BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE SONIC DXD TWITTER X ACCOUNT FOR FUTURE UPDATES! (Links are on my profile page)

First of all, the above message will be copy-pasted to all future entries in the Sonic DxD series. I want to advertise the fan page more, get more eyes on it and such. Since I went through the effort of actually creating a fan page, I may as well put in the effort to help it grow. It's something I'm passionate about and I want to succeed.

Anyone else getting tired of their inbox being flooded with bots? Its getting real annoying seeing the same reply "hi Bakuganman i was inpsired by your story for artwork" yadda, yadda, yadda. Even that oneshot i made "Demon among the Heroes", one bot called it... lol, im laughing... Emotional. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Its ridiculous! And if its not a bot and an actual person, that makes it even funnier! Bro didn't even read it!

But the sad part about it is, its a red flag. Could be an example of how this website is falling apart, as the app doesn't have this issue. Could also mean, as I predicted, this website might not be around much longer. That's not me saying Fanfiction dot net is dying forever (least if its last renewal isn't renewed), just its website counterpart, then all we'll have is the app. If that's the case, then I suppose the website's issues will be solved... by just removing it altogether.

Im glad I decided to cross platform to AO3 when I did, but if these bot emails keep coming, i may have to turn off my PMs for a bit. I dont need my email flooded with non-human users. I get enough of that with my subscriptions and bills.

Last thing: remember last chapters authors note when I said Swordplay between Light and Darkness was next?... technically it was, but that chapter ended up being like over 20k words. While I'm sure some of you would be okay with that, I've decided to spilt them up to around 10k each to make it more digestible. All this means is the Sonic X Shadow Gens adaptation, which by unanimous vote was requested to happen, is one or two extra chapters away. Then after that is the second half of DxD season 2, along with the long awaited Frontiers Arc after that.

Let's start 2025 with a bang! Looking forward to your thoughts in the comments!

DyuerisutoX

Finally! The return of our favorite hedgehog and demoness. The wait was totally worth it. What can I say about this chapter? We got a scene where the sacred swords were stolen. I imagine that in the original version, this scene was probably quite different from this one. There was also a mini-scene with the ORC participating in the tournament—a nice, smooth start before diving into the serious stuff.

What I loved the most was the little chess match between Tails and Rias. It's so satisfying to see Tails integrating into the group. Sonic had more than 50 chapters to get to know everyone, and now it's Tails' turn. And what better way to do that than having him face off against our beloved princess? I can already picture the scene when Rias realizes she lost the match. It seems she just found someone stronger than her.

Anyway, all this to say that I really enjoyed the beginning of this chapter. Once again, it's such a pleasure to dive back into this fanfic after all this time. I can't wait to read what happens next!

Bakuganman: Glad you enjoyed though sidenote, the robbery scene was completely original. Not even the books dived into the robbery of the swords, they just happened offscreen. Im pretty sure the only ones we ever saw stolen were Irina's and Xenoiva's ones (i'll have to reread the book again), and even then, only 4 were ever stolen.

I also liked writing the little chess match. Figured it's something Tails would be into and bond with Rias over. Chess doesn't seem to be Sonic's thing... he's definitely more of a checkers guy. XD

Captainrex2177

I like the church members call Silver a "Pizza Rat"

So far I want to know how Silver arrived at the Church and met Xenovia Quarta and Irina.

Silver has Telekinesis, he can move any object aswell including (the one in Sonic 06 can grab Sonic aswell)

I hope Team Dark was there aswell

Bakuganman: I liked calling him "Pizza rat" too. It's perfect. I also honestly may cover Silver's meeting with them in full in a special epsiode. Give Silver his own spotlight instead of just glossing over it via flashback or a exposition dump.

BitesTheDust22122

Sonic 4 seems to be taking inspiration from CD, Heroes and Fleetway comics (Brotherhood of Metalix)

Bakuganman: We got till 2027. We'll see if we're right (and i'm sure we are).

marco

sorry for the question but didn't the church have only 6 fragments of excalibur with the last one freezing arthur,

I remember badly

3d3ddXD

The reviewer is right: there are 7 Excalibur swords in total, the Church had six with them and Arthur has one. Unless you planned on an eight with an original attribute .

And fun fact about DxD's Excalibur: the seven Excalibur abilities are really the True Excalibur's abilities, and not reforged. Plus, Caliburn surpassed Excalibur.

In DxD, most Holy Sword wielders have Holy attribute to wield the Holy Swords. If Sonic would pick a Holy Sword, he would have a Holy attribute, to make this plot sense.

Would be interesting to see Sonic and Freed in a fight of speed.

What if Sonic quotes the remembering the love lesson from Movie 3 to Yuuto? The Knight lost his friends and he was in pain, thinking only revenge, like Shadow, so he needed encouragement and a reminder.

Bakuganman: Figured I'd answer you both at the same time since you had a same question/point (don't feel sorry btw. If ya dont remember, ya don't remember. This digital age has so much content, our brains can't consciously retain every single little thing). Its the "well yes, but actually no" meme. The church had 7 of them, because the 8th one, Caliburn, is currently being held by the Pendragon family. We see the 8th one in possession of Arthur Pendragon on Vali's team in season 3 I believe (can't remember the exact episode, but it was used to travel to the dimensional gap).

As for the "love lesson from movie 3" bit... your half right, but I'm not gonna say how. We'll Ultimately *cough cough* get there soon enough.

Pedro Alonso Buby Huayanay Zam

hey I was wondering if we'll see teams dark, rose, chaotic and hero in the near future eh even a fifth team with silver, blaze and stick eh it would be interesting

Also, it's good that there will be no romance between the DXD characters and the Sonic character, I say they are aliens and apart from their appearance everything would be too strange and ughh, maybe if Issei knew Rogue himself or Draigg said that even he has to have a limit

Also hey when Akeno faces knuckles or shadow maybe he will feel real pain and not the one she likes but it will really hurt her

Bakuganman: Gonna get the Knuckles/Shadow vs Akeno part out of the way. Yes, that would be a level of pain even her masochistic side won't enjoy. Her Queen traits may soften the blow, but not by much.

Issei would probably like Rouge for her... assets. But seeing as he's been spending time with Sonic and will start seeing Amy (during the Fronters arc), he'll try to draw the line. The most it'll be for is comic relief... though he is kinda into older women if you think about it, Rias being a few months older and Akeno by an entire year. Lol!

Season 2, Chapter 5 - The History of Excalibur

"WHOA-WHOA-WHOA-WHOA! So you actually DESTROYED Excalibur, AND all its pieces?!"

"For the 3rd time. No. Incomplete fragments were recovered over the years." Rias repeated yet again while rubbing one of her temples, remaining calm despite sounding a little annoyed having to repeat herself.

Still, she didn't exactly blame Sonic for misunderstanding. It was a really complicated situation, but she didn't expect Sonic to be so... attached, if that was the right word, to the story of Excalibur. She didn't know whether to call this a freak out on his part or he was simply just shocked it was all real, but the amout of times Sonic jumped in was kinda out of character for him, as usually he'd wait till someone stops talking to speak what's on his mind or make a joke/comment.

Currently; Sonic, Tails, Issei, Asia and Rias were all in Issei's room upon Rias' orders from the last chapter. Rias was at Issei's desk chair while the rest of them sat on Issei's bed. There was plenty of room for them thankfully, and for a story like this, they needed to stay comfortable.

"Can you stop interrupting? I'm trying to listen." Issei asked Sonic. "Go ahead, Prez. From the top. What was it about the Holy Sword Project?"

"Alright. I'll start again..." Rias said, gathering her thoughts and restarting her explanation. "As you know, anything Holy that comes into contact with us Devils is our biological weakness. Holy Swords specifically were created to counter our kind, and many can be found all over the world. Simply touching one can burn us, prolonged exposure will start disintegrating us, and even a cut could mean instant death to even a Great Satan. Regardless of their class or ranking, all Holy Swords are dangerous to all demons. Excalibur of course, being considered to be the highest point of such power."

"Wow... okay... that's intense." Issei said as he wrapped his head around the information. "So how does a mythical sword factor into that?" Before Rias (and even Sonic) could say anything to answer Issei's question...

[Not Mythical. Factual.] Every looked around for the source of the voice as they all heard it. [Don't tell me you've forgotten my voice already.] That was intended to be a dry joke obviously, but that just gave confirmation where it originated from... that, and the glowing green orb on the back of Issei's hand.

"Oh, hey Ddriag..." Issei said... he still wasn't used to it by the way, having another voice come out of him that wasn't from his mouth. Even if it did, it would still be weird.

"Oh, that's what you meant by his 'voice of reason'..." Tails whispered to Sonic, the hedgehog having mentioned the dragon to Tails before, but this was the first time the fox officially heard him. Sonic just nodded at his little brother.

[What the stories DON'T tell you about Excalibur, is the fact that Arthur himself broke the sword on purpose during the Battle of Camlann. Many kingdoms were after the swords power, not just the kingdom of Camelot itself.] Ddraig explained, seemingly having extensive knowledge on the sword in question.

Although surprised the Boosted Gear was talking directly to them again and not just announcing its own functions, Rias then asked Ddraig a question of her own. "Your aware of the original sword?"

[I've had one or two hosts during that time period. Dragons were still a common species then anyway] Ddrag explained further. [Of course; fearing what would happen if the wrong person or kingdom got ahold of it, Arthur personally destroyed the sword himself. Right in front of his enemies' face, which of course left him defenseless... but with this sacrifice, the original sword was lost, and has not been recovered since.]

"That and he was a puff of smoke..." Sonic muttered, as everyone else was too focused on Ddraig's tale. This was interesting however to him, as it appeared unlike the book, this dimension had an actual King Arthur.

"Oh... so the swords already gone. But If its been destroyed for thousands of years, what's eating Kiba then?" Issei asked.

"That must be what this Holy Sword Project is about. And it must have been kept tightly under wraps... that's why you wanted a meeting here, to ensure the wrong people don't hear it." Tails deduced quickly, to no one's surprise.

Rias leaned back in the chair gave a nod, crossing her legs as she did so. "Exactly. And as for the sword being destroyed. That would be true... if it wasn't remade by the church" she added with a serious look on her face.

"REMADE?!" Asked Sonic; he, Tails, Asia and Issei all looking stunned a this piece of information.

"The church must've kept it super secret, cause I never heard anything about it!" Said Asia.

"I wouldn't think so. That cat was stuffed deeply into the bag, then was terminated years ago because it was deemed a failure," said Rias, then turned her head away. "I don't have all the information in front of me, there's allot to unpack in it. In fact, the only reason me or the supernatural world is even aware of the project is because of the one survivor that came forward. Without him, it would've been completely lost to history."

"Wait... now you got me confused. If the project managed to remake Excalibur successfully, then why was it considered a failure?" Tails asked, confused at Rias' suppsed contradiction.

"Because the only thing that ended being successful was the recreation of the swords individual pieces themselves. One-by-one, each was remade with the highest levels of alchemy. The swords themselves however, proved either too powerful or too difficult to control." Rias said.

[Why else do you think only Arthur himself could remove it from the stone?] Asked Ddraig.

"Uh... destiny?" Guessed Issei, with a slow shrug and nervous smile.

[Well... yes and no.] Ddraig said. [Merlin of course, carefully planned it to happen; but the REAL reason was because only a small handful of beings could wield Excalibur, even the smallest piece of it, without destroying themselves in the process. Much like our Balance Breaker at your current level, using the sword for too long would drain a persons life force if they didn't have the proper aura... and they would die.]

"That, along with swords biggest weakness being only a select few could even so much as move it, the project ended up being scrapped because of that dead end." Rias added. "A chosen wielder may not even be born for decades, but the church must have figured: what if they raised people artificially to circumvent that reality? They took young kids since they had tons of untapped energy and potential... not to mention easily controlable, making sure to grab ones' that no one would notice were gone, claiming it was they're duty as children of God and they were chosen by God himself..."

The amount of venom in her voice was palable, and she was a devil, so the fact that Rias was getting as upset as she was showed that she was a good person in spite of her heritage and biology. In fact she was so upset and angry, that she didn't even register the small headache for simply mentioning His name a few times.

"... how many are there?" Sonic felt the need too ask just how much of the actual Excalibur was recreated. Ddraig was the one to answer this.

[Blessing... Ruler... Nightmare... Transparency... Rapidly... Mimicry... and Destruction... These seven swords were once a single unit that gave Excalibur and its wielder infinite power, each one containing an attribute the original sword had] as Ddraig spoke, we see 7 different swords with varying designs appear in a circle, one-by-one in a visual representation-like style.

So as Ddraig gave more facts about Excalibur, a small scene would also play along with it:

[Blessing... the Sword of Belief. Granting one the power to expel demons, and even strengthen themselves with willpower alone.] A blacked-out humanoid was shown surrounded by demons and then swarmed, but the radiating light of the sword repelled them once they dogpiled the swordsman.

[Ruler... the Sword of Control. With this, the swordsman can manipulate anyone or anything they wish. And if exposed long enough, the controlled will submit to the holders will without question.] A blacked-out humanoid raised the sword, and with a blinding light, a crowd of other individuals grabbed their heads as if in pain. After a while, they stood up straight, not moving as if in a trace.

[Nightmare... the Sword of Illusion. As its name implies, it can create an infinite amount of images, mental and physical, to confuse enemies. It can even give life to ones very thoughts.] A blacked-out humanoid was fighting another swordsman, but a wall popped out of nowhere to stop to incoming attack. A second Nightmare (a clone of the original) wielder appeared from behind the other swordsman, driving the sword into its back and killing it instantly.

[Transparency... the Sword of Invisibility. It's power should be obvious.] A blacked-out humanoid was once again surrounded, this time by 5 other swordsmen. But just when the Transparency wielder was swarmed, it vanished. The others were confused... and couldn't stop random attacks coming out of nowhere. Be it an arm slicing off, or being pushed over and a blood wound appeared, like a stabbing. The final swordsman was grabbed in a chokehold, and his neck was sliced; the Transparency wielder reappearing at that point, and dropping the now-dead foe.

[Rapidly... the Sword of Heavenly Flare, though Speed would be a more literal title. Not only does it give its owner a speed increase, rivaling the speed of light itself, but also enhanced stamina to keep going non-stop.] A blacked-out humanoid had dummies around it, some in places it would be impossible to strike unless one can stand on or run along walls and ceilings. The sword glowed with power and in a flash, the Rapidly user was gone, and every single dummy was cut in half in less than 2 seconds. The swordsman reappeared, holding to sword up high in triumph.

[Mimicry... It can change into any shape the owner wishes, be it for self-defense, customize the sword's appearance from wielder to wielder, or to disguise the sword itself.] A blacked-out humanoid demonstrated the sword constantly morphing into different types of blades, and it also became a ball that the humanoid played with as an unexpected victim walked by, then morphed the sword back into a sword mode to do battle. (And every interpretation of King Arthur's sword was drastically different for each artist and story it was involved in, so that explained why that occurred throughout the stories.)

[And finally... Destruction. The swords raw power. Again, should be self-explanatory.] Ddraig finished. As he did, the last blacked-out humanoid was shown slashing a blouder, and slicing clean through like it was a knife through butter or a scissor through a paper. No difficulty or much effort was shown.

"... iiiisn't there a piece called Caliburn? The main one?" Sonic asked after the explainatory fantasies stopped, trying to understand the schematics of this universe's verison of Excalibur.

[Was. It was lost during the same battle Arthur destroyed it in. Only one that's never been recovered or remade by any faction. Not even its scabbard was ever found, like its very existence was wiped clean. Therefore, there was nothing to recreate. No samples to experiment with.] Ddarig said, then picked up on something from Sonic's line of questioning. [For a hamster who runs around loop-de-loops for a living, you seem quite familiar with it.]

"Cuz I'm King Arthur." Sonic said with no shame, immediately getting everyone in the room to have question marks pop over their heads and look at him as if he just said the weirdest thing imaginable. Even the light on Issei's hand representing Ddraig had this. "I read it in a book once."

"... suuuure..." Rias said, not believing that. Chaos Emeralds of infinite power? Sure, why not? That much was proven to her. But Sonic being an actual king? That was about as believable as a panda being a master of a reality.

Still though... these simple pieces of a once-whole sword held so much power, sounding much like the Chaos Emeralds if they were ever brought together. They were dangerous!

"Alright, back to the point..." Issei began. "Kiba was involved somehow? Or lost someone to it?" He asked, using the context clues of Rias' wording along with Kiba's attitude lately.

Rias looked in Issei's direction, her eyes hardened with what she said next: "Involved? He was the only survivor."

That statement alone got a least a minute and a half of silence.

"Kiba received artificial treatment to adapt to the holy-sword, particularly the Excalibur. Ever since he was born. I'll never forget that day I found him... pretty much dead in the snow. The very moment I fully reincarnated Kiba into a devil and made him my Knight, he was partitally swearing... begging for his revenge even when he was still in critical condition. I figured his talent with swords, even when his Sacred Gear awakened, would be an asset to me... but also a way to help him move on... live his life in peace..." Rias said, fully explaining when and why she decided to revive Kiba. He had such a miserable life because of those very swords, especially from the most powerful of them all. In fact this was probably how he was so good at them... and heavyily impiled that's how his Sacred Gear came to be.

Tragically ironic... someone who can make swords to his will... also hated them with a burning passion.

"If Excalibur really is back... that would definitely explain his behavior lately... he's been through so much with that goddamn sword." She added in a lower tone, sounding again like a concerned and upset mother over her suffering child that she couldn't help.

Her eyes showed anger, frustration... but most importantly, sadness. Which proved Issei's point to Kiba. She was a devil, and yes while she has done a few things that can be considered as for nothing but herself... she was very kind and open-hearted. Maybe it was because of the extensive time she stayed in the human world for so long due to her arranged marriage to a bird, but they began to believe that's not entirely the case... she was a princess and was spoiled, but there was a kind woman inside, right from the start. Otherwise you can't explain her kind smile. There are also kind people among the devils.

[That explains it then. While others see that story as an icon of hope and fighting for freedom; our Egg-Brother sees it as betrayal and destruction.] said Ddraig, hitting the nail on the head.

"Its still incredible that just one sword can do all that..." Tails said, fingers on his chin in deep thought. Not just the swords individual pieces and powers, but the trauma it inflicted on one of their own.

[It wasn't just its wealth in gold. Why else to do think other Kingdoms wanted it?] Ddraig added to the conversation. [That blade is a valuable weapon. In more ways than one.]

This explained it all... The reason why Kiba detests priests. The reason why he is obsessed with the information regarding holy-swords... He coudn't forget about them. How could he? They played around with his life and killed him afterwards, so it's not weird for him to form and hold a grudge. When Issei was killed by that fallen angel, he also held a small grudge against her. But this ran deeper, it happened to Kiba when he was little so his hatred against them must be enormous.

Rias sighed. "All I can do now is watch over him. His head is full of the feelings he has towards the holy-swords. But I hope he returns to his usual self... I'd even pray if I could..." She said, again showing she was a good person. As King, she could just order him to push it down... but that would be heartless.

"... don't take this the wrong way, but..." Sonic said very carefully as Rias eyed him, not trying to step on toes. "... can he use them?"

If anyone else asked such a question, Rias probably would have burned them alive. But she was the one who came forward with this information, seeing as Issei brought the holy blades possible return to light. Plus despite her feelings, it was still a valid question to ask.

"... even if he could... he can't anymore..." She wasn't entirely sure, but that made enough sense. Even if Kiba was a successful experiment... he was a demon now. The very thing those swords were meant to destroy. And to rub salt in his wound, he couldn't even touch them without being burned alive by them.

Rias: Whomever couldn't adapt was deemed 'defective' and to be disposed of. Even when it was terminated, they disposed of any and all remaining subjects along with all evidence aside from the swords themselves, so no one would ever find out what they did... all; except for one.

Kiba flashed in their minds eye when she said that.

"..." Even as Sonic opened his mouth, he closed it. This was a very serious situation. Now wasn't the time. "... and peope call you Devils." That's all he could say that was appropriate. Anything else would come across as a quip. Asia herself was in tears, as this was allot for her to process. The fact that the church of all things was capable of basically murdering innocent kids just for the sake of power...

Geez... and he thought Shadow had it rough...

"At this point even today, there isn't a single Holy Sacred Gear that can compete with Excalibur, Durandal or even the original Caliburn. It's the same with the demonic-swords too." Riad felt the need to add. "The only one that comes close is another Longinus many refer as 'True Longinus', a spear that was used to stab Jesus himself. The very name Longinus, like your Boosted Gear, was derived from that."

Why she added that, they weren't sure. Perhaps she was just venting and needed to talk.

Surprising enough, Tails spoke up. "So, if Kiba is a Sacred Gear possessor that can create demonic-swords... what about one that can create holy-swords instead?"

Rias blinked at him. "I'm not saying there's not, but none have come to my attention... why do you ask?"

Tails slightly fidgeted. They couldn't read his mind, but thought back to that girl he had to fight to free Kuno from... "Er, just curious." He said, thinking this was all probably a coincidence... that girl has similar powers to Kiba though, but he was the only survivor, right?...

Rias then began to stand up. "Sorry I unloaded all this on you guys. It must be so sudden... We should get some sleep." She then looked down to start unbuttoning her uniform. Both Issei and Asia blushed at Rias' actions, Asia more-so since this was the first time she saw a fellow female WILLINGLY strip. Ddraig conveniently stopped talking, or maybe he saw no reason to speak?

Tails had a similar reaction to Issei and Asia when Rias got off her skirt, but Sonic however half-lidded his eyes and took Tails by his arm and gently lead him out the door before shutting it.

"Uuuuuum, sorry you had to see that..." Sonic said after the door was shut. Tails was still in shock and didn't respond right away, but shook his head with his eyes shutting after 10 more seconds of processing what he saw.

Tails then looked at Sonic, looked at the now closed door, hearing bickering going on behind it, then looked back to Sonic while gesturing with his thumb to the door. Additionally, subtitles below Tails read: "This hapen often?"

Sonic folded his arms while looking at Tails while shaking his head with closed eyes, then also pointed to the now closed door with his thumb while twirling his finger on the side of his head after that. His subtitles reading; "Since day one. These people are crazy."

Tails folded his own arms and titled his own head. He then gestured at the sounds still going on behind it with his ear, his subtitles saying: "How do you put up with them?"

Sonic exhaled silently, shook his head back and forth slowly before uncrossing his arms and shrugging them, while still shaking his head at the same speed. Subtitling: "Bro, I don't even know..."

CRASH!

"WAAAAAH!"

That crash made the screen shake, and the girls yelped for some reason. The scream only made Tails flinch, but Sonic remained indifferent to it... he's been through this too many times. Tails out of concern did go for the doornob, but Sonic put his hand on top of Tails' on the knob while shaking his head and waving his other hand up and down, subtitling: "I'll check."

When Sonic opened the door, he saw Rias and Asia both on top of Issei, with Issei having been knocked out by his computer desktop monitor that fell on his head. Sonic wasn't even gonna guess how this all happened, and just shut the door with a decent slam.

Sonic: He's fine.

XXX

Akeno was just wrapping up the last of her work today in the clubhouse, and was going to head home. It was a little odd Sonic, Tails and Rias weren't here; because last she checked, Rias was in the middle of a chess game with the fox. He lasted allot longer than she does against Rias, which was fun too see, but when Akeno returned, the game board was left unfinished... maybe they were gonna pick it up in the morning? It was kinda late.

Right as she opened the main office door to leave...

sparkle

"Woah!" Akeno got spooked by a ball of red light that flew past her unexpectedly, then it flew over Rias' desk where it floated over. "Huh?... What's a pixie doing here?" She asked, thinking that's what this was, and started to walk over. "What are you doing here, little one...?" She asked it kindly, and began to reach for it...

SHINE!

"Ah, HEY!" And before Akeno could react, it immediately zipped to her face and her vision was blinded by its light! She also turned her head away and covered her face with a hand.

...

...

...

...

...

The light finally began to die down a bit, then dispelled altogether.

"Uuuh... look, I wasn't trying to..." She was about to say 'I wasn't trying to hurt you' when she was able to see, but that thought went completely out the window as the main office setting had completely disappeared; having now been entirely replaced by a large temple in front if her! "What the...? Wasn't it just raining outside?... the hell am I?" She asked herself out loud while looking around, for it was somehow broad daylight now.

The temple before her was a shrine that had sculptures with murals of serpents along its staircases with a large serpent looking straight ahead that was probably a door, though she couldn't tell from this angle as she was on the east side of it, standing atop of another staircase. Below, some kind of animal-humanoids were walking around, but they didn't seem to notice her appearance. Either that, or they didn't care.

Wanting to get a better idea of where she ended up, she unfurled her demonic wings and took flight, flying over this civilization. It looked pretty primitive, but simple... at least a few thousand years old based on a rough estimate of what she was witnessing, such as some of the people here tending to crops or watching kids run around... looked pretty peaceful enough. There were what she could only assume were guards, as they were stationed at seemingly hyper specific points: like on top of a staircase like she was, on one of the many levels of the temple, the walls that surrounded the city had platforms on the walls that didn't seem to have any way for the people getting to them...

Nevermind. She saw one guard climb up a wall with his spikes on his hands. Impressive honestly. And another one somehow glided over from an opposite platform to another... for the love of her, Akeno couldn't figure out how that was possible without magic being involved somehow.

She landed near one of the small trees that was near a pillar-like structure, and happened to hear a conversation between two guards.

"Is that the last of them?" The first guard asked the second guard.

"Yeah, that's it." Answered the second, as he was picking up a ribbon of some kind and putting it into a basket he was carrying, which was nearly overflowing with more ribbons of the same type.

"Whatever. Be more careful next time. Those Rhythm Badges are expensive to make." Said the first guard as the both of them began to leave. One of the badges he was talking about did fall out of basket unbeknown to either of them, landing perfectly in a circle that was drawn on the ground.

"Alright, this is too weird. I should get back home..." Akeno said, as she used her powers to summon a glyph to transport her back home. Now her magic did work, as the glyph was summoned. The problem is when she tried to step through it.

BONK!

It felt as if she walked into a wall. No it didn't hurt or anything (and not the way she liked it either), it was more of a shock. This was similar to what happened with Issei in the beginning when he first became a Devil, he couldn't make transport without help since his magic level was so low... This was Akeno we were talking about. A Queen, the most powerful game piece next to the King being the most important. She was the Thunder Priestess, and a master of magic despite her age. For this to happen to her of all people was astonishing.

There were only 3 reasons this could have failed:

1) Low Demonic Power (but as we established, that's most likely not the case).

2) Kuoh Town didn't exist for some reason, therefore transportation would be impossible.

Or 3) There was a blockage between where she was and where she wanted to go. Like a barrier being in the way, or a reality or location that normal magic couldn't transport too.

"Ugh, we're doing this again...?" Akeno moaned, as something similar to this happened to her once before. Only difference she wasn't being stalked by a ninja-looking robot this time. Did that mean she was trappped here, wherever this was?

A shadow flew over her, which looked like a bird shadow... hang on? Why did it have a humanoid shape? When she looked up, Akeno saw it was a humanoid with a pair of wings... more specifically, black feathered wings.

"A Fallen Angel?" She questioned. But if a Fallen Angel was here, that meant Kuoh did exist, right?... She needed more information, so she decided to discreetly tail behind, taking flight after it.

The Fallen Angel neared a small stone building while descending and retracting his wings, then making his way inside the building in question. Akeno did the same, instead landing on the side of the building, then sneaking around towards the enterance.

"Sirs... the neighboring clans have been pushed back successfully." The Fallen Angel said as he bowed before not just one other Fallen in the room, but another anthro-person across a table the other Fallen was at. "As well as securing most of the currency in the vault. No other enemy soilders were spotted in my rounds."

"Thank you for the report." Said the anthro-person, whose older sounding voice was one Akeno did not recognize, but she was able to peek in through the stone door which was left open just enough for her to peek inside. "You are dismissed."

The Fallen Angel soilder left via a magic circle, which was lucky for Akeno as she was spying through the door. It appeared Fallen Angels were a thing to these Mayan people, which is also probably why they react to her shadow flying overhead when she was looking around. They were probably used to it.

"Your assistance has been extremely beneficial to me and my people, Kokabiel," said the older sounding voice. Hearing the name Kokabiel did make her eyes widen a bit, as he was a well-known Fallen Angel who once commanded an overwhelming army of over 365 thousand spirits in his prime. In fact he was a high ranking one, and his 5 pairs of wings gave him a higher statute than a normal one like say Raynare.

As for the anthropomorphic character he was speaking to, she had no idea who it was. From what she can see, he was fairy muscular for his age, and looked to be in his 40's or 50's. He had a wide and pointy muzzle with a sharp black nose, dreadlock-like spines hanging down the sides of his head, and blue eyes. Also, much like many of the other anthro-people she saw, he had war-paint around his head and around his dreadlocks. Most noticeably, his muzzle was covered in a white beard that perfectly matched the long and bushy white eyebrows.

If Akeno had to guess, this person was either the leader of this tribe, or at the very least a military officer of some kind, not just because of the war-paint, but because of what he wore. A gold necklace with feathers attached to it was around his neck, and various armbands in different colors with more feathers around his wrists and arms.

"While we were more than capable of expanding our territory, your soilders and abilities gave mooooore... incentive, for the surrounding nations to learn their place." The chief/military leader continued.

"The pleasure is all mine, Pachacamac." Kokabiel said. "We can thank those ruins that brought us together. With your manpower and my magic, your tribe and it's people will soon be the rightful global rulers of this world."

"Pachacamac?" Akeno whispered the name on her tongue. Odd name, if she was honest, but that's not what she was concerned about. What exactly was the high ranking Kokabiel doing in a place like this? What was that about global rulers?... And what ruins 'brought them together?' That part sounded weird.

"And once we can approach that altar, total power will be mine. For me and my people." Pachacamac said. "My men are more than ready. We'll begin our attack under the cover of night tonight. Your people will neutralize the supernatural force that has been blocking our approach, we'll storm the shrine and grab all the Emeralds before another colony does first."

"And your daughter?" Kokabiel asked.

"Bah. She'll come around, one way or another." Pachacamac said. "She's still young. Once she gets older, maybe when she lives a life of total luxury, then she'll stop her nonsense." He then stoood up, obviously preparing to leave, and Akeno was ready to move away should he approach the door. "And if you can do an old man a favor? Send me to the weapons storage with another of your glowly, shiny, circle symbols?" He made a small joke while asking for a lift.

Kokabiel did do this for him, standing up from his own seat to gesture his hand out and his portal was created... okay, this confused Akeno greatly. So the Fallen Angels could make their glyphs work, but not her? Regardless, with Pachacamac gone, Kokabiel was left on his own.

"... senile old fool..." he said with a sinister smirk, thinking he was alone. "Once you anger the ancestor of those watermotes, the Chaos Emeralds will be ours to take... and my own war back home, will be mine to lead to victory."

Akeno mouth opened up. Kokabiel knew about the Chaos Emeralds?! How?!... okay, well Riser figured it out, so maybe that shouldn't have been to surprising, that Akeno will admit, but still; when did he find out? For how long? When the chief was mentioning emeralds, she didn't think he meant Sonic's gems! She thought the luxury part was only about riches! Also, wasn't the Great War over? Why would Kokabiel be trying to win a war that was technically over?

That's when light filled her vision again...

...

...

...

...

The next thing she started to hear was the sound of rainfall as her eyes blinked.

"Huh? Where am...?" She was asking where she ended up now while looking around, but saw she was back in the streets of Kuoh except she was holding her umbrella and was on the sidewalk. "When did... how was...?" She was asking, as the last thing she remembered was being in the main ORC office, then she was transported to a temple in the daylight, but now when she opens her eyes again, she was under the clouds of rain?

"... maybe I've been overworking lately..." Akeno held her forehead, thinking she was probably just overtired and had a small daydream, if one can call it that. Prehaps she'll ask Rias for a break, just for this week. Cancel any cilents she has... she's pretty popular with them so while they will be sad, she was sure they'd understand.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

She suddenly heard what sounded like clashing swords nearby, which made her jump and interrupt her thoughts... her body also immediately trembled the moment she began taking fast steps closer... she sensed it... a huge Holy aura...

Curious, and shaking off her bodies naturally instincts to go away from it, she went to investigate.

"Holy Eraser!" Akeno tensed up for a second, but then got even more worried as she picked up her pace. That was Kiba's voice! And his Holy Eraser blade was meant to counter anything Holy, which only made her more concerned.

When she finally saw what was going on around the corner, Kiba's Holy Eraser was trying to swallow the light of the sword used by Freed. The fact that crazy priest was back was one thing, but it's the fact that Kiba's blade, despite it taking effect, did jack squat. The demonic tendrils of Holy Eraser couldn't even begin to devour the light of Freed's blade, and were subsequently repelled.

"Oh, well that was cute. Sorry, but your wittle demon blade can't swallow this sword." Freed said.

"It was just a test. Wanted to make sure it was the real deal." Kiba said, revealing he already knew his sword that devours light wouldn't work on an Excalibur. He just did it to confirm it was real. "Thanks for confirming it. Now nothing will stop me from destroying both of you!"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Kiba went back to clashing swords with him, but the confirmation of this being an Excalibur made his attacks harder, yet more reckless. This eventually gave Freed the opening he needed...

SLASH!

"GAAARRRRRGH!" Kiba's shoulder got cut by Freed and while it thankfully wasn't deep enough of a cut to be fatal, it still had an immediate effect. Not only did Kiba bleed, but a black smokey aura also left his body. This was the effects of the Holy Sword... Kiba's very essence was breaking down from just one cut.

It was here Akeno's initial shock left her and she saw more than enough. Of course as she was getting involved, her first instinct was to pull from her lightning magic and while her hands did spark under the safety of her umbrella, she then stopped just as quickly upon realizing something... it was raining, damnit! She couldn't use her signature move without hurting herself (even if she would like it) or either man currently fighting. She didn't care if Freed got struck, but Kiba wasn't an option... especially with his new Holy-based injury.

She resorted to a beam of ice instead, attempting to freeze Freed, but the Preist noted a change in the air thanks to Akeno's presence. Using Excalibur Rapidly's special ability, he immediately zipped out of harms way as the beam struck a wall of the residential alleyway.

"Kiba! Are you alright!" Akeno asked as she got by Kiba's side, kneeling down to help him. Of course the rain made her clothes stick to her every curve, but that wasn't important right now.

"nrrrrrrgh... Akeno?" Kiba grunted as he realized who came to save him.

"Ooooh, isn't that touching?" Freed mocked. "Little Prince boy couldn't measure up, so your sexy older sister had to come bail you out? Good! My Excalibur isn't picky... it simply feasts for your demonic blood! HAHAHAHAHA!" As he was laughing, a glyph of the Fallen Angels formed over his ear. "Ah, seriously?" He said, annoyed.

"Grrrr, RAH!" Kiba jumped for Freed recklessly despite having just been injured.

"Kiba, wait!" Akeno called out, but seeing him about to go into battle again without thinking, she readied her ice magic again. However when Kiba got close; Freed, instead of striking, jumped away using Rapidly's effect again.

"Sorry to cut this short, kiddies, but something pretty important came up, so we'll have to reschedule this some other time. DOCTORS ORDERS!" Freed said, then threw a flashbang that blinded both Devils, allowing him to escape.

Akeno saw Kiba's face... he didn't looked relived the danger was gone as he nearly died... he looked disappointed as he stared at the spot Freed was in only a moment ago. "... Alright, Kiba... let's get you home..." she kindly said, as she put and hand on his shoulder, for she was already fully aware of his backstory with those swords. She herself was still trying to process it.

Of course, she will be reporting this to Rias first thing in the morning. That was a given. This was too serious.

"..." Kiba didn't saw anything, bur he did comply and left with her as she opened a magic circle for transport. Yea, he was aware if Akeno didn't randomly show up when she did, things could have gone south. How she got here and knew he was here (she didn't actually but he didn't know that) was insanely lucky.

When they did finally leave, that red ball of light Akeno saw was watching over them from a corner...