' eyes trying to say something so he kept his mouth shut.

"Sona isn't the only one that needs to inform the people around Fuyuki about the crisis." Rias said with a small sigh to indicate the amount of work it was going to be. "Besides the other residents of the moonlit world there are also contacts that I need to call and people I need to attend. Since the only problem is the sword itself then Akeno and Shirou, who are my direct representatives, can share some of the work."

Genshirou could see the logic behind Rias' argument and could imagine his own King doing the same things, the idea of interrupting her making him feel some dread as the woman didn't like to be interrupted for no reason and there was a chance she would accept Rias' request anyway.

"I don't know." But the blond Pawn was still hesitant but that was fine.

His confusion was exactly what Rias wanted because it meant he was thinking about saying 'yes' and she just needed to be a little more convincing. "Don't worry. I will tell Sona that you were helping my peerage and you won't be punished. I will make sure of that."

And Rias meant that, the favor was a huge one for her especially if everything goes as planned, all she needed was Saji to accept the deal.

"She won't be mad?" Rias nodded her head, fully prepared to negotiate with her friend after. "Can I ask for a favor?"

"If it is in my power." The pureblood devil said without hesitation.

"Can I get more of Emiya-san's food for everyone?" Saji's request actually didn't come with a surprise and Rias' smile.

"Saji, after all this I will personally help Shiro cook a banquet for you if you want. I am sure Sona will forgive you after that." Rias hoped it would be enough for her own forgiveness too.

"Deal!" The idea was just too much for Saji and he was ready to roll. "Let 's go guys! We need to find those Exorcists fast!" He realized if he did the job quickly he couldn't not only secure the banquet but also get in Sona's good graces.

Kiba and Koneko didn't hesitate and began to move immediately with Asia looking around nervously before following behind. Issei was about to leave too but Rias held him back. "Buchou?"

"Ise, I have some instructions for you." She made a magic circle and summoned a red credit card. "Firstly, it is improbable that you guys are going to find Valper immediately so I am trusting you with this; a special credit card with up to one million dollars of credit. Use it to feed everyone, including the Exorcists once you find them."

It was just then that Issei realized that he hadn't eaten yet and they were leaving without lunch. The realization didn't make him forget that technically he was holding more money than he ever had in his life. "I- I- I- Buchou! Are you sure?!"

"Of course, I trust you to not spend everything at once and to not feed Koneko too much. If I gave it to her then the card would be useless after." Rias replied with a smile as he told him the password for the card. "Another thing; anything happens or you feel you guys are in any danger, you call me or Shiro, okay? Akeno will be with me and we will drop everything to help."

"Of course." Issei replied, ready to not disappoint his King who gave him a smile.

"Now go, the others are already far ahead and you need to catch up." Rias said with a little tease that made the Red Dragon Emperor realize that he was completely left behind.

"Shit! Don't worry, Buchou! I will make sure the pretty boy doesn't do anything stupid!" Issei stated proudly as he left.

Most of the present had remained silent as Rias dispatched most of her peerage with the job of watching Kiba, some worried while others just calm as the girl looked more relieved than before as her plan was almost complete.

"Okay, I hope you are not planning to ask me to stay out of this." Shirou commented with a pensive look. "You really don't need me to help you warn everyone, you must have a plan."

Rias was happy that Shirou noticed. "Of course. Phone calls and emails will be warning enough for most but Akeno and I will need to visit some people for their safety." She gave Rin an amused look and everybody else pretty much realized the twin tailed magus wasn't the only person around with problems with technology. "But I have a job for you, a favor to be honest because you can say 'no'."

"But we both know I won't say 'no'." Shirou commented with a smile while rubbing his chin. "It wouldn't be anything to do with finding this Valper before Kiba gets into any troubles, right?"

"Got right in one." Rias was happy she and her lover were on the same page but they weren't the only one there.

"Finding the Exorcists is a distraction." Yoruichi commented with a chuckle. "They could go straight to look around town since the Church emissaries aren't needed for Kiba's problem so that is to stall them."

"Yes, finding and convincing them is going to buy us some time, but not much." Akeno said with a frown before smiling. "But I suppose that Rias and I will be also looking into suspicious purchases around the town? Just in case of another 'Rearguard Incident'?"

"Are my plans so easy to guess for you guys?" Rias was amused by the notion.

"We just know you enough." Shirou replied with a smile before his face turned serious. "What should we do once we find that monster? Or the Fragments?"

Rias quickly lost her amusement before replying. "I wasn't lying about giving Kiba some closure. Catch him alive if possible."

"Can we break his legs so he can't run?" Yoruichi asked and Rias looked at the nekomata.

"I can't ask you to help me with this. The Fragments may be less dangerous to yokais-"

Yoruichi cut her off. "I am volunteering, don't worry about it. If those swords are here I am sure that Shiro can take care of them." She looked at the redhead whose shoulder she was using. "You can do it, can't you?"

"Can he even trace them?" Rin was curious about the information. "They are Divine Weapons right?"

"No, they are blessed with Divinity but they were made by human hands." Shirou replied immediately, a frown on his face. "But I can't trace them right now."

"Why not?" Rias wasn't alone in her concern.

Shirou needed a second to think of the best way to explain it. "It has nothing to do with me but it is like… there are gaps in the history of the swords."

"How so?" The researcher in Rin only grew more curious at the prospect.

"The best that I can say is that something is missing, something fundamental to the swords, both of them." Both of those that Shirou had seen at least, he wouldn't be sure until he took a look at the others.

Akeno realized what was the problem. "And with an incomplete sword you can't just trace the weapons because you are missing a step of your magecraft; their history or rather the accumulated years of their existence." He nodded in confirmation. "Any idea what is causing those gaps?"

"It is like… the swords hate themselves." That made everyone pause and try to wrap their minds at the implications.

"Weird." Liz said out loud, bringing everyone back to the present.

Shirou recovered enough to say, "I can defeat them easily anyway. Compared with a Noble Phantasm, these Fragments are more or less child's play."

Noticing Rias wasn't fully convinced on letting her go, Yoruichi decided to add something else. "If things get tight I can unleash my true form and beat up in whoever the thief is." Her confidence and mischievous smile hid the fact that both nobles knew she didn't want to do that. "I know for a fact that these swords aren't strong enough to beat me if I go all out."

"Suit yourself." Rias wasn't going to discuss that anymore, instead turning to Rin. "You also are going with them."

It didn't sound like an order, more like a fact that the Head of the Tohsaka was being informed about.

She could only smile, "Of course I am. There is no way I am losing the chance to study the Excaliburs up close." Rin then gave Rias a pledging look. "We don't need to return them to the Church immediately, do we?"

A chuckle escapes Rias' lips despite the situation. "Of course we have to return the swords… in a day or so if they discover that we got them first."

"Maybe I can figure out what is wrong with those swords by seeing the others." Shirou rubbed his chin at the thought. 'Besides that, Excalibur should be more than just Fragments or they should at least be Noble Phantasms as well. There is something fishy here.'

At the redhead's remark, Rin directed all her attention to him. "So you want to see if it's the same for the others? Trying to find a pattern?" He nodded in confirmation as Liz and Medusa approached.

"Ah, maybe we should leave Medusa here for the day." Shirou said with some trepidation and Medusa's pout showed it was a little warranted. "Look, we still don't know what we are facing here; best case scenario it is just a madman in the wrong place."

"Worse case it is a whole organization bent to world domination." Rias couldn't help but chuckle at the notion. "If Medusa is to stay here then she is going to need to stay in Gasper's room. It is the safest place around the school."

"Medusa can speak for herself just fine." The little goddess said with her pout and folded arms, looking every bit like a little girl holding back a tantrum. "And I don't see why I should be away from my protector in a time of crisis."

"I don't know, maybe because your protector is going to the front line?" Rin pointed out but the goddess just gave her a cute glare. "I mean, you will be here with Buchou and Akeno. That is a tough duo to beat."

"We will be going around the city too, remember?" Rias still needed to go to her office to make some calls but she knows she will have to go around at least two or three places to give the proper warnings.

"Maybe she can go with us?" Every eye turned to Akeno as she just smiled. "It will be fun and safe. It isn't like everyone can tell she is a goddess with a glance."

Shirou had an idea at the suggestion. "Then Liz should-"

"No." The teacher, maid and bodyguard didn't let her charge finish.

"But-"

"No." She stopped him again. "You are going into potential enemy territory, I am going with you."

While Shirou admired her loyalty and determination he wanted her to see his side. "I promised to protect Medusa but I can't be in two places at the same time." He looked at Rias and Akeno with a small nod. "I trust that they can do it but if anything happens-"

"We will take care of her." Rias reassured her lover while moving to Medusa and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, you shouldn't underestimate this goddess. I think she also can take care of herself."

Medusa relaxed and nodded. "I wouldn't mind staying with Gasper but I can help too. Let me help Rias while you hunt the invaders of our home."

Realizing he was outnumbered and nobody was on his side on this, Shirou shrugged his shoulders in mocking acceptance. "Fine. But if you guys need help you better call."

"Same for you. Don't you try to be a hero and do everything by yourself." Akeno teased a little.

"I am not… I won't. Any news we give you a call." Shirou replied as he, Rin and Liz began to leave.

They were almost at the door when Medusa called them out loud. "And go get your armor." That made the magi and homunculus pause. "The adversary may have legendary weapons but your armor can survive Noble Phantasms. Pass by the house and get it so my Gift doesn't end up wasted in a crisis."

"Fine. We can also pick something to eat on the way to… where should we go first?" Shirou knew that there were enemies in town but nobody had a real clue of where they were.

Fortunately Rias had already thought about that. "I will send a list of recently purchased buildings to you, check those."

The sole yokai of the team decided to add her own suggestion. "If they are preparing some sort of trap then detecting them with Senjutsu will be easier, most traps are on view to those who know how to look." She was sure that if imoble on a car and they just drive around then she would find something.

Rin felt confident at everything getting ready. "Looks like we have a plan." Shirou nodded at the statement. "And I can't wait to get my hands on the Excaliburs. I can only wonder the kind of spells used to make them as they are."

Liz had only one thing to say about that. "Greedy."

"I am a magus. Of course I am greedy." Rin pointed out proudly before looking at Rias. "But are we sure to give those back to the Church? I mean, they are extremely dangerous weapons for devils."

Rias and Akeno traded looks and Medusa decided to add. "Destroying them may have its own risks."

"But it was already broken apart." Rin pointed out just for the purple haired goddess to shake her head.

"Broken but not really destroyed. Don't underestimate something that was blessed by a god." She gave a clear look at Shirou and he nodded.

"We will get our armors and start looking."

"Good luck." That was all Rias could say as the quartet ran off, letting out a low hum after they left. "So the Rearguard Team blasts off again."

"I would call them the Vanguard in this case." Akeno said with a chuckle before looking at her King with a serious face. "Should we call Lucifer-sama? Warn him of the potential danger."

"As far as we know it's just a single human in our territory and none of the 'Big Factions' are confirmed to be guilty of anything in this mess." That was only part of her reasons and Akeno could see that Rias was still willing to solve things by herself. "It doesn't look like something that the Maous need to be bothered about."

"We are not sure either way." Medusa remarked and both looked at her, waiting for the goddess' insight. "For now we know nothing, more information is prudent. But the timeline…"

"I agree with you but we can't jump at every shadow." Now Rias was a little worried but she knew how busy her brother was. "More reason for us to move and get ready to depart."

"How can I help?" The goddess asked with a smile at the surprised faces of the devils. "Better to be safe than sorry, I will do my part."

Happy for more assistance Rias didn't question it. "Help Akeno sort out a list of places for Shiro to take a look at. I will call who needs to be called, especially authorities that are on our payroll." They began to walk to her office at a fast pace as she kept giving the other two girls instructions.

"Sounds like a lot of work." Medusa frowned, not willing to back out but trying to think of ways to make the workload more comfortable. "Do we have time to get some food?"

The two devils stop to blink and someone's stomach growls. "Is there anything in the kitchen?"

"Koneko-chan never would allow that." Akeno replied to Rias with a fake smile. "We could call for a take out?"

"In the middle of the school grounds?" There was a reason why they always had a kitchen. "Can you make something, Akeno?"

The raven haired maiden nodded but turned to Medusa. "You will have a little more work for a few minutes."

"Fine by me." They all knew they would need the energy for the day considering the potential crisis at their doors.

"We can only hope they don't find the Exorcists immediately and they don't get into any troubles before Shiro gets to work." But Rias was counting on her luck on this. That was why she didn't rush at instructing her peerage to move even if Saji's enthusiasm ruined her plans a little. "We better get moving."

Rias was sure that luck was on her side on this and held hope that things would be solved quickly.

…

After leaving Kuoh the pair of Exorcists found some problems, the first one was something they knew they would have to deal with sooner or later; they had no idea where to go.

Despite the intel network from the Church, an organization with dozens of branches all over the globe that while had its problems knew when to work together when needed, all they truly had about their target was that he was in Fuyuki and was the most likely suspect to be involved on the theft of the Excalibur Fragments.

As Exorcists for such an organization, despite being young, the duo was trained to search for their targets in any environment and they had clear instructions to leave if they find nothing after a certain amount of time. They still have to search and plan to give their best shot but that returns to the original issue.

But they still needed a place to start, something that Irina could try to provide since she was native of Fuyuki.

The problem was that the small town changed too much and was in the process of becoming a big city so even Irina was a little lost. Sure she could still find her way around some parts of the town, small domestic areas with homes that reminded her of her childhood, but she was mostly clueless about the rest of it.

Yet those two were Exorcists from the Church, one of the most powerful Factions of the planet. They are trained to deal with these kinds of situations and they are determined to finish their mission.

They were also hungry. "I can't believe you even forgot about that fake painting!"

"I am sorry." Irina couldn't blame her partner for the situation, she couldn't even complain considering that the authenticity of her previous purchase was completely destroyed. "I promise to never buy things during a mission again."

"You better!" Xenovia was cranky from hunger and the spar didn't help as she could feel her body protesting at every step. "If we still had it, maybe we could pass it around to someone else for some change. We can't even do that because you forgot about it!"

Irina couldn't stop herself from feeling guilty about the whole thing. "It is just, with everything happening and with Ise as a devil…"

Xenovia's anger quickly abated as she recognized the distress on Irina's face. "Ah. I can't be angry when you are like that." The blue haired woman admitted to her friend before looking ahead and at the people moving for a reason or another. "What we need to do is focus, get funds, some food and then find the heretics."

"Easier said than done." While the words sounded negative, Irina said them with a smile. "Maybe we can get a part time job around here…"

"We have no time for that. We need money now." Despite their robes allowing them to remain inconspicuous, two pretty girls with bright clothes still got some attention from the passing people and Xenovia noticed that. "Maybe we should ask them? A donation for prayers in the name of the Lord?"

Most of those up and around were dressed for work but many were only shopping, taking a walk, some never stopping to even look around as they were going from one place to another.

There was a great number of people and Xenovia was suggesting they depend on the kindness of strangers to finish their mission, something they had to do before because of Irina spending habits.

The chestnut haired girl still cheered up at the thought. "That is right. The Lord says to 'have faith in the kindness of others'. I am sure if we persevere, our faith will be rewarded."

"We may need to tone down the message of the Lord in this country." Xenovia pointed out but that didn't seem to affect Irina's determination.

"We must find a park or some open place to start. Maybe a bench? Somewhere with a tree for shade…"

'Aaaaand I lost her.' Xenovia took a deep breath as her friend began to make plans to attract people to hear about God and give some donations. 'Considering her devotion it's surprising she refused to become a nun.'

Not that Xenovia would ask why and considering she saw how Irina looked at Issei with some horror at him becoming a devil and began to make plans to free him from that condition.

'If she wants to get a husband I suppose she could do worse than the actual Red Dragon Emperor if reports are to be believed. Pity he is a devil.' She only felt sorry for her partner and how her plans were basically ruined. 'The odds are that we will have to fight some day. I will make sure to kill him away from Irina if that happens.'

Her stomach growled and Xenovia had to clench her teeth to not show how angry she was anymore. Irina was already looking around the area so she could start to make amends so there was no point for anger in the Exorcist's opinion.

Their situation was precarious because of the painting, they had no supplies, no contacts and no money. The funds they received before were supposed to last the whole trip before they retreated and all they have now in the pockets of their capes are the tickets to get them back to Europe and some documentation which could be easily replaced with a call.

To make matters worse the spar cost them more energy than it should and Xenovia could see that Irina was pushing herself out of guilt.

Then Xenovia decided to let out a small prayer for she was sure that God was with them on this mission. 'Lord, please forgive Irina for her slight and me for not stopping her properly. I know we wasted the money of your flock but we are starving and in need of assistance.'

Calling for God's assistance with something material wasn't Xenovia style. She hated it on principle because she believed that her Lord had more important things to do than worry about trivialities.

However this time it was an exception, she was in a strange country with no one to turn to other than her partner who was in the same situation and so Xenovia decided to pray.

And almost like her prayers were answered the moment she offered them, a big limousine began to go down the street, a luxurious blue car polished to perfection which got the attention of everyone, including the two agents from the Church.

Especially when it stopped right in front of them, just out of the sidewalk, and its window opened to reveal a blonde young woman with aristocratic features and drill-like hair with sunglasses.

The blonde new arrival took a look at their clothes and smiled. "You must be the Exorcists I heard about that are looking for some Fragments in Fuyuki." She spoke in perfect Italian and the two Exorcists looked at each other before looking back at her with suspicion. "Oh, please, you don't need to look at me like that. I am here to help."

With a good degree of skepticism, Xenovia looked at her reflection in the sunglasses. "And who you might be?"

The girl smiled, taking off the sunglasses and revealing her amber eyes. "My name is Luviagelita Edelfelt and you must have heard of my family and our connections with the Church." She smiled gently at the duo who lowered their guard a little even if she knew they never heard of her family. "But please, get inside. It is dangerous to talk in the streets."

They were getting stared at and it was something both Xenovia and Irina were fully aware of. Yet they couldn't just trust a stranger that offered them a ride for obvious reasons. When one of them was about to deny, both their stomachs growled, giving Luvia what she needed to convince the duo.

She managed to hide her hyena-like smile and keep her gentle disposition as she made her offer. "I see that you are hungry. My family do own some restaurants around town. Maybe we can talk more there?"

"We can't accomplish our mission on an empty stomach." Irina swallowed heavily at the thought of getting some food.

"An open restaurant with lots of people." Was Xenovia's only demand and Luvia easily accepted, opening the door of the car and sliding to the side.

Both sides knew that the car itself might be a trap but both Exorcists were confident in their skills to cut Luvia down if she tried anything.

For Luvia's part there was no worries for there wasn't a trap to begin with.

"Please do get in. We have much to talk about." Luvia appeared gentle and her smile was as non threatening as she could make it.

It didn't change when Irina stepped inside carefully while admiring the expensive vehicle nor it grew when Xenovia did the same, the bandaged sword at her side firmly on her hand.

Luvia didn't allow her face to change but she allowed herself from laughing in triumph on the inside. "Auguste, please take us to the closest premises with an open area like our guests require. They are starving and we shall show them the hospitality of the Edelfelt family."

The driver who was wearing a cap and a suit turned back to show his aging face with square glasses and a turfle of gray hair escaping his hat that combined with his beard and mustache.

"Of course, lady Edelfelt." His tone was gentle and it wasn't hard to see him as a grandfather for someone.

As the car began to move both Exorcists got as comfortable as they could while keeping their guard up. Inside the car they were positioned to one side closer to an exit with Irina ready to unleash Mimic on the driver if necessary while Luvia remained in the back city.

The magus in blue couldn't help but find their caution amusing despite them also trying to relax "Enjoy the ride, ladies. Once your bellies are full we shall talk business." Luvia commented, projecting a dignified but approachable image for herself.

"'Business'?" Irina asked while Xenovia remained ready for any treachery. "You said your family had connections with the Church."

"Yes but there are many things we need to talk about and I may need a proper reward." Luvia could see that Xenovia actually relaxed more at the reveal that she wanted something.

That didn't mean that the blue haired Exorcist was fully relaxed. "We have nothing to give you and if you know why we are here, we have reason to suspect you. If you have a price, name it and we shall see where we go from there." It was clear she was more comfortable knowing that Luvia wanted something even if Irina wasn't as comfortable with the notion.

"As I said, my family does have some connections with the Church and we would like to see the Excaliburs in safer hands." The magus smile turned a little meaner before she continued. "But I would love it if you allowed me to study one of them before returning to Europe."

Both Exorcists looked at each other and Irina asked, "Any sword in specific?" They didn't mind if it was just a look and under supervision even if their superiors may disagree. 'I just don't need to tell them.'

A side glance to Xenovia revealed some skepticism but Irina was sure that she could convince her partner. The blue haired Exorcist was pragmatic enough that she could at least hear Luvia out before saying anything.

Luvia waved them off, as if to dismiss their concerns. "We can talk after you eat. That way we can fully focus on the conversation."

They still stared at Luvia with suspicion but that was fine, she had no intention of breaking their trust or doing anything that would go against their agenda until all the Excalibur Fragments were in their hands.

Then she was going to betray them for the sake of her family but until then Luvia will treat them with all the courtesy.

Afterall, the connections to the Church were technically from the Tohsaka and Luvia didn't like to remember they were actually family, however distant.

'Thank you for the help, cousin.' When all is said and done she can't wait to brag about that on Rin's face. 'I want to see a devil reject me from a pact once I deliver the most dangerous tool against them at their feet.' Luvia's smile remained calm and serene as her plans began to bear fruit.

…..

Shout out to a fan and youtuber 'animeceaser6' who posted a review for this story. If possible you guys can go check his channel under that name, see if there is something you like. He also has an excellent edit of Archer's chant.

Besides that some comments about the chapter itself I guess since I can already see someone typing about how Shirou should be able to Trace the Excaliburs… That is something that I want to explore and a concept that another sword may actually also partake in.

No names of course because the second sword is technically a spoiler but basically Shirou can't just Trace the Excaliburs because his magecraft is falling to fulfill the last step needed for a proper Projection to manifest the weapon, a problem that Shirou possible wouldn't have if he was aware of his Reality Marble.

On another note, who was surprised that Luvia was already planning something? After all she appeared to be just isolating herself but in actuality she was examining her choices and paying close attention to any opportunity that could show up.

More details later but basically she is trying to take advantage of the situation that has nothing to do with her because the Excaliburs are dangerous to the group she wants to get in the good graces of.

Yes in that spar Shirou and Xenovia were both holding back while Kiba was going all out in the worst way possible and Irina was exploring more of her weapon capabilities which she had for just a short while.

I could say more but at this point I think you all know how much I hate spoilers.

Until next time.