"I was thinking… should I bring Ichika this time to the forest in Serikawa when we go there for the festival in the summer?" Shin asked as he pulled his keys out of his pocket.
Ran's ears twitched as she mulled over Shin's question. She fell into step beside him as Shin reached to open the front door. "I think you should. It's only fair, is it not? You're already teaching her about Onmyoudo. Why not let her participate?"
"Well… wait." Shin paused when he saw a dull stain on the door knob. His eyes narrowed as he took a whiff of the air. "Ran."
Ran immediately went on guard. Black flames swirled around her fingers and she nodded for Shin to open the door.
Shin nodded back and constructed one of his Failnacht pistols in his right hand while reaching for the door with his left. He swung the door open and went inside, pointing his gun into the hallway. There was a trail of faint bloody footprints and a trail of blood on the otherwise pristine floor but no other signs of struggle.
"Ran. Behind me," Shin said as he approached the entryway to the living room. He crept over to the entryway and swung it open.
His eyes widened in surprise when he found the barrel of Failnacht pointed directly at Ichika's face, who was equally as shocked to see herself staring down the barrel of a gun.
"S-SHIN!?" Ichika said. "What the hell!?"
"S-Sorry! I saw blood and thought— you know what, let me just put the gun down," Shin said as he lowered Failnacht. The black and blue pistol vanished in a stream of blue pixels.
"The blood isn't mine," Ichika said as she took a deep breath.
He took a moment to calm his rapidly beating heart. He glanced over Ichika's shoulder and noticed Asia by Yuuto's side as the boy lay on the couch. "What the hell happened to him? I thought Rias had him handled."
Ichika let out a sigh and looked over to where Asia and Yuuto were. "Irina and I were buying things Asia was going to need and ran into him and Freed."
"What? Are you two alright?" Shin asked.
"Yeah. We're fine. But Yuuto suffered a couple of injuries. Looks like the blood loss got to him and Asia is taking care of him right now," Ichika said.
"And Irina?"
"She and Xenovia went to Sophia's room to talk about what to do from here. They want all of us to talk afterward about how we're going to go about doing this. What with Sophia's brother here possibly stonewalling all our efforts just to send Sophia back to the Vatican, it might be hard," Ichika said.
"Fuck. It's just one problem after another. At least I got the Curse set up. By the time we have to go deal with Kokabiel, I can fire up the curse and get everything ready," Shin said as he walked over to where Yuuto was laying down. "How is he, Asia?"
"He's lost a good amount of blood," Asia said.
"He caught me off-guard," Yuuto said as he sat up. Despite all of his wounds being gone, his head spun as he sat up. "Just a few nicks here and there."
"Yeah, because getting stabbed by a Holy Sword is called a nick," Ichika said.
Yuuto glared at her. Before he could say anything, Shin cut him off. "Don't. Fighting each other at this point is useless. The fact that you saw Freed means Kokabiel is getting more bold—"
"Kokabiel?" Yuuto's eyes widened.
"Rias didn't tell you? The Excaliburs are here because of Kokabiel and a man named Valper Gallilei," Shin said.
Yuuto clenched his fists and shook on the couch.
"Shin."
The two turned around to see Sophia entering the room with Irina and Xenovia.
"So? What's the plan? Remember, Ichika and I are only here as additions," Shin said.
"Are you really dumping all the planning on me and Sophia?" Irina asked.
"I already have a plan of my own. I want to know what we're going to do now. Ichika told me about Freed. Are we going to do this or what?" Shin asked.
Sophia pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "It's gotten more complicated…"
Shin groaned in exasperation. "It always fucking does. Okay… I'll bite. What's the problem now?"
"Me."
Shin blinked. "You…?"
"There are more people at play here than Kokabiel. Specifically, the people they were working with. The one's that exchanged the fragments for the files for Daybreak. They're here and they're after me specifically," Sophia said.
"What…? Why? Is it because you have the files?" Ichika asked.
"N-No, it's something else," Sophia said. She let out a sigh as she struggled to find the words she wanted to say. She felt their expectant gazes on them, waiting for her to give them answers.
"Sophia?" Shin asked.
"It's… something I have that will make Project Daybreak work," Sophia whispered.
"What? I didn't get that last part," Irina said.
"I said I have… a certain quality that makes Project Daybreak work. Please… just drop it. Just know that we have more people on our tail because—"
"Hold on! No. Isn't this something we need to know? Like hello, now we don't just have a Cadre Class Fallen on our asses but some random shady group of people, who by the way are powerful enough to raid several heavily guarded Church institutions and steal the Excalibur Fragments, after us?" Irina said.
"Irina," Shin began.
"No. No, I get that we have secrets! But is this really the time to be hiding them when we all might die?" Irina pressed.
Sophia clenched her fists. "I promise I'll tell you. Just… can we please not do this now and do this after?"
"No. No, no. I am not about to die just so you can keep a secret. What is it that's so important that this whole other third party is after us?" It was Xenovia who asked this time.
Sophia clenched her jaw. "FINE! It's the Miracle Amplification! I have the Miracle Amplification, okay!?"
The room went silent and the only sound that could be heard was Asia dropping her cup. "M-Miracle Amplification? As in… the Power of Saints…?"
Sophia sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes. Are you happy now? Are you fucking happy, Irina?"
"Why the hell is that such a big secret?" Xenovia asked.
"It's… because…" Sophia trailed off.
"Because…?" Xenovia said.
"Xenovia. Just stop. If she won't say, then that's fine," Irina said. "But still, Miracle Amplification… That's the ability to cast Miracles on almost the same level as God… isn't it?"
Sophia said nothing but her silence was all the answer they needed.
"This changes things, a bit," Shin said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "But our original objective still exists. The fragments. You guys either retrieve or destroy them."
"Yes. Our objective doesn't change. We just can't let Sophia get captured… by Valper or by those guys Valper worked with," Irina said.
"Then, are we all on the same page for now?" Ichika asked. "We can go to the ORC for backup. Sophia can hole up there with Rias and the others while the rest of us go find the Fragments."
"No," Shin said. "We don't have time."
"Shin's right. The fragments aren't hidden anywhere in Kuoh." Vivi manifested in the air above them.
"What…? Who are—"
"The Lady of the Lake," Irina said, cutting Xenovia off. "W-Wait, what do you mean by not hidden anywhere?"
"The fragments are on the move. Three of them are heading straight for Kuoh Academy while two are moving at rapid speeds around Kuoh's outskirts," Vivi said.
"So then… Ichika, Xenovia, and Irina will go to Sona and Rias to help prepare and Shin and I will go hunt down the two fragments in the Outskirts?" Sophia suggested.
"No. If this third group is hunting you specifically, we need you to be somewhere well-guarded. I'll call Ravel and make sure she meets up with you guys in Kuoh Academy. Irina and I will go find the other two," Shin said.
"What!? Shin, are you—"
"No, you can't risk yourself. I'm not saying I don't trust your ability to fight but you heard what Irina said and you saw what the Masked Woman did to me. It's better for you to go prepare with the others," Shin said as he logically shut her argument down.
Sophia frowned but nodded begrudgingly.
"Ichi, make sure Sona gets word out to her sister that we need backup," Shin said.
Ichika nodded. As Shin passed her, she reached out and grabbed Shin's hand. "Stay safe, okay?"
Shin paused for a few moments before turning to her and squeezing her hand. "I will."
It had been several minutes since the two had left the house to go and track down Freed. The two passed by the place where Ichika mentioned they were attacked and went from there.
"Why didn't you want Ichika coming with you?" Irina asked.
"It's not that I don't want Ichika to come. I trust her to be able to handle things there. Besides, Sophia is emotionally unstable right now. I can't have her going out here so Ichika is there to watch her," Shin said.
"I see. Second question. How do you expect us to track down someone who flew into a portal?" she asked as the two passed into a less crowded area of town.
"Vivi."
"I can feel them. The ones near Kuoh Academy have come to a stop just outside the school. The other one is still moving within the outskirts," Vivi replied.
"What did she say?" Irina asked after a few seconds.
Shin's right eye glowed blue as he looked into the distance. "She said Freed is still out there. Judging from where she's making me look, he's by the old rail depot. The one before that where the train used to run before they changed it."
Irina popped her neck. "That's like what? A 15-minute walk from here?"
"Yeah. Let's go before Freed moves positions again."
The two moved with haste to the old railway depot. The further they walked away from Kuoh, the darker it got. The gaps between the street lamps grew wider until all that remained was a faint ambient light and the soft glow of the moon to light their way. Shin constructed Failnacht and Secace into his hands. He shot Irina a look, who nodded and transformed Excalibur Mimic into her trusty katana.
"If all goes south, you still have your talisman from last time?" Shin asked.
"You mean the katashiro?" Irina asked.
"No… your other one. The Black Talisman."
Irina paused for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah, but I rarely use it. You know how the Church can be with outside magic. I only pull it out in case of emergencies."
Shin nodded. "Well, I hope we don't run into an emergency while we're here." He narrowed his eyes as the old railway depot came into view. Like with the Abandoned Church, the depot had been overtaken by nature. The forest that surrounded parts of Kuoh had begun reclaiming the area. Kudzu grew along the chain link fences and weeds overtook some of the bases of the platforms.
"Looks like someone's already in here," Shin said as he walked up to the wide-open gate.
"I see tracks. And some blood," Irina said as she knelt and placed her hand above a shallow depression in the earth.
"At least we know he's here," Shin said as he took a step into the railway depot. He spotted multiple abandoned and rusting trains. Some of the cars were open while the others had become miniature jungles.
"Oh Lord, Oh Angels, grant me light," Irina prayed. She raised her hand and created a small orb of light. "So. There are 1, 2, 3, 4…14 train cars here. Should we split up?"
"No. He's probably counting on that so he can pick us off one by one. I'm not going to risk it since he has two Excalibur Fragments," Shin said.
"You, a literal walking armory, are worried about Excalibur Fragments?" Irina asked as they walked to the first car.
"Hey, I'm just being cautious okay? I've been handling cursed objects all day. Cut me some slack," Shin said as they approached the first car. He nodded to Irina before kicking the door in. Irina darted inside and shined her light.
She narrowed her eyes as she did a full-circle scan of the entire car. "Nothing but dust. Let's check the place where they stow their bags."
Shin nodded and walked over to one of the storage units above the chairs. He quickly pulled it down, kicking up a small dust cloud. "Nothing… here!" Shin said in between coughs. "Next car?"
He nodded and the two hopped off and headed to the next car. The results were the same. The next five cars they searched were empty, having no sign that any one side from them had entered.
"Vivi, are you sure he's here?" Shin asked.
"Positive. Though, something here is blocking my view. I can only sense it. It's the same presence I felt in Italy so be careful. It might be another situation where I can't use your Stigmata to teleport," Vivi said.
Shin clenched his jaw. "Ran. Can you smell anyone that smells like holy water and blood?"
A swirl of black flames manifested next to Shin as Ran appeared in her dog form. She sniffed the air and walked in a small circle. "I do." She trotted off in the direction of a dilapidated train car next to an old service tunnel.
"Come on," Shin said as he took off after her.
Irina and Shin followed closely behind Ran as she made her way over to the train car. The windows had been punched in, unlike the other cars and there were small traces of blood on the window sill and the dirt.
"Irina," Shin said quietly.
"I know," she replied as Shin touched the door.
He slid it open rapidly and burst inside, aiming his gun into an empty car. He raised an eyebrow but kept his guard up. "Weird. Nobody's here. Ran. Are you sure he's here?"
"Positive, master. I can still smell his scent all over the car," she replied.
"Then why—" Shin's right eye crackled with blue lightning. He could sense it. Something in this room was resonating with his Stigmata from Vivi and it was coming from…
"Behind you!" Irina yelled.
Shin spun on the toes and blocked an attack from Freed. The white-haired priest's eyes widened in surprise as Shin blocked his surprise attack. Shin clenched his jaw and pushed Freed's sword back before delivering a kick to his side, sending him crashing through the train's wall and outside.
What the hell was that? Something's… linking to my Stigmata? Shin thought.
"You okay?" Irina hopped onto the train car as she kept her sights trained on Freed.
"Well, well, well. I didn't expect you to be able to block that. Haha, well, from what my shit-faced crow told me about your old master, I should have expected that much at least," Freed said as he twirled a silver sword.
"Transparency," Irina said.
"Heh. Well, you know what they say," Freed said as he drew Excalibur Rapidly from his holster. He flashed both Excaliburs before grinning psychotically. "When life gives you lemons, slice them up and squirt them back in life's eyes."
His body flickered as he vanished from view.
What? Did he turn invisible or did he go really fast!? Shin and Irina stood back to back as they searched their surroundings for Freed.
"Ran! Can you sense him!?" Shin called out.
Ran growled as a shroud of black flames formed around her.
"Yeah! I can! He's—"
Shin's right eye cracked with blue electricity again. He pushed Irina back before avoiding an overhead swing from Freed.
"Hahahaha! That's right! Dance for me!" Freed lunged toward Shin, swinging his blades with psychotic grace. Despite his frenzied movements, there was a cold calculating intent behind each swing.
Shin clenched his jaw as he parried each slash. He's aiming for my vital organs! Shin thought as he blocked another attack. But even with the Excaliburs, he shouldn't be this strong! What the hell is going on!? Shin jumped over another attack.
"Like how I am now? My handler. She gave me a little boost. I don't know what it is with K-pop stars but they always seem to know what to do," Freed said.
His right eye glowed as several repeating turrets formed in the air around him.
Freed's eyes widened as he triggered Rapidly's ability and moved with blinding speeds, evading a hail of gunfire that came from the turrets.
"Irina!" Shin called out as soon as he saw Freed land.
Irina jumped up into the air and made a beeline for Freed. The flash of her katana-shaped Excalibur arced through the air as she engaged Freed in a deadly dance.
Sparks flew across the air as their blades clashed.
"Cocky, aren't we!?" Freed grinned as he deflected one of her attacks.
Irina staggered back before quickly regaining her balance. She swung her sword at Freed, who intercepted it with glee. A sly smirk came onto Irina's face as the katana changed shape into a greatsword.
Freed's eyes widened as he was hit with more force than he expected. The force of Irina's swing sent Freed crashing into a train car. "That's cheating…" Freed stepped out of the rubble. He vanished from his spot as a plume of black flames came down from the air.
He reappeared a few feet away. "A three-on-one isn't really fair, now is it?"
"Cut the crap," Shin said.
"Hand over the two Excalibur Fragments and I won't be forced to enact summary justice upon you," Irina said coldly as she morphed her Excalibur Fragment back into a katana. She sheathed it and glared at Freed.
"Tch…" he looked between the three before vanishing in a burst of speed.
"Ran!" Shin called out as he ran toward the spot where Freed vanished.
"I think he ran into the service tunnel!" Ran said as she hopped onto Shin's shoulder.
"No time! Let's go!" Irina called out as she sprinted past Shin.
The two ran toward the tunnel. As they were about to enter it, Shin noticed a flashing red light on the wall. His eyes widened and he shoved Irina away just before the two were about to enter.
"What the—!?" Irina's eyes widened as a wave of heat washed over her followed by a concussive blast. She was thrown into a train car, bouncing off it violently. Her head spun and her ears rang incessantly as she tried to regain her bearings.
"Shin…? Ran…!?" Irina called out. Her vision came to but she saw Ran lying unconscious outside the tunnel's entrance, or where the entrance should have been. Her eyes widened when she saw a large pile of rocks where the entrance used to be. "S-SHIN!" Irina screamed as she ran toward the tunnel.
Before she could reach it, a blur slammed into her. Her eyes bulged in pain as she felt someone's knee connect with her midsection violently. She was thrown to the ground. Irina used one hand to push herself up while holding her side as she hacked up spit and blood.
"Whoa, you should really watch where you're going! I almost ran into you!"
Irina looked up and glared hatefully at Freed, who stood over her with a psychotic grin on his face. But there was something noticeably different about Freed. There was an odd series of faint red lines on his neck along with a faint pink-red shroud.
"What's with the look, cutie? You're acting like I killed your boyfriend or something— Oh… that's right," Freed had a look of mock guilt on his face as he turned toward the collapsed service tunnel. "Well, you know what they say. Thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and fucking prayers. Can I get an amen?"
"You… I'll fucking kill you!" Irina roared as she jumped up at him. Her excalibur morphed into a naginata and she thrust it at Freed's skull.
Freed just smiled as he dodged it before pulling out one of his guns and firing at her thigh.
Irina screamed in pain as she fell to the ground, blood pouring profusely from her wound. Tears streamed down her face as she bit down on her cheek. She would not give this man the satisfaction of hearing her beg.
"Oops, sorry about that. I forgot the safety was off. Normally, I have more trigger discipline. I don't tend to shoot willy nilly like this," Freed waved his pistol around before firing again at Irina's shoulder.
Irina bit down a scream as the bullet tore cleanly through her arm, grinding apart a portion of her clavicle in the process.
"You know, you and your friends are getting on my nerves. I didn't even go after you this time because the big boss said to stay put but now, you come to me. I didn't know you wanted me this badly. I'm going to take my sweet ass time with you but first thing's first," Freed said as he grabbed Excalibur Mimic from her.
"Now then… where should we start?" Freed said as he roughly grabbed her by her ponytail. Irina glared through the pain. His smile grew wider as he leaned in and licked her cheek, causing her to whimper in disgust.
"I'm really good at carving meat. I did it a lot back at the Church. I usually start with small cuts like in the thigh." As soon as he said this, he slashed her thigh open with a shallow cut.
Irina clenched her jaw as she was dropped to the ground. Freed laughed as he stabbed Excalibur Rapidly through her hand, pinning her.
"Come on. I'm working very hard on my presentation. The least you can do is scream!" Freed cackled as he pulled Excalibur Rapidly out and sliced her back open.
Irina bit down another scream as she felt cut after cut being inflicted on her body.
Freed picked her up once more and saw the defiant look in her violet eyes.
"Well, you're no fun. But I guess I can have fun in other ways," Freed said as he stabbed Excalibur Rapidly through her stomach, narrowly missing the actual organ and her liver.
Irina gasped and coughed up blood. She let out a guttural scream of agony as Freed twisted the blade while it was inside her body, as if he were fishing around inside her for something.
"Now that's more like it!" Freed said.
"...genpu…"
"Huh? What's that? Speak up louder, babe," Freed said.
"Raimeigenpu…" Irina's eyes glowed as violet lightning crackled around her body. "Sakuragiri!"
Lightning crashed down on them, forcing Freed to jump back. His eyes widened in surprise when Irina stood, all bloodied and beaten, brandishing a glowing violet and silver katana.
"Well, that was shocking," Freed said.
"Go to hell," Irina said in between gasps as she lowered her stance despite her pain. "Hakubara-Ryu: Tsubaki!"
Lightning cloaked around Irina's body as she vanished and struck Freed with blinding speed. Blood sprayed as Freed barely managed to avoid the blade but was still struck down by the initial swing.
"Gaaagh! BITCH!" Freed roared.
Irina fell to the ground, gasping for air. She shakily tried to get up, using Sakuragiri.
Freed clenched his jaw and raised his sword. "You know what! I'm fucking done playing!"
But before he could do anything, a growl came from behind him and he turned to see a fist slamming into his face.
Freed flew into a train car, eyes wide in surprise.
Ran stood in front of Irina with an expression of calm on her face. But he could easily feel the fury and hatred radiating off her body. "For daring to touch my master's body in such a harmful manner…"
Ran's yellow and red eyes glowed as a large halo of black flames appeared behind her. "You will die for your sins. Taiyogenpu - Hirume." Ran summoned a pitch black katana to her hand. Its blade was wreathed in black flames. Ran took a step forward and surge of black flames blazed toward him.
Freed dodged but watched in shock as the flames vaporized a steel train car and a good portion of the forest behind him.
Ran turned to face him. The flaming halo was beginning to shift into eight additional black flaming tails, giving her nine in total.
Now, Freed was a fighter. A very skilled one at that but even he knew when to retreat. He clenched his jaw and pulled something out of his pocket. "I can't believe this!" Freed snarled before tossing the ball at her.
Ran raised her arm to erect a shield but Freed shot the ball, causing it to explode in a flash of blinding light.
Ran covered her eyes as the light overwhelmed her vision. When her sight returned, Freed had vanished without a trace.
"Tch…"
"Ran…?"
Ran turned to see Irina on the ground, blood pooling around her. She quickly knelt next to her and turned her over. The wounds were vanishing at a painfully astonishing rate. She could hear Irina's collarbone snapping and growing back into place.
"Good thing… Shin had these…" Irina smiled weakly as she pulled the katashiro out of her pocket. The paper doll was in tatters, having absorbed the damage she sustained and reversed the ones on her body.
"We need to find Shin," Irina said as she got up, however, she stumbled and fell back down to her knee. "Shin… damn it!" Irina said as she stared at the collapsed entrance.
Please be okay, Irina prayed.
"Irina! Irina! Damn it!" Shin coughed as the tunnel's entrance came down. It was only due to his reflexes that he was able to cast Perfect Cube on time to protect himself from the blast.
Well, that and... Shin trailed off. His left eye was turning back to its normal shade of black.
He looked around, seeing nothing but dim shadows in the inky blackness of the service tunnel with only the glow of the Perfect Cube being the only source of light.
"Khh!" Shin gathered power into his hand, forming a crackling ball of blue energy.
"Shin. What happened? The Excalibur Fragments are moving away from here," Vivi said.
"Freed set bombs in the tunnel. I'm caved in!" Shin said as he prepared to blast the rubble away. "Hold on. I'll be out in just a second. [Exterminate—!]"
Shin's instincts immediately screamed as a spear of light cracked his barrier. "What…? What the hell!?"
He jumped back, narrowing his eyes as he saw a faint glow of pink light coming toward him.
"I told that bastard to wait but…"
Shin's eyes widened when he saw her. "Y-You!? You're supposed to be dead, Raynare!"
Raynare came out of the shadows, shrouded in a dark red aura. Three pairs of black wings unfurled from her back and a demented grin twisted her features. Red lines crisscrossed their way up her neck as she twirled her jagged spear.
"Hey there, handsome. Miss me?" Raynare asked.
"How… the hell…?"
"You could call this my new lease on life. You see I realized something while I lay bleeding out on the floor of that ruined Church. Lord Azazel… he abandoned me. Even as I called for him with magic and everything, ahahaha! Can you believe that? But me…? I have a new master. She gave me a new life. New cause. New everything!" Raynare said as her eyes turned red. The aura intensified and illuminated the room. The sensation of it seemed to swallow everything around her in a maddening sense of chaos and control.
The aura almost felt like…
Ichika, Shin thought.
"The Sixth Praetor doesn't need Freed to fulfill this mission. I'll bring you her head on a platter before wiping Freed out," Raynare licked her lips. She dug her heel into the ground and launched herself at Shin.
Shin steadied himself and tightened his grip on Secace. His right eye glowed blue as a flood of blue divine aura shrouded his body.
I can end this in one shot. One hit and I can get rid of her before she becomes a problem, Shin thought. As Raynare drew closer, his perception of time slowed down as ki flooded every aspect of his body.
"Onigari-Ryu: Mugen—"
Before Shin could finish, a red and silver blur slammed into Raynare, sending her crashing into a wall. Raynare coughed blood before crumpling to the ground. She shakily got up and snarled, preparing to skewer whoever it was that interrupted her when she froze.
"F-First… P-Praetor…," Raynare stuttered as she slowly backed away.
Shin stared warily at the back of the silver-haired masked woman who had just come to his aid. The First Praetor glanced over her shoulder and regarded Shin with silence. She then turned back to Raynare, who had frozen.
"My my, First Praetor, I never thought you'd directly interfere."
Shin froze.
That voice wasn't Raynare's. Someone was using Raynare's body as a puppet.
Raynare's violet eyes had a red ring around it.
"Well…? Are you going to—"
"We have orders not to harm him."
Shin's blood went cold at the sound of her voice. His hands began to shake as he looked at her.
"Raynare" stiffened. Her jaw clenched as she ground her teeth before narrowing her eyes. "You…"
"If you want to disobey her, then be my guest," The First Praetor said.
Those words were enough for "Raynare" to reconsider her next move. She sighed and shrugged playfully. "You know I was joking right~? I was just surprised is all. Still, I'm a bit surprised. I thought you were off somewhere else making sure everything was going smoothly but here you are taking a little detour to protect him."
Shin glanced between the First Praetor and "Raynare".
"But it's whatever. The Second is seeing this mission through, is she not? Well, I'll be off then. I apologize. Sometimes, my toys have a mind of their own." And with that, "Raynare" let out a laugh before tearing open a rift in space and walking into it.
As soon as she disappeared, Shin immediately went on guard and jumped away from the First Praetor.
The First Praetor turned to face him, her featureless mask gazing into his eyes.
"You…? It's…"
The masked woman said nothing as she took a step forward. Her hand slowly went to her porcelain white mask and removed it partially.
Shin dropped Secace out of sheer shock. He opened and closed his mouth to say something but found every word he ever wanted to say stuck on the tip of his tongue.
"I'm sorry but… you won't remember this most of this encounter," the First Praetor said as her left eye's sclera turned black. Her irises began to glow as it took the shape of two concentric rings around a black pupil. It resembled a blue lunar eclipse.
Shin felt himself becoming dizzy. He struggled to stay awake as he walked toward her, reaching out to grab her mask. However, his body felt like lead and with one final step, he fell forward. As darkness subsumed his mind, devouring every memory he had of the woman's face, he managed to grab on to one thing and commit it to mind.
Her Stigmata.
The eye of Tsukuyomi.
Getsumei… Tengan… he thought before he passed out.
The First Praetor
The highest of all Praetors. She serves directly as the Executioner of the Red King.
Much of her past is shrouded in deep mystery with only the Second Praetor and the Red King being aware of who she truly is.
Bearing the power of War and the Moon, The First Praetor is an incredibly formidable opponent whose skill and prowess know no equal among her fellow Praetors.
Yet even, now bound by fate and by an oath, she cannot fight the pull that draws her toward her destined counterpart.
Housekeeping
Dante687: I promise you, Klein will not get involved because of... other things. There's a reason why Dante is here. I won't say much though and just let the scenario play out.
Guest: Yes, they are. Very good observation and using things from the original Azure and the Doomsday Option. You managed to connect the dots that link these two together. But yeah, we'll encounter them down the line here and more Stigmata Weapons as well.
RoyalRain20xx: Well, if Freed stayed, he'd die too early and I don't want him to die too early in this arc so she had to interfere and save her "doll" as she would say. By the way, for reference, Sophia's brother is like halfway to her shoulder so Dante is pretty short for someone who's a year younger than Bea and Akane. Also, thank you! I'm glad you asked that question about Stigmata Weapons and certain Contractors. As you can see in this chapter, well, now we know what happens whenever Shin is in the vicinity of an Excalibur Fragment's ability activation. That's not a spoiler by the way, it did happen. Excalibur will not be the only Stigmata Weapon-Holy Sword thingamajig in this fic. There'll be more. More will come.
Anyhow, that's housekeeping out of the way so let's go over some things planned for the future and some things in this chapter.
Shin mentioning Serikawa: As per the original flow of the plot, Serikawa is next. It will be the next major arc and right after the Interlude mini-arc which is about 4-5 chapters long. Technically, the Interlude mini-arc is connected to that Arc so I might just make it one arc. There, we'll get more background lore on Shin's maternal family and the same old same old, information about Furude-Style Onmyoudo and the Tsuchimikado, yadayadayada. Sorry before I begin yapping. Now the real question is... will Shin still have a former engagement to a Kyoto Exorcist? Only time will tell and how much I want to make Ichika jealous.
The First Praetor: I purposely had her erase Shin's memory. Hehehe. The Getsumei Tengan will be the only thing he remembers about it but just know, if you can connect the details together I carefully placed in this chapter and the last, you might figure it out.
Raynare: If ya'll forgot, the Sixth Praetor (Alisa) took Raynare at the end of the Redux Arc so she is here. Don't worry, she'll get her comeuppance soon but not in this arc. Ichika never forgets and she does hold a grudge.
The Curse and Klein's involvement: As I said in a review answer, this Curse is an integral part of Shin's plan to fight Kokabiel. I promised 100% that they are on their own on this fight and have set up several factors to prevent people from interfering or to keep them distracted (i.e the presence of the First and Second Praetors, yes the big boss ladies are in town). That being said I really wanted to use this spell to show off just how competent Shin actually is at preparing for fights and to show off his years of training. It's only Shinto Magic now but wait until I mix Celtic Magic from Shin's dad's side.
Anyway, that'll be it for this chapter. Thanks for reading it and remember to drop a review. I'll see ya'll in the next one. The Daybreak Arc is coming to its end in a couple of chapters.
(If you guys haven't figured out Sophia by now, I might have to say it.)