Devils and clergy moved together, the devils forming almost an honour guard around the two exorcists and the priest. One of the exorcists supported the other who was cradling her hastily bandaged stump of an arm. The rest of that arm carried by the priest who was surprisingly more determined than distressed by the situation and his task.

All the while, Lelouch communicated with his peerage, informing them of an emergency situation and that they were to gather at the academy, linking up into groups where possible. Luckily, most of them were with him or still at home and therefore already close together, ready to link up without issue no matter how much Raynare wanted to grouse about her supposed need for protection.

Lelouch put away his phone. "Momo, you've contacted Sona?" he asked his fiancee's Bishop.

"Tsubasa did."

"She's gathering everyone too," the Rook pre-emptively answered his next question. "The rest of Rias' peerage were already at the school so they're safe." As safe as they could be, at least. After a moment's pause, she added, "Asia is ready and waiting."

"Good."

For as much as Sona might have thought he looked down on her strategic mind, she had clearly come to the same conclusion he did. The shimmering barrier that began at the school gates told him they were of the exact same mind on this.

Tsubaki appeared from above the wall, her wings out. "Barrier down, fifteen seconds!" she called out. "All of you inside, now!" The group rushed inside, the barrier closing behind them again. "Momo, you're joining us in maintaining the barrier! Tsubasa, help as you can but your duty is to stay on guard!"

"Right!"

"Master!" Ana ran toward him, holding up the skirt of her heavy dress as she moved. "You're here!" She looked over the gathered party and nodded. "Asia is in the old building. She's waiting."

"... Thank you," Irina forced herself to say. Mash followed them as they moved in the direction of help without any need for an order.

"Is everyone here?" Lelouch asked his Bishop.

The white princess grimaced. "Mostly. Sara and I brought the Pawns. But Kallen was away from the house when you contacted us. She hasn't arrived yet."

Of course not, he groused internally. He raised a finger to his ear."Kallen, where are you?"

No response.

"Q1. Respond."

-(-)-

"I'm dealing with a situation right now, Lelouch," the redheaded Queen answered, staring across a fountain at the one who confronted her.

A young man with silver hair who was both trying a little too hard to look cool while also looking overjoyed to see her. "You have no idea how happy I am to finally meet you."

She felt a familiar thrumming in her soul. A desire she'd rarely had to contend with ever since joining Lelouch's peerage, since awakening Boosted Gear. A drive for conflict. "Uh, yeah mate, I can't say the feeling's mutual. Don't even know who you are."

"You don't?" He sounded truly surprised. "Did Ddraig not even bother to tell you? To warn you who would be coming for you?"

The thrumming grew louder. More insistent.

"My name is Vali. And while I'm supposed to be here on other business, I couldn't help myself when I saw you all alone." He raised a hand in front of his face, that hand in a flash suddenly clad in a white gauntlet. "I am this generation's White Dragon Emperor, and to you Red Dragon Empress, I am your destined adversary!"

Without her intent or action, Boosted Gear appeared on Kallen's arm. "Albion..." the red dragon growled.

"Ddraig," the white dragon called out in response. "It's been too long. Your host is a pretty one this time."

"A perfect ten. Natural redhead too."

Why did he need to tell everyone that? "Kozuki, what do you think?" she asked her alternate silently.

"Are you feeling what I'm feeling? If he's feeling it too, he's not gonna let up, not until he gets what he wants. We deal with the situation in front of us, so Lelouch can handle his business without worry. That's our job."

It wasn't an unfair assessment. Anything else would be dropping more problems, more threats on top of whatever else was already happening. But at the same time it felt like an excuse. Just as Kozuki said, they were both feeling this same burning need to prove their strength. "We're going all out?"

"You think we can afford not to?"

Kallen smiled. Crossed one arm over the other as Vali mirrored her pose.

"Balance Breaker!"

"Boosted Gear Scale Mail!"

"Divine Dividing Scale Mail!"

In a blinding flare of light, no longer were they a man and woman standing at opposite sides of a fountain. Instead they became encased in armour borne of the dragons inside them. One white and decorated with blue gems, geometric wings made of blue light fanned out behind him.

The other red, decorated with green gems. Geometric wings made of fuchsia light fanned out behind her. Her right arm longer than the other to account for a golden claw.

"That's new," Albion's voice commented, his tone one of warning. A millennium of battles solely as sacred gears within their hosts. Of course new would be concerning.

"You go around picking fights," Kallen said, her voice amplified by the scale mail. "Don't regret it."

Vali grinned within his own armour. "Never have and never will!"

-(-)-

Lelouch recited the current situation back to himself. Someone had stolen three of the Excaliburs and come to Kuoh. The church had sent exorcists to Kuoh with two more Excaliburs to hunt the thief. In the process, one of them had lost an arm and her Excalibur, giving the thief a fourth. Three, probably now four, had been forged into a single blade with all of their powers. There were a dozen different ways this situation could spin into a reigniting of the War of Three Factions. And on top of all of that, Kallen, his lover, his Queen, his biggest gun, was fighting what was a near equivalent force. One that may or may not have been an accomplice to the thief.

... Right. "Tsubaki, you have things under control here?"

"As well as we can," Sona's Queen answered.

He nodded. "Ana, can you–?"

"Of course, Master." The Bishop stepped forward, raised her arms toward the barrier and formed an ice blue glyph. "Hm!" With a mild grunt of effort, the barrier shone with reinforced strength while also taking on a slightly icy sheen.

"Nya, I'll meditate here," Shirone said, dropping into a cross-legged sitting position resting her hands on her knees. "If he comes while he's using the swords' powers, I can sense it."

"Thank you." With that, Lelouch marched toward the old school building, toward Rias' haven of the Occult Research Club room.

There finding a literal miracle worker doing her thing. "W-Why?" Xenovia asked, utterly stunned as she watched a little blonde girl still in her nun habit despite becoming a devil. Sweating from the strain of using her sacred gear. The glow of Twilight Healing burning brightly yet gently as bone, muscle, flesh and skin was repaired bit by bit. "What do you get out of this? We're supposed to be enemies!"

"Why?" Asia asked right back to Xenovia. "When I was with the church, they told me to heal those in need. That it was what God wanted– Owie!" The healing glow flickered, but came back just as strong an instant later. "I was happy. They told me to help people and I wanted to help people, then they got mad that I helped the wrong person. Now I don't work with the church. They don't want me, but that's okay! I still love God, ow! I still do what I think God, ow! What He would want. I don't want enemies. If someone needs help then I'll help them. That's what my bible taught me."

Father Hyoudou smiled as he listened to her. "The Good Samaritan was supposed to be an enemy as well."

Asia smiled back.

And as touching as this exchange was, Lelouch had no choice but to interrupt it and deal with the situation at hand. "Nightmare, Transparency and Rapidly," he said to announce his presence, both exorcists looking at him. "Those were the Excaliburs stolen, am I correct?"

"How did you–?" Irina tried to ask.

But Lelouch interrupted her before she could finish the question with his answer. "The attacker was invisible while fleeing, had speed comparable to or surpassing a Knight while attacking, and a highly trained exorcist didn't notice him at all until he was already chopping off her arm." He looked again to Irina's hip, to where the fifth Excalibur sat. "And seeing as all of the Excaliburs are of the western style, fair to say that katana would be Mimic. The one stolen would be Destruction?"

Xenovia looked like she wanted to be angry. Yet instead she deflated. "And how did you know that?"

"I didn't. But based on your temperament if it was Blessing you would've been waving it around as a warning to all of we devils." The one fragment that was the truly holy among the Holy Swords Excalibur.

"It could've been Ruler."

"No it couldn't." His unshakeable confidence confused her, but he continued before she could question it. "It would have been helpful to know what the threat was before we encountered it, but this is how things go. Did you recognise the attacker? Shirone described him as a young priest, white hair."

Raynare's ears perked up. "Foul mouthed little shit?"

Xenovia grimaced. "After slapping me with my own hand he declared he would... Violate me sexually later."

"Of course he did, that son of a bitch." The words came as a defeated sigh. "So the Excalibur thief is Freed Sellzen?"

"You know him? Wait, Freed Sellzen?!" Irina asked, shocked. "The exorcist from the Vatican?!"

"Stray exorcist," Xenovia corrected. "He was excommunicated for butchering a dozen people he decided were devil worshippers. And... Violating one of them."

"That doesn't appear to matter to at least someone in the church," Lelouch observed. "After all, your mission is now halfway complete."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Irina asked.

The Bael heir smirked, and just for the sake of showmanship, flicked his hand to show an illusion of seven swords. "The seven Excalibur fragments. All scattered across the globe. In the hands of the Orthodox church, the Catholic church, the Protestant church, the Anglican church, all across the world. Very difficult to get to. So, if someone wanted to gather all of them they'd have a hard time, wouldn't they? Each one they steal," one sword moved to the centre of the ring, the others were each surrounded by a barrier, "the more security is raised for the others. I imagine Blessing is under the strictest security known to man by now." Another sword was moved to the middle, then another, more barriers raised around the remaining. "But this is the strange part. Suddenly, two of the swords are taken out of hiding, out of their secure locations, and handed to teenagers who are then told to go directly to where the thief supposedly is." Two swords were freed from all of their barriers, and put right next to the other three gathered swords.

Xenovia paled. "You don't think–?"

"I don't think. I know."

"But...! But they wouldn't–!"

The devil sighed. "I understand the church is very much about faith, but there's faith and then there's wilful ignorance. You were sent here with no support, no backup, just two girls going after someone who defeated the security of three different branches of the church, armed only with the very things he's looking for. It was a trap. You aren't here as exorcists hunting down a criminal. You're delivery girls. The only reinforcement you do have is the priest here and only because you asked him. I'd bet good money if you told your superior you enlisted Father Hyoudou's help, they would have told you to leave him behind."

"That's enough!" Xenovia snapped. "I don't appreciate your insinuations! Of course you would be distrustful of the church! You're a devil! You–!"

"Xenovia."

The blue haired girl turned to look at her partner who had suddenly taken on the appearance of being very uncertain.

"I, um, I called Archbishop DeLancé to update him on our progress last night," she admitted, not meeting her partner's eyes. "He told me to leave Issei behind."

If Lelouch had any doubts as to the exorcists' allegiance, they were put to rest as he saw the despair on Xenovia's face. The horror. Tears welled up in her eyes before she could hide them, but in trying to hide them she looked down, only to see her arm still mending. Only having a chance for it to be reattached and functional due to the kindness of a devil.

He had seen and experienced that kind of world-shattering despair, the betrayal from everything he ever believed. There was no need to doubt her motives here. "Well, now that everyone is on the same page we need to figure out our next moves."

"We?" Issei asked.

"Yes, we. It's in everyone's best interests that you not die, don't you think?" And for next steps there were definitely two people who needed to be part of the conversation. Yet his fellow Kings were not in the room. "Rias and Sona, where are they?"

"Here." Both Kings entered the club room from behind him, Kiba boxed in between them. Rias stopped to kiss her fiance on the cheek. "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone but Kallen. The White Dragon Emperor decided to arrive at exactly this moment and challenge my Queen to a duel."

Sona stared at him, puzzled by his calm. "You're taking that remarkably well considering that usually ends with one of them dying."

"She's my Q1 for a reason," he answered, confident but not cavalier. "I'm sure he's strong, but I'm surer that he's never met a woman with a will to survive and come out victorious like she does. In any case, she decided it's better for everyone if she handles it. If she drags that fight back here, that barrier outside won't last thirty seconds."

"How well will it hold up against Excalibur Destruction?" Issei asked.

Sona winced, which said enough. "It's a barrier maintained by the power of four devils, three of them Bishops. Right now it's as strong as it can be without all of us wasting our stamina on keeping it up. But no, they can't keep it up forever and a concerted effort, especially from a holy sword with a power devoted to destructive force?"

"Not just that," Lelouch cut in, folding his arms. "The three swords he already had were fused into one. An ugly, misshapen thing according to Shirone."

Xenovia slowly nodded. "Yes. It looked warped, perhaps even hastily welded together rather than truly fused."

"Even so, if Destruction is added to that thing, it becomes more devastating than Destruction on its own." If Lelouch had to guess, a true fusion, a reforging of Excalibur required a most important piece that no one could currently acquire. Each one of the fragments was considered a pale imitation even of what the sword could do when it was whole, not even close to a seventh of its power. But even a poor job of combining them likely increased the potency of the finished product. "Whether the barrier holds or not, we can't just hole up here and wait for Freed and whoever he's working with to lose interest and go away. We need means to dispose of him. Rias, is Gasper–?"

"No." The answer was firm and immediate.

Sona looked at her. "Rias, now isn't the time for coddling your servants."

"Then it's a good thing I'm not. If Gasper were ready then I would say he's ready. Against someone who casually maimed a church exorcist? With a holy sword? A devil with vampire blood? No. Ask a hundred times it's still no."

"You're right, I'm sorry. Foolish suggestion," Lelouch admitted. He was looking for a convenient solution to the problem, knowing that Freed had more than the potential to kill any of them if they made the wrong move. "Shirone can sense him. He can't sneak up on us here when she knows everyone here personally, well enough to recognise their life force. So, dealing with him here would be the ideal play. We can bait him with what he wants. The problem is how to deal with him in a way to secure victory." His first instinct for that was stuck fighting a battle with the apparent arch-nemesis she just met. His second instinct was Shirone, but only because invisibility and illusions would be far less effective on her. She was still at an inherent disadvantage against a legendary holy sword.

"Wait," Irina cut in, "if the fused Excalibur is like a rush job or incomplete, wouldn't it be fragile?" The devils' attention turned to her. "Break something once, it breaks easier the second time, right?"

"The problem lies in the raw power needed to do it," Sona answered, acknowledging the point but remaining focused on the tactical concern. "We need something with enough destructive force to make it count. Could you two do it?"

The two wielders of the Power of Destruction looked at one another. "It's... Possible?" Rias hedged.

"Demonic powers historically haven't played well against holy relics," Lelouch elaborated. "If they did, there would be far fewer holy relics hanging around after the war. Diminished as the Excalibur is..." He shook his head. It was a significant gamble.

"I'll do it." The blonde Rook who had been looking after the formerly human Pawns of Lelouch's peerage stood and joined the conversation. "I won't let you risk yourself on uncertainties like that, Lord Lelouch," Sara insisted, her eyes shining red to his vision, only to fade as she smiled. "Besides, you want destructive force, you come to a Rook don't you? Holy or not, I can break it, and if I can't, I can break his hands."

"Wait!" Yet again someone stood, willing to risk life and limb to put an end to this situation. Asia fretted over Xenovia's still healing arm as the exorcist pleaded her case. "I... I never thought I would say something like this to devils, but I appreciate what you're trying to do. But this is our fight, our responsibility."

"It was a trap," Lelouch reminded her.

"That doesn't matter. My judgments may have been rash, unearned and disgraceful when we first got here. But the one responsible for this is evil, and the only purpose I've ever had is to put an end to evil wherever I find it. I can break the Excalibur."

"You don't even have your sword," Sona pointed out, sceptical.

"Not true." Her right hand clenched of her own will, once again functional enough even if she couldn't hide her wince at the motion. "Excalibur Destruction isn't my true weapon. I promise you, I can break it. Please, let me make up for my mistakes, my failure."

The devil Kings weren't sure whether to accept. The situation was tenuous enough as it was, and an exorcist dying while explicitly under their care... It would be a dangerous outcome.

Yet they were given very little time to decide.

BOOM

"Master!"

Lelouch's finger raised to his ear at the same time as Sona's did. "Ana, what was that?"

"He's here."

He didn't need to hear anymore. He looked around the room. Picked out Mash and Sara. "With me." Then Raynare. "Protect the others with your life."

The fallen angel turned devil squawked, looking at the other Pawns and the former nun. "Seriously? Again?" Not that she wanted to share a space with Freed ever again, even for the chance to kill him.

But Lelouch didn't listen. Instead he marched out of the building with the others, out to the courtyard and there seeing most of Sona's peerage had gathered for the sole purpose of sustaining the barrier. The reason why was obvious and obnoxious.

"KNOCK KNOCK!" Freed Sellzen screamed as he brought the monstrosity of the fused Excalibur down in another vertical swing several metres away from the academy gate. The distance didn't matter. A wave of destructive force burst from the misshapen sword to crash into the barrier. The crystalline shell cracked, but reformed quickly. "I came by because I got this great new sword! The delivery girl was so cute, I wish I chopped off the rest of her limbs and kept just the fun parts! I–!" His manic grin faltered as he looked at the crowd of devils approaching the gate, and three members of the clergy. "Huh. You got it back. Ah! Oh, I get it! The holy priestess went and became a devil cumdump whore! It's so nice to see she'll still give it up for anyone who asks!" He began thrusting his hips with the holy weapon jutting from his crotch.

The man had a talent for pissing off everyone around him. It was a marvel to witness. Yet Lelouch was distracted twice over from enjoying the 'witty' repartee. First for quick and quiet discussions with his peerage. Second...

For the distant battle he still had no trouble seeing. The flashes of light in the distant sky as two dragons did battle once again.

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen very early by my generous supporters on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!