"Are you going to see Rias-senpai and Prez?"

Shin turned around to see Ichika standing in the doorway. It had been 2 nights since they had arrived back in Kuoh. Since the incident with Yuuto, the relationship between Ichika and the blonde knight had soured considerably. She had been more tense during her club meeting with the Occult Research Club, especially since Irina and Xenovia had gone with her to go meet with them.

Shin sighed and continued washing the dishes. "No. Not tonight. I think they got the gist of everything."

"Hey, Shin, about what Shinra-senpai said at school—"

Before Ichika could finish speaking, the doorbell rang. Shin and Ichika exchanged glances.

"Who the hell?" Shin said as he walked toward the front door. He walked over to the gate of their house and opened it.

There was someone there he had never met before. It was a boy. From the looks of it, the boy seemed to be a few years younger than he was, being a whole head shorter than he was. He had golden eyes and snow-white hair, and he was wearing a brown shoulder cloak and priest vestments.

"Um…? Who are you?" Shin asked as he stared down at the boy.

The boy looked up at Shin and raised an eyebrow. There was something eerily familiar about the boy as if he had seen his face somewhere before.

"Can I help you?" Shin asked.

"Where is she?" the boy asked.

"Where is who?"

"MS-621."

"Who the hell is MS-621—"

"Okaay!"

Before the boy or Shin could continue, Klein appeared out of nowhere and clamped his hand about the boy's mouth, preventing the boy from speaking any further. The boy glared and bit down on Klein's hand, causing the taller man to pull away.

"What the heck? The Onyx Star? What the hell are you doing here?" Shin asked.

Klein shook his hand in an attempt to lessen the pain. "Huh? Me? Bea sent me here as backup. Don't worry about me though. Just pretend as if I were never here."

Shin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You need to go before Sophia sees you—"

"Sees who?"

Shin stiffened when he heard the voice of the person he least wanted to find out. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Sophia standing in the doorway of the house, dressed in an oversized white and red t-shirt with black shorts underneath.

"Who's at the…?" the words in Sophia's mouth died when she saw the younger boy next to Klein. She almost dropped the coffee mug she had on her hand. "What… What are you doing here?"

"Mmm? Oh. Good, you're here. Now, let's—"

"No. You answer me first. What the hell are you doing here with him? Did Bea send you two over here?" Sophia demanded, glaring at the smaller boy.

"What? No, Bea didn't send me over here. Look, we need to talk and then we need to leave. This place isn't safe. I'm here to bring you back to the Vatican," the boy said, stepping forward.

"No."

"No?"

"I'm here on a job. I'm not going to go back just because you said so," Sophia crossed her arms and glared down at him.

"Sophia. Who is he?" Ichika asked as she walked out onto Shin's lawn just in time to see the confrontation.

Sophia glanced at Shin and Ichika, who had looks of curiosity on their faces. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's my older brother. His name is Dante."

"O-Older!? Him!" Shin almost choked on his spit. "And wait. I've known you for like 6 years. When the hell did you get an older brother?"

"Since… I was born?" Sophia asked.

"But he's so…"

"So what?" Dante asked.

Shin looked away, not even daring to answer his question. He looked to Ichika for support.

Ichika struggled to find the words she wanted to say. "Er… he looks so young. If anything, I thought he was your younger brother."

Dante glanced at Ichika with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "It's because I'm short, isn't it?"

"What? No! No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just that you look very… youthful I guess?" Ichika said, laughing nervously.

"Anyway, enough of this. You're coming home, Sophia," Dante said.

"No, I'm not going home. I'm staying here. And I got permission from Bea to come here so you can't stop me," she retorted.

"Um, it looks like you two need some privacy. Sophia's staying in the guest room upstairs. You two can talk there and not out here in the middle of the street where all the neighbors can hear you?" Shin offered, noticing all the lights turning on one by one.

Sophia glanced at Shin out of the corner of her eye and sighed. "Fine. I have a few choice words I want to say to my brother and I'd rather yell at him in private than out here. Come on." She grabbed Dante by the back of his collar and dragged him into the house.

Shin turned to Klein, who stood there with his amused close-eyed smile. "What about you?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I have a place to stay. And Bea told me not to interfere in this unless I absolutely have to. But if you do need anything, I'll be here. Watching," he said.

"That's… kind of creepy," Ichika said.

"Well, I'm sure you don't want your sister coming back too early, right? I'm the next best thing after Bea and Akane. At least, unlike them, I won't go on a murderous rampage if one of you gets hurt," Klein said.

"I don't know if that was supposed to make me feel better about you hanging around my house or make me thankful that my sister is out of town," Shin said.

Klein just smiled and waved before he disappeared down the street. Shin sighed, wondering how many more strange visitors he was going to get through the night.

"Okay, spill. Why are you really here?" Sophia slammed the door to the guest room shut and glared at her older brother.

Dante looked around the room, inspecting the general area. He placed his hand on one of the walls, inspecting the structure of the whole room with one touch. After that, he took a step back. His eyes glowed as he gathered black and violet flames into his hand and let it loose on one of the walls.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sophia hissed as she grabbed her older brother's arm, causing the flames to go out. She glared at him fiercely though he was unbothered by her stare.

"Testing the defenses," he said as the flames vanished. The wall was completely undamaged as if he didn't just spray it with fire. He hummed as he admired the spellwork surrounding the entire house. "I had my doubts about Eastern Magic but it looks like there's some merit in them. I didn't even amplify the Qemetiel that time but it looks like it would survive even if I did."

"Okay. Okay. Enough. What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be at a research center. Not here in Japan!" Sophia said.

"I told you why I'm here. I'm here to bring you back to the Vatican and away from this suicide mission. Just let those girls and the Contractor handle it," Dante said.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you why on the way back. But for now, I want you to pack your things and come with me," Dante said as he began looking around her room for her bag.

"No. I'm not doing shit until you tell me why." Sophia put her foot down.

Dante sighed in frustration. "Why are you being so difficult? Can't you see I'm doing this for your own good?"

"For my own good? You and Bea always keep saying that but it always ends up with me being locked up in some random corner of the Vatican! At least Mom lets me go out and I expected the fucking Seraph of Annihilation to be the stricter one!" Sophia snapped.

Dante stared at his younger sister. He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Why can't you just listen to me for once? I told you that I'd explain it to you later—"

"And I said I'm not going anywhere until I get a straight answer!" Sophia's voice rose as her anger boiled.

"Fine, you want one! The files are just—," Dante said.

"The files? Well, of course, I know that. Why do you think I'm here? You don't think I know Valper wants the files? That's the whole reason we have to stop him because if he gets the Files and Excalibur, there's no telling what he or that crow, Kokabiel, will do," Sophia said.

"No, no no! Valper is just a distraction! Fuck… you guys aren't seeing it!" Dante said. "This is all by design. There's more at stake here than just the holy swords. If they get what they want, then the Excaliburs and the deaths of those two devils in this town are the least of our problems!"

"What…?" Sophia took a step back.

"You. It's you! You're the target!"

"What?"

"Because you and I have what they both want. Everything on those files can't be achieved unless they get the one crucial component that made Project Daybreak work in the first place!" Dante said.

"What?" Sophia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she tried to process her older brother's words.

"The Miracle Amplification."

"Hurk!"

Shin dragged several large clay pots out of the storage space. He panted as he wiped some sweat from his brow. He looked around, making sure there was no one at the park before beginning what he needed to do. Shin pulled a talisman from his pocket and channeled spiritual power into it, causing it to go up in a puff of smoke.

"Ran, can you dig a hole over there?" Shin asked as he stabbed the shovel into the dirt.

Ran nodded and padded over the spot Shin had marked with a stake.

It had been several hours since Sophia's older brother had appeared on his front doorstep and the two were still locked in Sophia's room, having a heated discussion that everyone in the house could practically hear. He grunted as he dug a hole big enough to bury the pot.

"You know. You could've gotten Ichika and Irina to help us!" Vivi said as she dragged some of the pots over.

"Yeah, Master. Why are we doing this ourselves?" Ran asked in annoyance as she continued digging.

"It's for the array. We need it to be ready. Judging by how this mission is going, we're going to inevitably run into Kokabiel and Klein said he won't interfere unless it's dire so I gotta do all the…" Shin panted as he continued digging. "All the groundwork."

"But a curse this big. It seems like it's overkill," Vivi said as she set the pot in front of him. Her blue eyes flicked over to the somewhat deep hole Shin dug out. "Why do we need the pots for this curse anyway?"

"Well. You are from Great Britain so I doubt stories of the Omnyouji made it over here during your time," he said.

Vivi raised an eyebrow and brushed a lock of her blue hair aside. Her white dress flowed as she sat in midair. "I know plenty about the great Exorcists of Heian Japan."

"Well, then this should save me a lot of time. A long time ago, there was a certain Exorcist named Ashiya Douman. The rival of Abe-no-Seimei. Grandma told me that all the tales we have of Ashiya Doman come from our ancestor, Akatsuki Furude. And that very scary man tried to curse a very famous Heian Era politician named Fujiwara no Michinaga," he said.

Vivi raised an eyebrow. "But why the pots?"

"This has no name so my clan just calls it the Earthenware Spell. The very basic gist of it is that this spell has an effect on anyone that enters an area enclosed by it. I'm putting it in four corners of this park just so it has a wider range. Doman used this spell as a sort of killing curse to kill all of Michinaga's daughters but I'm going to do something different," Shin said as he lowered the clay pot into the ground. He pulled a brush out of his pocket and raised his hand, recreating a cup filled with black paint.

"You're getting better at your Covenant," Vivi teased.

"Shut." Shin dipped the brush into the black ink and painted two symbols onto it. One was the kanji for "fire" and the other for "beckoning". "Basically, I'm going to put my own effect onto the spell. The whole goal of this is to create a power spot here and in four other places. There are other things I'm going to add but for now, this should do."

Vivi and Ran's eyes widened.

"I'll explain more about what I meant back in the Vatican when I said I needed conduits. Like us, the land has veins. In Taoism, these veins are called Dragon Veins. They crisscross and snake their way across the land and carry the flow of spiritual power. Along those veins, there are spots where spiritual power tends to gather and we call these areas Power Spots," Shin said as he began covering the pot with dirt.

"The whole setup for this spell requires me to control the Dragon Veins that run along Kuoh. The conduits will gather spiritual power to these locations and create power spots for as long as the spell is active. Then, from those power spots, I'm going to rewrite the flow of the dragon veins in Kuoh to create a leyline nexus which will power the pentagram array for an entire curse that will cover Kuoh," Shin said.

Vivi's jaw almost dropped. "You're insane," Vivi said. "There's no way the Gods of Takamagahara and the Daiyoukai of Kyoto will let you do something like this."

"Ah, don't worry about that. I have a few friends and someone in Kyoto who owes me a favor so I can get her to make her mom turn a blind eye just this once," Shin smiled.

He turned to Ran. "But I couldn't get what I needed for this spot, so you'll have to act here as the conduit, Ran."

"Me?" Ran tilted her head as she shifted to her human form.

"You're the bunrei of a God. Don't know which one but your divinity can substitute for this spot," Shin said.

"Won't I be affected?" Ran asked.

"No. The objects acting as conduits won't. Usually, I'd need Shikigami for this since they're capable of handling more spiritual power than objects but we have to make do with what we can," Shin said.

He wiped the sweat from his brow as he finished burying the first pot. Only its lid was partially visible, along with the symbols Shin had painted onto the pot.

"It seems that… despite your differences, Yaldabaoth has taught you a lot," Vivi commented.

Shin stiffened at the mention of his former master. A wry smile spread across his lips. Vivi was right. No matter how much he hated it, he inherited many things from his former mentor. "Then we know something good came out of that relationship."

Shin sighed as he unscrewed the cap off his water bottle and drank from it. The sensation of ice-cold water flowing down his throat was a welcome feeling after a few hours worth of digging. He wiped some of the water that spilled from his lips and turned to Vivi.

"I've been wondering. What do you want me to do with Excalibur? It won't be long until Kokabiel and Valper make their moves. Do I destroy the fragments?" Shin asked.

Vivi closed her eyes and shook her head. "No. But never in a thousand years did I ever think I'd ever run into Excalibur again. Now that I know parts of her are here, I only have one request for you. Put her back together."

"You said that last time too. You act as if the sword is alive," he said, leaning forward.

"She is. Excalibur is not a normal Holy Sword. When I made her, I poured a part of myself into her. You can say Excalibur is my bunrei. Or a more accurate term is that Excalibur is a Stigmata in the shape of a Holy Sword," Vivi said.

Shin almost choked on his water when he heard it. He coughed. "W-What the hell!? You made a Holy Sword out of your own Authority!?"

A ghost of a smile made its way across Vivi's lips. "Of course, I wanted to see how far I could go. On top of that, I wanted to give Arthur a sword that could help him unify what was Britain at the time. Excalibur was a product of that ambition. It is the only Holy Sword I ever made that wasn't a copy of a different weapon."

"And when Arthur died, you broke her? That's why you want me to get the sword back. Because it's the last thing you have of him," Shin said.

Vivi nodded. "Indeed. I figured it was high time I stopped running from my past. The same way you need to stop beating yourself up for what happened in Hungary 4 years ago."

"Hah, maybe you're right. Maybe I do need to move on. But the world has a funny way of telling me to do that. It feels like people who are supposed to be dead don't like staying dead. I feel like that it's the world's way of fucking with me for trying to move forward," Shin said.

Vivi and Ran exchanged glances as Shin took another swig of water from his bottle.

"Master, what are you talking about?" Ran asked.

Shin smiled bitterly as the memories came back even clearer this time.

He wasn't seeing things. He wasn't crazy. That sword. Those movements. There was no possible way. He watched her die. Yet, the proof he had seen was almost undeniable. On top of that, the overwhelming sense of deja vu he got when he saw her fight and the undeniable pull he felt toward the masked woman made it all clear. But nothing could be confirmed without solid evidence. Right now, all he had were theories and guesses.

"That Masked Woman had her Mystic Gear. She had Yomi."

Ichika pulled out her phone as she left the local pharmacy. She glanced at Irina who had a popsicle in her mouth.

20:34

Normally, she wouldn't have gone out this late, especially alone. Even of Kuoh was relatively safe, it wasn't particularly okay for a girl her age to go out alone at night. The number of people prowling around for girls in high school was surprisingly high in Kuoh. However, now that she was stronger than a grown man with enough striking power to split a car in half, Ichika felt safe.

"Geez, I knew the Church was a bit stingy on teaching health but for Asia to not have the proper thing she needs," Ichika said as she took stock of what she bought. Inside the bag was a heating pad, a bottle of tylenol, and a few other things that women needed when that time of the month came around.

"Well, all the higher-ups in the Church are old. It's not really weird for them to have a backward way of thinking," Irina said.

Ichika nodded slightly as the two began walking home.

"By the way, I heard the Gremory's Knight attacked you and Xenovia the other day. Xenovia told me it was because he could sense the fragments we had on us," Irina said.

Ichika nodded.

Prior to the trip, they had one more meeting with Bea. During that meeting, Bea had explained everything to them once more before granting Xenovia and Irina their own Excalibur Fragments to wield in combat. She glanced at the white scrunchie wrapped around Irina's wrist. The fragment Irina had had the ability to alter its shape and become anything Irina could imagine.

"Still, I didn't think we'd run into someone from the Holy Sword Project here. I thought that psychopath Valper killed them all," Irina said as she bit off a whole chunk of her popsicle.

"I didn't even know until Xenovia told me to be honest," Ichika said. "I feel like everyone in Prez's peerage has some tragic backstory or something."

"Pfft, if this were a harem light novel, I think the hero would spend an entire arc fixing each member's problems and then earn their undying loyalty," Irina said.

"Hah, yeah. Too bad it's not that easy in real life, otherwise I know two people at school that would jump at the chance to live the life of a romance protagonist," Ichika laughed.

Just then, as the two turned down a street corner, a feeling of foreboding crept down their spine. Irina was the first to notice that something was off. Her muscles tensed as she slowed to a stop. Her hand hovered above her scrunchie as she took note of her surroundings.

Sensing that Irina had noticed something, the [Boosted Gear] took form on Ichika's arms and legs. She placed her shopping bag down on the ground.

"Irina?" Ichika said.

Irina nodded and tapped her scrunchie, causing it to transform into an odachi. "Follow my lead."

She took a step forward. She hadn't even made it to five steps when Yuuto came flying out of an alleyway and crashed into a trashcan. Blood trickled down his forehead as he shakily got to his feet.

"Hahahaha! I didn't think we'd run into each other again, blondie. But I guess in terms of speed, my lovely Excalibur has you beat."

Irina and Ichika froze.

That voice. Ichika knew that voice. Stepping out of the shadows and wielding a silvery blade with a golden hilt was Freed. Ichika clenched her fists. "That bastard Priest."

Irina raised an eyebrow as she took in the sight of her opponent. "Freed Sellzen."

As if noticing them for the first time, Freed turned his head in an overly dramatic fashion. His twisted grin only grew wider as he laid eyes on them. He licked his lips in a sickening fashion, causing their stomachs to twist into knots.

"Well, well, well, tonight is full of surprises! I never thought I'd run into you again, Miss Red Dragon!" Freed said.

"You know this guy?" Irina asked.

"Yeah. We dealt with him when we were raiding that old church at the edge of town to rescue Asia. Never thought he'd be involved in something like this," Ichika said.

"Well, I guess now we know," Irina said.

"Kekekeke, ahahahaha! Now, we get to do round 2! Where's that boyfriend of yours? I'd just love to tear him open and paint my lovely Excalibur with the color of his insides," Freed taunted. "Or maybe I should just get a taste of you first and then, after I tasted your body, I can show him how far his little bitch fell before I carve him open like a turkey!"

Ichika's anger began to boil over at Freed's overtly grotesque threats toward herself and Shin. Her eyes turned silver as she rushed forward in a surprising burst of speed. Her palm almost made contact with Freed's face but was barred by a well-timed block from Freed's Excalibur.

"Hahaha! It looks like I touched a nerve!" Freed grinned psychotically. He pushed her back and delivered a flurry of rapid slashes.

Ichika's eyes widened as she struggled to keep pace with Freed's attacks.

Irina jumped into the fight, swinging her odachi down on top of Freed's head.

Freed vanished, reappearing a few feet away. His speed had well-surpassed theirs. Ichika estimated that Freed was now most likely just as fast as Yuuto.

"Excalibur Rapidly," Irina said.

"What?" Ichika glanced at Irina out of the corner of her eye.

"That's Excalibur Rapidly. The sword gives its user extreme speed. In terms of who can move faster, Freed has you beat in that department," Irina said.

"Just me?"

"I have my own tricks," Irina said.

"Stay out of this," Yuuto said as he regained his bearings. "He's mine!"

"Can you even hear yourself? Demonic Knight of the Demon Empress of Ruin, you're too injured to continue this battle. Stay your blade and allow us to handle this," Ichika said.

"No! No! I refuse! Not until all of those damned blades are gone!" Yuuto yelled.

"Well, what good is that going to be if you're dead?" Irina said.

Yuuto's jaw tightened.

"Well, then. Who wants to go first? Should I finish off the blonde and then have my fun with you two? I've been saving it for a whole week so be sure to keep me entertained, kay?" Freed giggled as he pointed his sword at them.

Just as he was about to move, his body froze. His eyes widened and it changed from its standard red to an eerie violet. He calmly straightened himself and gazed upon them with an unnervingly calm stare. It was different from Freed's usual psychotic grin.

"What a pain. She told me not to get myself involved yet he had to go and disobey direct orders," Freed said. But the voice that came out of Freed's mouth was a warped mixture of Freed's voice along with a woman's.

"What the hell...?" Ichika said. "He?"

"Freed Sellzen, in the name of the Church, stand down and come peacefully. Or else," Irina's eyes darkened as she held her odachi to her side. The stance she adopted was eerily similar to the one Shin used from time to time. "I will not hesitate to cut you down like a dog."

Freed laughed. His violet eyes glowed and a red aura came from his body. The aura twisted and morphed, taking the shape of six pairs of red angelic wings. "While I would love to see that, I very much like this toy of mine. He has his uses even if he does go rogue from time to time."

As Yuuto and Irina prepared to engage Freed, Ichika stared at him with some apprehension in her eyes.

That sensation. It feels like that—

"That Fallen Angel that attacked Shin's house."

Ichika's eyes widened when she heard that voice again.

"Be careful. If you die, I die as well. As we are right now, we're not strong enough to face even one of the Red Rider's minions," the voice said.

"You're that girl from my dream," Ichika said.

"I'd be more worried about surviving than figuring out who I am," the voice said as her presence faded from Ichika's mind.

[Ichika…] Ddraig said.

"Fortunately for all of you, I'm not in the mood to fight," Freed said as he began to float into the air.

"As if I'd let you get away!" Yuuto yelled as he jumped after Freed.

Freed raised his hand, unleashing a concussive blast of force at Yuuto. Yuuto felt the air escape his body as the force slammed into him and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Yuuto!" Ichika ran over. She let out a small sigh of relief when she saw that he was still breathing. Her eyes focused back on the now airborne Freed.

Freed grinned, his violet eyes gleaming as he looked down on them. His gaze shifted over to Ichika and the gleam in his eyes grew even more intense. "Be thankful. I'll interfere with him just this once. We'll meet each other again and when we do, I do hope we can meet in person and not through one of my dolls, Ichika."

Ichika's eyes widened. How did he know her name? Ichika never gave Freed her name. And what did it mean by "in person"? Before she could say anything, Freed's body was swallowed by a vortex of red energy, leaving her and Irina alone with an unconscious Yuuto.

Royalrain20xx: Oh yes. Definitely yes. Everyone around them can see it except them. I know it's going to turn into a couple of chapters of "Will they, won't they" but trust me, it won't last super long. I plan to wrap up this teenage romance angst within an arc or two. Ichika using Miracles right now takes a large toll on her body since she can't properly control the Holy Energy she's channeling. And trust me, with the thing she learned from Bea, nose bleeds are going to be the least of her problems. But until she can properly control the flow of Holy Power in her body when she's channeling, Miracles are going to hurt like a bitch. The silver and white, though, is more tied to her emotional state than anything else, but it does come out if she takes enough physical damage.

Dante687: Thanks, man!

Now with that housekeeping out of the way.

To answer a few questions.

CM-002's real name. Yes, their real name is Dante. No, it didn't take it from DMC. Originally, his name is supposed to be Damien like Damien from Omen. But I decided to name him Dante instead because Beatrix was named Beatrix, like Beatrice. I thought it was funny and fitting at the same time for them to be named Dante and Beatrice. Speaking of Dante, I wouldn't get too attached to him.

Shin's Massive Curse Thing: Before someone says anything, yes, I basically based this curse off the most recent arc of a manga called Dark Gathering. Go give it a read, it's pretty cool. But yes, the Curse is based off that one. Not to go into any spoilers but the mechanics of the curse are pretty similar minus the technicals that Shin explains in this chapter. More information of the curse will come about in the next few chapters since we are looming on the eve of the fight between Kokabiel and the gang.

Excalibur's Nature: I know this is a new concept introduced like, 60% of the way into the Arc but keep the idea in mind. Excalibur will just be the first weapon of its nature that we see. There will be others down the line so expect more Stigmata Weapons to show up in the not-so-distant future.

Alright, I hope that answers some questions that may be simmering in your heads. Please go give DxD - RE:Wind a try. It's part of an expanded universe I have with this fic and the Doomsday Option - which if I might add, will get an update in December. I just had to change a few things. But RE:Wind is the penultimate fic that connects the other two since there is a shared concept between them! But that's more spoilers! Anyway, see ya'll next time!