Ride 23: Re:Gress
27th of May, 2019 AD
Assumption. The enemy of logic.
Normally, one would assume that a night out for dinner would be a mundane affair. No dangers, no fear, and no deaths.
Granted, even in the mundane world of man, nothing is ever guaranteed.
It's just that no one expects a GODDAMN TERRORIST ATTACK to occur at Kuoh Town's Restaurant Row.
The ambiance was now invaded with the drumming of gunfire and the screams of zealots.
The air thickened with scents of blood and smoke.
And the only thing now served throughout this night of eating out was a three-course-meal of death and carnage; free of charge.
At the Pedestrian Area...
"DAMMIT!" Takeshi then parries Jacob's buzzsaw chain flail with his armored fist, sparks flying as the rotary blade ground against the silver sheen.
"DIE! DIE! DIEEE!" The maddened Stray Exorcist then retracts his flail before winding back both of his weapons before swinging them back down with redoubled force and effort.
Leon then intercepts the attack with the swing of his [Fragarach], forcing Jacob to pull back his chains before pulling out his M79 Grenade Launcher from his coat and aiming it towards the pair.
"MOVE!" Leon cried out as he then summoned [Evalach] to block the shot explosive, the magical shield dispersing the blast before Jacob then swung down his saw-flails towards the Inquisitor.
Leon parries both weapons with his shield, but Takeshi notices that one of them was heading towards an injured civilian.
"WATCH OUT!" Using his own armored body, Takeshi blocks the rotary blade, sparks flying from his chest as the civilian was saved. "HEY! ARE YOU OKAY?!"
"Y-YES!" the man stammered before he was helped up. "T-There are others that need help!"
"Don't worry! I'll get them to safety!" Takeshi then guides the man to safety. "LEON! HANDLE THAT PSYCHO! I'LL CLEAR THE FIELD!"
"NOT ON MY WATCH!" Jacob then whips around his saw-flails to kill the civilian and the Evil Dragon User, but Leon intercepts the attack before closing in, forcing Jacob to retract his weapons and fight at close-range.
Leon buckles as the Stray Exorcist watches Takeshi help guide the remaining civilians outside of the combat zone, much to the latter's frustration as he snarls and hisses like a feral animal.
"WHY?!" Jacob then breaks the weapon lock before swinging down his pair of rotary saws as handheld melee weapons against Leon's [Evalach]. "WHY ARE YOU COLLUDING WITH THAT DEVIL?!"
"That 'Devil' happens to be a childhood friend of mine!" Leon then roars as his [Fragarach] unleashes a vacuum slash that knocks Jacob back, followed up with the Inquisitor closing in to restrict Jacob's options of combat upon reestablishing another weapon lock. "I must ask you, Torres, what spurs you to commit to your path of wanton slaughter of the innocent?!"
"'INNOCENT'?!" Jacob then kicks his steel-toed boot against the Holy Sword, extending his chain length of one of his buzzsaws before whipping it towards Leon and following it up with a flurry of serrated lashes, forcing Leon on the defensive as he blocked the onslaught of lashes with his [Evalach]. "THESE FILITH DARED TO TURN AWAY FROM THE LIGHT OF OUR LORD! COMMUTING IN A DEVIL'S DOMAIN, SINFUL AS THEIR NEW MASTERS! MY WORK IS TO SEND THEM ON THEIR WAY TO THE HALLS OF JUDGMENT, WHERE THEY ARE TO BE DAMNED LIKE THE SINNERS THEY ARE!"
"Our Lord is one of redemption and mercy! Not of condemnation and wrath!" Leon then advances by using his magical shield as a canopy, running low to the ground and fast as the wind as the saw blades bounced off of his back like rain to a shelter. "To kill your fellow man for the slightest of transgressions is nothing but madness! We are to be their light! Not the flames of their damnation!"
Jacob then swings his blades low to sweep Leon's feet, to which he then leaps over the low swing. The Stray Exorcist then smirks as he reloads his M79 before pointing it towards the airborne Inquisitor, confident that he won't be able to dodge this next one.
Leon, seeing this coming, recalls his [Evalach] before the magical shield of Sir Galahad reappears below him, the launched explosive shell striking the ground blocked by his shield as Leon then rides the blast into the air as if he was on a snowboard.
"WHAT?!" Jacob exclaimed as he saw Leon flipping and spinning across the air.
"You're not the only one with an atypical method of fighting, Torres!" Leon then uses [Evalach] as a springboard to then leap towards the Stray Exorcist faster than he could retract his weapons back to his hands, landing a solid strike across his torso that sent the madman flying.
"DAMMIT!" the Stray Exorcist cursed as his body tumbled across the road. "CURSE YOU!"
"And... Can I be realistic with you for a second?" Leon remarked as he caught [Evalach] on its way down. "... Do you honestly think that people deserve to die just because they asked Devils for help for mundane things like homework or construction? Was the last thirteen years of your life worth it when put into that perspective?"
Jacob cackles as he gets up. "... Funny you should mention that," he replied as the chains of his weapons retracted back into his hands. "... My first kill after gaining my resolve was that of a brat and a Devil acting as his math tutor in Hong Kong."
"Exercise in futility I suppose..." Leon sighed in disgust as he readied himself to enact on the whole "kill on sight"-order ordained by the Magisterium. "... Sinner, return that life to God."
Jacob then lets out a shrill howl before lunging towards Leon, no longer bothering to keep the Inquisitor at a distance, opting to rip him apart like how a carnivore would feast upon its prey.
"YOU ARE BEYOND ALL COMPREHENSION, INQUISITOR!" the Stray Exorcist growled as the teeth of his saws ground against [Fragarach]'s edge and [Evalach]'s face with each hammer-like swings of his maddened flurry. "YOUR HEART IS NOT RESOLUTE TO FINISH OUR HOLY WAR AGAINST ALL EVIL THAT OUR PREDECESSORS HATH STARTED AGES AGO!"
"My heart is more resolute than the one you threw away, Torres," Leon proclaimed wholeheartedly as he stood his ground firmly. "If you don't have love in your heart, then don't dare call your so-called 'work' holy."
"JUST SHUT UP AND DIE, SINNER!" Enraged, Jacob then extends his chains mid-swing, using the length to loop around Leon before pulling back, binding his arms around the Inquisitor's body and leaving him open for a counterattack with the two saw blades. "DISAPPEAR INTO THE VOID OF DEATH-!"
But just before the blades could tear open Leon's throat like a chicken, a pair of armored arms catch both of Jacob's hands from behind, locking him into a cross as they were pulled from behind.
"Sorry about the wait," Takeshi said as he kept his grip firmly around Jacob's wrists. "Now it's my turn! [Promotion: Rook]!"
Pulling both arms back as hard as he could, Takeshi then lifts up Jacob from behind before arching his back behind himself and smashing the Stray Exorcist's head into ground with a perfect bridging suplex.
Leon was also pulled along for the ride, but he manages to land on his side to minimize the damage he would've taken. "... Impeccable timing, Takeshi," he remarked as he struggled in the chains that bound him. "... Curses. What are they made of-?"
Jacob then throws both Leon and Takeshi off of him upon recovery, now using Leon as his flail's warhead before swinging the Inquisitor towards the Evil Dragon User.
Takeshi catches Leon mid-swing, but then Jacob lengthens his chains before swinging the saw blades around into a flurry, forcing Takeshi to parry each strike with his fists and kicks.
"SERIOUSLY! HOW LONG ARE THOSE THINGS?!" the Evil Dragon User exclaimed as Jacob kept swinging his blades with wanton bloodlust.
"If only... I could... break myself... free!" Leon continued to struggle in these chains wrapping themselves around him.
The situation is growing dire, Leon, Ddraig pointed out as Takeshi kept taking more damage from Jacob's sawblades from each parry that he delivered. Use me if you must!
No, not yet! Leon rebuked as he kept struggling. I can't run the risk of the enemy knowing about our existence!
"I grow tired of this." Jacob then pulls out his M79 before loading the breach with an incendiary shell. "DISAPPEAR!"
Takeshi, now driven into a corner, realizes that he has no other option-
USE ME, BRO!
... But to use THEM.
"[Transfer]!" Takeshi then manifests the urumi into his hand. "[Kokatsu Denryū]!"
The Evil Dragon User then uses the urumi's length to catch the explosive shell before throwing it back to Jacob.
*KABOOM!*
The blast sends both Leon and Takeshi flying off of their feet as the Stray Exorcist was devoured by the flames of his own volition.
"... That was a close one," Takeshi sighed in relief before looking back at Leon. "One second."
[Kokatsu Denryū]'s wavy edge then cuts through the chains like a hot knife through butter.
"Huh, tungsten treated with mithril," the Evil Dragon of Lust commented on the taste of the chain's composition as Leon was freed from his bindings. "Guess that fucker likes his chains to take a whole lot of punishment."
"Well, that's... enlightening." Leon then looked at the bonfire burning away before himself and Takeshi. "... Thanks, Takeshi."
"No sweat-" Takeshi and Leon both flinch upon hearing an angered howl coming from the flames, revealing that Jacob was still alive and kicking as he stood up while completely alight. "... Kinda saw that coming. Stubborn bastard."
Jacob then throws aside his coat and hat, revealing his body to be augmented with a cybernetic exoskeleton resembling an additional layer of muscle fibers woven over his body. The bandages around his face then fall off, exposing his raw and melted-off visage akin to a skull crudely covered in red meat.
"... I expected... that you two wouldn't be an easy quarry," Jacob hissed as the contraption carrying his chains were then purged from his body before throwing aside his M79. "Regardless... of whoever stands before me...! I SHALL NOT FALTER!"
Summoning forth a magic circle before himself, Jacob then plunges his hand into it before pulling out a wavy-bladed Holy Sword with a diamond-shaped hold in its crossguard.
"[Excalibur Rapidly]?!" Leon exclaimed before Jacob then pulled out a bottle of methamphetamines and then ripped the lid off with his teeth and then dumped all of the tablets into his mouth. "But the rate of his holy energy aptitude shouldn't allow it!"
After swallowing the painkillers, the Stray Exorcist then tosses the emptied bottle aside. "Die."
Jacob then disappears into a blur as he then intends to run the Evil Dragon User and the Inquisitor through with his Holy Sword, moving too fast for anyone to see with a naked eye.
Takeshi however, could see him coming for whatever reason. Not bothering to question it now, he then lashes urumi across the ground, slowing Jacob enough for Leon to pick him up and counterattack with his [Fragarach], the two blades bouncing off of each other.
"Whoa! What happened?!" Takeshi remarked in surprise.
"HOW DID YOU PERCEIVE ME?!" Jacob screamed.
"KA~KA KA KA KA!" Yamata no Orochi cackled in elation of being able to finally cut loose. "My Sacred Gear, [Kokatsu Denryū], can stimulate my User's nervous system eightfold! Run around all you want, bitch! I got your ass locked down!"
Jacob then lets out a fierce howl before disappearing again into a speedy blur.
"OH HELL NO! [PROMOTION: KNIGHT]!" Takeshi then disappears to go after Jacob into a high-speed pursuit too fast for the mortal eyes to perceive.
"... Guess now I'm playing support, then." Leon then taps into [Excalibur Blessing]'s powers to enhance his own speed and perception before joining Takeshi in the chase.
While on the run, Takeshi and Jacob clashed steel against steel, the former making sure that the latter wasn't killing any civilians in his indiscriminate rampage.
My nerves feel like they're on fire! Takeshi thought as [Kokatsu Denryū] clashed against [Excalibur Rapidly]'s onslaught. My brain's able to pick up any information that I might overlook! Jacob's swing paths, the place where we're running at, and even the temperature right down its nth degree!
Jacob continued screaming as his Holy Sword failed to land his desired target, the urumi's eight serpentine blades proving themselves as an all-encompassing net of blades that allowed no entry towards his host.
"Evil Dragon User...!" the Stray Exorcist snarled as he kept swinging his [Excalibur Rapidly] towards him during his run. "... A being of pure evil like yourself... what do you gain from protecting those beneath you?!"
"Sheesh, assuming much?" Takeshi deadpanned as he kept up his counteroffensive, subtly guiding him away from the areas with high population density. "... Look, I've been here for only around 2-3 months, but I can tell that you're not a man of reason, so I won't bother explaining myself."
"I AM A MAN OF REASON!" Jacob retorted. "I'M SIMPLY DOING THE WORK THAT THE OTHERS DON'T HAVE THE GALL TO DO! I AM KILLING ALL EVIL THAT THE LIGHT OF THE LORD CANNOT REACH!"
"... Wow," Takeshi deadpanned. "... Yamata no Orochi was right. Cite the name of the Lord and the whole world's your fucking oyster."
The Evil Dragon User then performs a low sweep around Jacob's ankles, tripping him up and causing him to fall mid-stride. However, just as Jacob fell, he then desperately swung his [Excalibur Rapidly] upwards, nicking Takeshi across his chest right before he hit the ground.
"GARRRGUH!" Takeshi, despite being merely grazed, was downed from that small strike, collapsing from the pain as he felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest, the dysphoria between the two extremes hurting his brain even more. "Why does it... hurt so much...?!"
"Careful, bro!" the Evil Dragon of Lust snickered. "Pain and pleasure are two sides of the proverbial coin! Your brain's become eight times more sensitive to all forms of outside stimuli! A small cut is gonna hurt like a motherfucker! Ka~ka ka ka ka!"
Takeshi groans at the revelation of his eightfold nervous system enhancement being a double-edged sword while Jacob then pulls out another bottle of painkillers before swallowing all of the bottle's contents like Tic-Tacs.
The two then finally get up and see that they're at Kuoh Town's Central Park, a place where it was more open and less dense with people, perfect for a Tokusatsu fight scene to be filmed at.
"... I heard... rumors... of your true powers," Jacob heaved as the effects of the drugs began to set in. "... Why... AREN'T YOU USING YOUR BALANCE BREAKER?!"
Takeshi scoffs. "... You're nothing more than just some jumped-up mook." He then flipped him off, the pain on his chest subsiding. "I don't hunt rabbits with a cannon."
Incensed by that disrespect, Jacob then moves into a blur as does Takeshi, the former's drug-boosted rage spurring [Excalibur Rapidly]'s effects on its User.
The pair clashed as sparks flew across the air, disappearing and reappearing around various spots throughout the park.
"DIE!" Jacob then swings his Holy Sword towards Takeshi, but the latter's urumi was too flexible to properly parry his strikes, the blade raking across his chest as the Evil Dragon User felt like he was chopped in twain across his torso.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Takeshi then rolled across the dirt as Jacob moved in for the kill.
"YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" The Stray Exorcist then leaps into the air before coming back down to plunge [Excalibur Rapidly] into his body.
"THOU SHALL NOT!"
*CLANG!*
Leon arrives at Kuoh's Central Park, parrying the stake with his [Fragarach] before punching [Evalach]'s point into Jacob's chest, the pointed bottom of the heater shield proving efficient as a pseudo-punching dagger.
"Thank you for holding the line." The Inquisitor then helps Takeshi up. "Are you well?"
"Stupid Yamata no Orochi and their eightfold pain..." he grunted before shaking the pain off. "... Yeah, I've had worse days."
Jacob then gets up using his [Excalibur Rapidly] as his crutch.
"You assume that keeping me away from those filth would impede my crusade..." The Stray Exorcist then downs another whole bottle of painkillers before tossing another bottle aside, the abuse of said drugs now causing his nose to start bleeding, much to his dismissal of said fact. "... Fine then. I can be accommodating. I'll simply settle for KILLING YOU TWO RIGHT HERE ON THIS SPOT INSTEAD!"
The Stray Exorcist then vanishes into the trees.
"Aw fiddlesticks," Leon grumbled as he and Takeshi stuck to each other back-to-back. "Stay frosty!"
"I think this is more Predator than Aliens," Takeshi commented before his ears picked up the rustling of leaves. "... TO YOUR RIGHT!"
Leon parries the strike with his shield before swinging his [Fragarach], only for [Excalibur Rapidly] to let Jacob evade his counterstrike. "Curses!" he hissed. "TAKESHI! YOUR LEFT!"
He then lashes out his urumi towards that direction, forcing Jacob back and making him reorient his next trajectory.
"Takeshi, how are you holding up?" Leon asked as he uses his [Excalibur Blessing] to enhance his [Fragarach]'s precognitive abilities, allowing him to parry with his sword before unleashing a rending whirlwind that missed naught but the surrounding trees.
"Barely!" he replied just as Jacob came back out of the trees like a crazed jungle cat pouncing onto its prey (the two of them), dodging his swing, lashing away at the Stray Exorcist. "... Never fought with a whip before. I need something more solid to parry his attacks!"
"Then why didn't you ask for it sooner?!" the Evil Dragon of Lust remarked. "Press the gem! Just trust me, bro!"
Leon then exclaims a pained cry as he was nicked across his right shoulder.
"Dammit! Got no other choice!" Takeshi then presses the central navy-blue gem, currently emblemed with the "欲"-symbol behind its sheen.
"[Niku]!" [Kokatsu Denryū]'s eight wavy blades then all bundle up into a single blunt shaft akin to a long cudgel as the emblem behind the belt's gem shifts into the "憎"-symbol, the new weapon being hard, long, and throbbing with concentrated power.
"TAKESHI! 3 O'CLOCK!" The Evil Dragon User heeds his friend's warning before swinging his mighty shaft into Jacob's torso, knocking him out of the air and sending his back crashing into a tree trunk.
"How do you like it, bro?" Yamata no Orochi remarked from the gem of the [Cataclysm Zone]. "Can you feel the weight of its blows? Its length?! And its girth!"
"Much better!" As soon as Jacob recovers, Takeshi swings the bludgeon into the Stray Exorcist's strike, knocking him back with the sheer weight behind of the swing of the morphed weapon, forcing him out of his prior momentum and allowing Leon to then deliver a tempestuous thrust towards the Stray Exorcist's chest with his [Fragarach].
Once that attack makes contact, the Stray Exorcist was then sent crashing through numerous trees before being dunked into the central fountain.
"Aw shit..." Takeshi sighs in disgust. "... We're gonna have to replant so many trees afterwards."
Leon then pulls out his [Excalibur Blessing] to mend the broken trees back to their prior states of health.
"You're so cool, man!" Takeshi beamed.
"Thank me later," the Inquisitor remarked as he sheathed his Holy Sword. "We still need to finish our fight-"
*whirr*
Then a sound akin to a jet engine warming up was heard coming from the fountain, with Jacob then letting out a scream of rage as the central area is then blasted with a surge of out-of-control holy energy.
"... That man's tenacity rivals that of a cockroach." Both Leon and Takeshi hurry to where the fountain was, spotting Jacob as his chest begins to glow like a blue sun. "He's overclocking his own Spiritron Engine?!"
Jacob then downs another bottle of painkillers as his artificial muscles around his body swelled up to grotesque proportions.
"WHERE DOES HE KEEP THOSE THINGS?!" Takeshi pointed out right as Jacob disappeared before reappearing right in front of them.
The Evil Dragon User blocks the incoming blow with his cudgel, but the swing of Jacob's [Excalibur Rapidly] sends him flying across the park and back to the entrance. He manages to stop himself from landing on the ground by unfurling his Devil wings, but his arms feel like they were shattered into a million pieces.
"FUUUCK!" Takeshi cursed in agony as he dropped his auxiliary Sacred Gear onto the ground.
"Not gonna lie, I kinda want what he's having," the Evil Dragon of Lust commented.
Takeshi then growls as the feeling of his arms return to normal before picking [Kokatsu Denryū] back up. "So, blocking ain't gonna do shit now, right?"
"Unless you want to be the first Evil Dragon User to reach outer space," Yamata no Orochi deadpanned.
"Good answer." Takeshi then presses the gem at [Cataclysm Zone]'s center.
"[Yoku]!" The symbol behind the gem shifts back into "欲" as the cudgel unfurls back to its urumi form before Takeshi then takes off back to the air.
Back at the center of Kuoh's Central Park, Leon was now using all three of his available weapons against the roided-out Jacob, whose gained bulk didn't detract [Excalibur Rapidly]'s speed boost, making each of his blows hit like like runaway train even if the Inquisitor's body was reinforced with [Excalibur Blessing]'s passive enhancements.
"WHAT'S WRONG, INQUISITOR?!" mocked Jacob as his swings came down upon Leon's [Evalach] like a rain of hammers. "ALREADY GROWING WEAK TO THE KNEES?!"
Leon grits his teeth as he firmly stands his ground, waiting for that moment when he could exploit the opening and strike back. However, Jacob's mind was so cooked with painkillers that [Fragarach] could not predict what was going to happen next.
Leon, use me! Ddraig begged. This fight cannot prolong for much longer-!
"If you wish to best me...!" The Stray Exorcist sneers as his rain of blows continues with greater ferocity. "... THEN HURRY UP AND BRING THE RED DRAGON EMPEROR OUT!"
Both Ddraig and the Inquisitor's eyes widened at that revelation. "... How did you-?!"
"Lady Lailah is truly kind to provide us with reconnaissance!" Jacob then cackles before staking [Excalibur Rapidly] into [Evalach]'s face, the concentrated area of impact forced Leon off-balance long enough for Jacob to grab Leon by his neck and lift him up like a catch of the day. "... You are a disappointment, Red Dragon Emperor."
[Excalibur Rapidly]'s edge was then placed against the Inquisitor's throat.
"Perish-"
*CRACK!*
Jacob screeches in agony as his arm was lashed with [Kokatsu Denryū]'s caustic lashes, dropping Leon back to the ground as Takeshi then lashes the Stray Exorcist's other arm before binding it in place.
"RIDER...!" Takeshi declared as his foot was channeled with both his own demonic energy along with the Evil Dragon's own draconic energy. "KICK!"
*WHAM!*
The Evil Dragon User's heel struck against Jacob's lower jaw, disorienting him as Takeshi tethered himself back down with the Stray Exorcist as his anchor.
"... That was Irina's technique, wasn't it?" Leon chuckled bemusedly.
"BETTER THAN MY ACTUAL FIRST ATTEMPT TOO!" Takeshi cackled in elation.
"Careful! He and his allies know about our Balance Breakers!" the Inquisitor warned as Jacob shook off his concussion.
"Explains why they're so especially bold to attack us in broad daylight..." Takeshi grimaced before cracking his urumi on the ground as he walked up towards Jacob. "I'll give you an opening. You heal up in the meantime!"
Takeshi then runs towards Jacob as the latter slams his [Excalibur Rapidly] into the ground, missing the former as he lashed out his eight-headed urumi towards the Stray Exorcist, binding his hands together to reduce the number of directions that the Stray Exorcist could attack from.
"I AIN'T FALLING FOR THE SAME SHIT TWICE IN A ROW!" Takeshi then runs up towards Jacob as the latter was struggling in the bindings, the former winding his feet back with each kick of his stride and aiming for the Stray Exorcist's balls...
*CLANG*
... Only for his right foot to then feel like it got run over by a dump truck, instantly grounding him as he laid onto his side, curling his body up into a ball while nursing his throbbing foot.
"TAKESHI!" Leon cried out as his [Excalibur Blessing] was finishing healing his injuries.
"GARRRUGH!" The Evil Dragon User exclaimed in agony. "WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF?! PURE METAL?!"
Jacob only smirks before ripping his pants off, revealing that everything from the neck down was nothing but cybernetic parts.
"You cannot hurt me on what's not there, filth," boasted the Stray Exorcist before he cackled rapturously. "SUCH JUVENILE TRICKS WILL NEVER WORK ON ME!"
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOURSELF?!" Takeshi and Yamata no Orochi both cried out in utter horror at this madman being insane enough to remove his own balls in the process of becoming a cyborg.
Without hesitation, Jacob then pulls Takeshi towards himself before kicking him across his torso like a soccer ball and pitching him right into the park's vending machine.
*ZAP!*
Takeshi screams in agony as both the blunt-force trauma from both directions combined with the electrocution felt like he was being crushed by a hydraulic press while being struck by lightning.
A certain image of a Lamia a few months back being shocked by the vending machine came into Takeshi's mind right before he lost consciousness.
"... Deja vu."
At the Entrance Gates...
"Alright! Thanks for letting me know!" Rias then hangs up her phone before firing more orbs of her [Power of Destruction] at the ever-elusive Lailah. "Everyone! The Sitri Peerage are securing the civilians into a safe zone! Cut loose and waste that bitch!"
The rate of which Rias used her [Power of Destruction] in a measured and controlled rate like how a regular Devil would shoot blasts of their own demonic energy would've been unheard of to her past self. But now, stronger than ever after the Rating Game, Rias Gremory, along with her Peerage, enters the battlefield with renewed sense of confidence in her prowess as a fighter and a leader.
Now all that's on her mind is that the Fallen Angel who made an absolute joke of her and Sona's collaborated security system leaves this town with a few new holes bored through her body. Preferably in her head and vital areas.
"Shit!" Koneko dodges Lailah's axe swings before the latter disappears once more, reappearing behind Akeno as the latter narrowly dodges being decapitated before retreating from her lightning-imbued high kick.
"Typical Fallen Angel..." the Queen growled as she and Koneko stuck to each other's backs. "... Slipperier than an eel."
"Eyes peeled, everyone!" Rias ordered as she walked up next to Pandora. "Our foe might show herself just about anywhere!"
"Gin!" The Knight then summons her Cath Palug familiar as her additional range of surveillance. "... So, what's stopping her from going after the civilians?"
"Clearly, she's holding a grudge against us, given that she could have attacked anyone else nearby after Snack Service went to shit," Koneko pointed out.
Nearby, Lailah herself was overhearing their conversation, picking up signs of both wariness and confidence, the most dangerous kind of demeanor to face against; the one that's in complete control of their own fears.
Exploiting their "fight or flight" instincts is going to be a hassle... the Fallen Angel thought with a grimace as she weighed her options while repositioning herself to find a better angle for her next attack. I could easily take all of them on if I could use my [Shining Superstar]...
But she then vividly recalls how her left eye got shot out by Re:Live, and her personal trait, [Urnal Binary], is dependent on which eye she uses to access her powers of the solar/lunar cycles, and she gave away her [Shining Superstar] to Mittelt before she went and got herself killed in battle.
[Moody Phantom] was all that was left of her powers. Now the Fallen Angel had to fight extra-dirty just to compensate for her status as a virtual cripple.
C'mon, Lailah! You got this! Choosing her angle, Lailah then makes herself known by throwing her twin light axes towards the Gremory Peerage.
Akeno then blasts the projectiles out of the sky while Koneko then releases a burst of Touki to buffer Lailah's next assault. Undeterred, the Fallen Angel then summons a scythe made of her own holy energy to sweep the crescent blade across the other two Devils' necks.
Rias then forms a pair of shears with her own [Power of Destruction] to catch the blade between the pincers, to which Lailah then pulls out a smaller blade from the scythe's handle as she then thrusts it towards Pandora.
"GIN!" The Cath Palug then casts a hypnotic gaze towards the Fallen Angel as Pandora then channels her own demonic energy through her cane augmented with her Charmed earth spirits, firing a dense blast of stone towards Lailah.
The Fallen Angel parries the shot with her blade of light, shattering both constructs upon collision, unleashing a blinding flash that disorients everyone caught in the blast, save for Lailah, who herself was used to seeing through the glare.
"YOU'RE MINE!" She then summons a spear of light to then thrust towards the Knight, but Pandora was wearing shades that protected from the glare, allowing her to retaliate by biting her lip to draw blood and exhale out a stream of fire into the Fallen Angel's face, forcing her to retreat before she herself gets cooked.
"... Everyone okay?" Rias groaned out as her eyes returned to normal.
"I'm okay!" Koneko said before shaking off her delirium. "... Are flashbangs going to be the new meta for the enemy?"
"In any event, we're back to where we've started," Akeno commented as Lailah stood before them, posed and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. "... All of this exchange and running around, and nothing to show for it. Damn coward."
Lailah scoffs before smirking. "... As long as I win."
She then vanishes from plain sight once more, resuming this game of cat and mouse.
Lailah suddenly reappears behind Akeno, the latter erecting a magical barrier to block her strike, but disappears before she could actually block anything, instead reappearing behind Pandora.
"LOOK OUT!" Akeno then tackles the Knight out of the way, taking the blow in her place. "I'M OKAY!"
Koneko then intercepts the Fallen Angel with a punch, but the latter evades before disappearing again. "GODDAMMIT!"
"We need an actual plan of attack," Pandora suggested as she helped Akeno get back up before healing the latter's injuries. "The longer we prolong this fight, the more likely our enemy will prevail over us!"
"Hey, Pandora," Koneko remarked before parrying another axe swing from Lailah with her ki-infused arm before the latter disappeared from sight. "... You worked with her once, right? Do you know anything in-depth about her?"
"Honestly, no," the Knight replied before dodging a thrown axe as she erected sharp spires of earth from the direction where the attack came from. "... She was smart enough to keep her cards close to her chest even during my tenure with her!"
Rias growls before throwing a knife made of her own [Power of Destruction] towards Lailah's direction as soon as she shows herself, both weapons breaking upon collision and forcing the Fallen Angel to slink back into invisibility. "If I knew any better, I'd assume that she's actually using [Excalibur Transparency]," she deadpanned before sighing in annoyance. "... Fuck it. I'm taking a page out of Takeshi's book."
"Got a plan, President?" Koneko asked, to which Rias nodded in confirmation.
The Fallen Angel in hiding notices that the Devils were quickly getting into formation, with Akeno and Koneko standing parallel from each other, Rias standing between the two Queen and Rook, and Pandora standing adjacent to the King as her second, with the Cath Palug perched on her shoulder and gazing attentively out towards the front like a spotter.
What in God's name are they doing?! she thought.
"Everyone!" Rias ordered. "Follow my lead!"
Both Rias and Pandora begin firing volleys of demonic energy down the line, with Akeno and Koneko running parallel from the fusillade.
They're resorting to basic area denial?! Have they lost all of their remaining options?! Lailah questioned right as she dodged the barrage before ignoring Akeno and Koneko's charges. Damn Gremory brat is leaving herself open! Is she trying to goad me?!
But just before she could think of that possibility, Akeno and Koneko immediately double back and begin chasing her.
CURSE MY DESTROYED WINGS! The Fallen Angel was then forced to run from the Queen and Rook as Lailah was now forced to run through the line of fire, exposing herself in order to summon a shield made of her own holy energy to block the shots.
"Hey, senpai!" Koneko cried out as she unleashed her [Kasha] technique while Akeno blasts bolts of lightning towards the fleeing Lailah. "Look at her wings!"
Akeno then looked at Lailah's back, now seeing clearly that the Fallen Angel's back was now missing three wings; two wings on her upper and lower left, and one middle-right wing, were gone, leaving her unable to fly, hence why she showed up in the alleyway rather than descending from the sky like any good Fallen Angel.
"Re:Live fucked her up something fierce..." the Queen commented as Pandora then erects a massive barricade of earthen spikes before Lailah.
The Fallen Angel then transforms her shield into a battering ram, breaking through the barricade and throwing her bludgeon towards Pandora...
"Sorry for the wait, everyone."
The whole ground below everyone then shines into a complex magic circle that then unleashes several chains of demonic energy that bound the Fallen Angel to the earth, pinning her down as Rias channels her own [Lock Control] through the ground.
"Thank you, 'King's Gambit,' for the inspiration..." the King sighed in relief as she maintained her magical formation. "... Plan almost went pear-shaped, and it could use more fine-tuning... but hey, it worked, at the very least."
"WHAT-?! Lailah then screams in agony as she feels her intimate connection with [Moody Phantom] slowly eroding. "... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"Making sure that you don't get away," Pandora revealed as Gin kept her eyes locked onto the Fallen Angel's own to immobilize her completely. "... The 'Sicilian Dragon'."
The "Sicilian Dragon," an aggressive opening in Chess where both players are forced into a "death race"-like scenario (by exposing the King) where both players are incentivized to Checkmate the other player as quickly as possible.
The key of this play is the Bishop, designated as the "Dragon" of this formation, with both Rooks controlling the adjacent lanes and ensuring that most of the game is played at around the center, with the objective of taking out the opposing King via Queen-side.
However, the Gremory Peerage, due to lacking an (active) Bishop and a Rook, some improvisations had to be made. Pandora had to act as the role of the "Dragon Bishop," and Akeno had to step in as the second "Rook" for the formation to actually work.
"I honestly can't believe that actually worked..." Akeno sighed in relief as Lailah struggled under the chains. "... Ploys risky as the 'King's Gambit' are going to be our hat from now on, right President?"
Rias nervously chuckles. "... Admittedly, I enjoy the rush of living dangerously," she commented. "... Is Takeshi becoming a bad influence on me?"
Lailah tries to activate her [Moody Phantom], but the magic circle below her continuously seals away her only remaining powers.
"It's useless," Rias declared. "My [Domain of Destruction: Jester Five], won't just seal away your powers, but will 'destroy' whatever connection you have with said power, rendering it permanently inert as long as you live. Got it from destroying those maids' spells before they can cast them, only more... intimate, per se. The 'Sicilian Dragon' was more of a stalling tool to allow me to set up this formation to defang you."
The Fallen Angel begins to hyperventilate as she could feel her very being being compromised before her connection with [Moody Phantom] was severed entirely, rendering her powerless.
"... I can't stand the sight of her anymore," Akeno scoffed as she then manifested a katana made of her lightning. "... President, may I?"
Rias then looks Lailah in the eye as she maintained her [Power of Destruction] and [Lock Control] over her [Jester Five] technique, seeing that she's not to the point where she's begging for her life, but at the same time, the fear of losing said life being made clear as day.
"... Go ahead," Rias ordered, allowing Akeno to then move in to finish her off.
"No...! NO! I WON'T LET IT END LIKE THIS-!"
*SHANK*
*ZAP!*
Lailah screams in agony as her nerves were shocked as the flesh on her back was pierced into her bone, searing her inside out as her remaining eye flickered in and out with the sigils of the moon like a glitching image.
... Is this... the end? the Fallen Angel thought as her vitality was being sapped away second by second. My second chance... squandered like this...?
Even as she was being dragged towards her end, a small part of her very being remained defiant.
That primal instinct KNEW that she was dying. And it hated it-no, it DEFIED against the fact.
Her sole remaining eye, now with the light of the moon completely gone, now reignited with the radiance of the sun itself.
"I REFUSE TO DIE HERE!"
*SNAP!*
All of the chains of Rias' [Lock Control]-portion of her [Jester Five] was broken, the resulting backlash affecting the King to the point where she was immediately incapacitated.
"PRESIDENT!" Koneko then helps Pandora lift up Rias over their shoulders as they and Akeno witness the unthinkable.
Gone were the utilitarian clothes of Lailah and in place of her was a heart-motif dress that was eye-searingly pastel pink, with frills and a short skirt akin to that of an idol singer's stage dress. Even her eyepatch turned that into a frilly white heart with a ribbon tied over it.
Even Lailah couldn't believe what was happening. Somehow, as if answering her prayers, [Shining Superstar] had returned to her being, in spite of missing the eye that originally housed that portion of [Urnal Binary].
"What's happening?!" Akeno exclaimed.
"And why does the Harajuku fashion look weird on her?" Koneko deadpanned as Lailah's face turned cherry-red.
"OH MY GOD! THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING!" She panicked upon seeing her new dress before blindly unleashing a barrage of holy energy blasts akin to Grayfia's demonic energy blasts that the rest of ORC narrowly dodges.
*KABOOM!*
The three look behind, seeing that the entire front row of the Restaurant Row's front entrance was leveled instantly. They then look back, and see that Lailah had now reclaimed her ability to fly via a heart-shaped flying saucer made of her own holy energy that was now being overclocked.
Even Lailah herself was shocked at how potent her firepower had become this quickly.
"Run?"
Everyone nods at Pandora's suggestion before booking it, the Fallen Angel now hot on their heels as she rained unholy Hell upon them.
Contrary to popular belief, Lailah wasn't trying to cook them alive with her holy energy out of sheer spite. Rather, she's trying to kill ORC as quickly as possible just so that she doesn't have to wear the dress that came with [Shining Superstar]'s activation.
There was a reason why she loaned the power of the sun to Mittelt in the first place. She could actually pull it off with confidence whereas she looks like a spinster that was trying way too hard to look cute.
At the Rooftops...
Yozakura was unperturbed as she was confronted by three sword users; one Demonic, two Holy.
As she stows away her AMT Longslides back into her cloak, the masked woman then pulls out her sheathed jian.
"Why don't you use your sword already?" Xenovia asked as she braced the grip around her [Excalibur Destruction].
"Make me, weaklings."
All three then move in towards her, with Yuuto running ahead in order to get first blood.
"YOU'RE MINE, BITCH!" Summoning a pair of [Blast Ogre] blades, the Knight then slams down the pair against the sheathed blade, only for her to not move an inch from the released blast as Xenovia was the next one to swing her massive Holy Sword.
Yozakura easily limbos under the swing, the swing arc instead hitting Yuuto's blades, and sending him flying.
"WATCH IT!" Yuuto screamed out as he then summoned [Snake Fang].
"Don't get in my way," Xenovia deadpanned.
"Guys, focus!" Irina then shifts her [Excalibur Mimic] into that of a katana, her fast swings missing as Yozakura easily dodges her attacks like no one's business, right before the latter parries the next strike with her sheathed jian.
Mid-tumble, Irina then shifts her katana to that of a naginata, the blade pointing the opposite direction of where her katana's was pointing at, allowing her to then deliver a surprise uppercut, only for Yozakura to parry the upwards strike with the pommel of her sword, letting it go mid-fall before closing in and delivering a set of fisticuffs, followed up by her pitching her sheathed sword back up behind herself with her heel like a hacky sack, catching it, and then swinging it down like a cane, forcing the Exorcist to block the attack by shifting her polearm into that of a targe.
"MOVE!" Yuuto then rains a whole fusillade of [Snake Fang] blades towards Yozakura and Irina, the latter protecting with her shield as the former dodges the rain of swords.
"Someone's eager," the masked woman deadpanned before Xenovia then leapt towards her, smashing her [Excalibur Destruction] into her with a mighty overhead swing before the former dodged with ease.
*BOOM!*
"I got you on the run now-!"
*CRUMBLE*
The Catholic Exorcist didn't have time to scream as the roof acting as her foothold collapsed onto itself, sending Xenovia into a nasty fall that Yozakura also easily avoided.
"You okay?!" Irina then fishes her out by turning her targe into a grappling hook.
"I'll live." Xenovia grimaces in embarrassment while Yuuto takes this opportunity to face Yozakura all by himself.
The two had moved up further ahead, hopping from rooftop to rooftop as sparks flew with each clash of their blades.
"HURRY UP AND BRINGING THAT THING OUT!" the Knight snarled out as he replaced his broken blades with a pair of [Cyclone Call] blades.
"You're not worth the effort, hatchling," the masked woman snarked as her sheathed sword parried the new Demonic Swords as Yuuto immediately replaced them.
"I'M NOT THE SAME AS I WAS LAST TIME!" he retorted as several [Holy Eaters] fell around Yozakura, with the latter shooting one off-course with her pistol and using the gap to escape. "I'll show you...! I'LL SHOW YOU THAT I'M STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!"
"That remains to be seen." Yozakura then dodges the incoming barrage of holy energy arrows fired from Irina's [Excalibur Mimic], now a longbow.
"I'll support you both from the rear! Rest of you, keep her on the backfoot!" With those instructions given, Xenovia then moves in with her [Excalibur Destruction], swinging her massive blade vertically to unleash a violent crescent of holy energy towards the masked woman.
Yozakura, once again, limbos underneath the projectile, but her back was then pricked by a set of blades summoned beneath her.
"DIE!"
*BOOM!*
The entire building that she was standing on collapses after Yuuto sets the six [Blast Ogre] blades he'd summoned below her to explode.
"NOT YET! NOT YET!" Yuuto then summons [Flame Delete] and [Land Cleaver] before jumping into the smoke to finish off his prey.
"Hold on! Let me clear the way!" Irina then morphs her longbow into a giant gunbai war fan to dispel the smoke, allowing the two Exorcists a clear way into their next battlefield.
The two then eventually catch up to Yuuto, now fighting Yozakura at the edge of a forest by the roadside, the former leaving behind a trail of broken Demonic Swords in his wake while the latter wasn't even winded.
"Very enthusiastic," the masked woman deadpanned as Yuuto stopped to catch his breath. "Not bright, but enthusiastic."
"... I... could keep going... all day...!" The Knight growls as to show his bravado to hide his frustration.
"Kiba-san!" Irina and Xenovia appear next to him.
"Don't get in my way...!" Yuuto snarled out. "She's mine...! SHE'S MINE, DAMMIT!"
"Right back at you, Devil," Xenovia scoffed.
"Guys... does it kill you to at least pretend to work together?!" Irina bemoaned.
"What a good idea." Yozakura is the one to make the next move, lashing out her sheathed jian as a bludgeon to knock the three away before closing in on one of them-
"YOU'RE MINE, BITCH!" Yuuto, unfurling his Devil wings, speeds towards the masked swordswoman to counterattack before she could, slamming his Demonic Swords against her sheathed blade mid-air, throwing her back and then following it up with a rush. "[FULL RELEASE: FLAME DELETE]!"
Several longswords of cold flames were placed around Yozakura, trapping her in a ring of fire as the Knight then summoned a pair of [Gravity Nail] blades to finish her off.
"DIE-!"
*WHAP!*
"Are you familiar with Newton's Laws?" deadpanned Yozakura as the brass tip of her sheath burrowed itself into Yuuto's solar plexus. "... Specifically, the 3rd Law?"
Xenovia facepalms at the revelation that Yuuto literally ran into a concentrated point of force that Yozakura executed by exploiting his own speed against him. "... That idiot."
Yuuto then drops before Yozakura's feet as the cold flames dissipate, writing in agony as his lungs desperately refill themselves on the oxygen that was knocked out of him.
"You're not worth the trouble anymore, weakling." Yozakura then walks past him before confronting the two remaining Exorcists. "... Now, where were we?"
Xenovia then plants her blade into the ground before unleashing an upheaval of earth triggered by her [Excalibur Destruction]'s innate abilities, creating a gap that both Exorcists could exploit in order to better coordinate their attacks.
Irina shifts her [Excalibur Mimic] into that of a jūmonji-yari spear to first prod her target, forcing Yozakura back as she was made to block the coming thrust with her sheathed sword. Then, upon being pushed back, Xenovia then moves in for the kill as Irina corrals into the right spot-
"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" Yuuto then suddenly enters her line of fire as he brandishes his [Starlight Flash] brimming with a concentrated point of demonic energy that could pierce through any defenses.
*KABOOM!*
With her concentration disrupted, Xenovia's swing goes off-course slightly, instead clashing against the Knight's demonic sword, the resulting collision releasing the well of demonic energy into an explosion that sent everyone caught in its radius flying.
"YOU IDIOT!" Xenovia growled out as she and Irina got back up. "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?!"
"YOU STAY OUT OF MY WAY, YOU BITCH!" Yuuto snarled back. "SHE'S MY PREY!"
"SHE'S OUR MISSION, SO YOU STAY OUT OF OUR WAY!" the Catholic Exorcist yelled back.
"Uh... guys?" Irina said as the insult-hurling grew more intense and petty.
"I DON'T SEE YOUR NAME ON IT, SO LAY OFF, YOU DAMN WHORE!" Yuuto flipped her off.
"VAFFANCULO, VI FIGILO DI PUTTANA!" Xenovia then flips the Devil off twofold while cursing in Italian.
Irian groans before switching her [Excalibur Mimic] into a megaphone and yelling into it. "GUYS!"
"WHAT?!" both Yuuto and Xenovia yelled back, to which the Protestant Exorcist pointed at the smoke with a flat expression.
Emerging from the cloud was none other than Yozakura, her kitsune mask now sporting a massive, vertical crack across its form.
*CRACK*
The fracture reaches both ends of its path, causing the mask itself to split in two and the hood over head to slip off, revealing the face of the woman behind the facade in full.
She was a stone-faced African woman with pale patches dispersed randomly across her sable skin, giving away signs that she had vitiligo. Her hair was a mop of wavy-black hair with streaks of silver running down its lengths, all of which were held back by a steel headband with wave-like patterns across its construction, making it almost resemble Damascus Steel.
"So, you finally show your face...!" Yuuto snarled at the apathetic woman.
"Please don't look into it any deeper," Yozakura deadpanned. "... My name is merely an alias. I do not have a drop of Japanese blood running in my veins."
Irina squints before recognizing her. "Ah! I know her!" she pointed out. "She's 'cow face'!"
Yuuto blinks at that off-key remark. "... Excuse me?"
"Come to think of it, I do recall our seniors during our time as Acolytes of rumors of a prodigy Exorcist with a blemished face," Xenovia explained. "... 'Pale spots akin to that of a cow's spotted hide.' Hence the moniker, 'cow face'."
*snap*
A vein pops out above the woman's right brow.
"You're all dead." Yozakura, seeming a little peeved at her nickname being mentioned, pulls out a rapier-like sword with a gold crossguard that resembles feathered wings, and a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade with a swirl-like pattern on the grip that went all the way down to the tip, resembling that of a drill halfway.
"It's [Excalibur Nightmare]!" Irina revealed as the unmasked swordswoman plants the Holy Sword into the ground, unleashing a massive, dark smokescreen that enveloped the whole battlefield in fog. "Wait! What's happening?!"
Their surroundings were completely obscured into this thick veil of dark-blue, leaving the three caught off-guard to wander.
"Shit...!" Yuuto then summons [Cyclone Call] to dissipate the fog, only for the gale to do nothing. "... So this is the power of [Nightmare]'s illusions. Should've known better-"
"Isaiah?"
Upon hearing that name, Yuuto turns around to see a group of children standing behind him, all of whom dressed in clerical uniforms.
"... You guys!" he gasped out, his heart feeling anchored by the sight of them. "... How? How did you guys get here?"
The children smile. "... Come with us, Isaiah."
His heart beat with a tinge of sorrow and nostalgia as he went over to them before embracing them.
"I'm so sorry, everyone...!" he sobbed, the memories of the Holy Sword Project flooding back into his very soul. "I'm so sorry...!"
"Come with us, Isaiah..."
Yuuto then opens his eyes...
"Come to Hell with me."
... And in place of the children was the hellish embrace of Father Valper Galilei.
"Y-YOU-!"
*WRETCH*
From behind, Yuuto's entire body was then grabbed by a tangle of rotting and pale hands, dragged down to the ground before being pinned and weighed down by the face of his tormentor.
"Come now." The demonic Archbishop cooed as his hands reached down towards Yuuto's waist. "... This will only sting for a little bit."
Yuuto begins to flail, scream, and panic as the oppressive force intensified from all directions, the corners of his eyes now being spectated by the pale and dead visages of his fellow orphans back at the Holy Sword Project.
"WHY DID YOU LEAVE US TO DIE?!"
This very accusation was echoed by the jury of his fallen peers and into his very soul as one of his eyes spotted Father Galilei dropping his pants, seizing his very soul with nothing short of fear and helplessness.
All he could do was scream and take this abuse like it was ten years ago.
"... Was that screaming?" Irina remarked as she wandered through the fog, trying to navigate through the fog. "... Curses, everything's going pear-shaped. Stupid [Excalibur Nightmare] and its illusory powers-"
*crackle*
Her nose then perks up upon picking up the smell of burning.
"... A fight must be nearby," she remarked before breaking off into a run. "... Xenovia and Yozakura might be nearby-!"
*FWOOSH*
The fog instantly gave away to the insides of a burning house, with flames and plumes of choking smoke replacing the veil instantly.
"What-WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" she cried out before looking around the area, her body heating up before she then reached for her [Excalibur Mimic], only to find it missing. "Wha-WHERE DID IT GO-?!"
*CRACK*
A burning rafter collapses before her feet.
"... To heck with it." Irina then runs through the fire without anything to aid her save for her own strength.
As she ran through room to room, a faint sense of familiarity began to set upon her mind.
"... Is this my childhood home?" Irina thought out loud. "... Is this her idea of a joke-?"
Through the crackling of the flames and smoldering tinder, the Exorcist's ears then pick up on the sounds of coughing.
"... Someone's inside!" Rushing towards the sound, she then finds a boy around five to six years old trapped underneath burning rubble. "HOLD ON! I'LL GET YOU OUT OF THERE-!"
"... Shidou?"
Irina gasps upon seeing who the child was.
"... Issei-kun?"
Her desperation grew, and she didn't know why.
Even if this was an illusion, her heart was screaming to save him no matter what.
Her hands were burned black as she ripped through plank after plank. Her lungs grew heavier and heavier the more oxygen was expelled from her panicked breathing. Her skin boiled in their own evaporating sweat the longer she spent in the flames.
"HOLD ON, PLEASE!" Irina begged as she finally pulled the young Issei out of the rubble. "I'M GETTING YOU OUT OF HERE-!"
*thud*
The boy's hand goes completely limp as his body rests motionlessly in the Exorcist's arms.
"... Issei-kun?" Irina's eyes began to water as he lay expired in her arms. "... Issei-?!"
*CRACK*
*FWOOM*
Irina's screams of despair were drowned out by the roar of the flames encroaching towards her.
... But in reality, Yozakura was standing before the two of them, with Yuuto flailing on the ground like a baby and Irina on her knees, crying her eyes and screaming her lungs out hysterically.
"Your minds are weak," she scoffed as the unmasked swordswoman looked back at the [Excalibur Nightmare] planted behind her, emitting the dark fog from where it lay embedded. "... The ability to create 'illusions' is a misnomer. [Excalibur Nightmare] exploits the mind to cut deep into its User's foes."
She then looks around the fog for Xenovia.
"... Did she wonder off-"
*FWOOSH*
Narrowly, Yozakura dodges a vertical slash from the Catholic Exorcist's [Excalibur Destruction].
*CLANG!*
But during her tucking down, the unmasked swordswoman flips over into a high kick, knocking the blade upwards by its flat, with Yozakura pulling out one of her AMT Longslide pistols before shooting at her mid-cartwheel, forcing Xenovia to drop her giant blade down to block the shot with her broad side of her Holy Sword.
"... Well, aren't you a resolute one," Yozakura scoffed as she noticed that the Catholic Exorcist wasn't affected by [Excalibur Nightmare]'s powers.
"My mind and heart know no fear as long as the light of the Lord guides me," Xenovia boasted as she readied her [Excalibur Destruction]. "In the name of Deus Trinity, I shall smite thee."
Yozakura smirks. "Cute."
She then draws a stiletto-style knife from underneath her cloak.
"... You're planning to fight me with that dinky-looking butter-knife?" the Exorcist deadpanned.
"Better than trying to compensate for something that you don't have, hatchling." Yozakura then tosses her knife into her other hand before bracing her stance for combat. "... Come and get me."
The Exorcist then swung her [Excalibur Destruction] towards Yozakura before the latter dodged and nicked the former across her cheek.
"You can't even hit the broad side of a barn with that hunk of metal," she taunted before lunging her knife at Xenovia, only for the latter to block that strike with her Holy Sword's axe-like crossguard.
"And you can't even reach me with that puny little thing-"
*BANG*
Xenovia winces as she finds that she was shot through the gap between her legwear and combat suit, the wound immediately discoloring into a faint shade of purple.
"Demonic energy?!" the Exorcist growled in pain as she could feel her femur crying for mercy.
".45 ACP, hollow-point, and filled to the brim with Hell's ambient energy," Yozakura explained as she put her gun away. "... Doesn't hurt to be prepared."
Xenovia then swings her [Excalibur Destruction] downwards, Yozakura then kicks the Holy Sword aside by its flat, missing her swing before moving in and nicking her across the side of her nape and then doubling back for a backstab.
Desperate, the Catholic Exorcist then lifts up her giant blade before dipping her back down, using the weight of her weapon to propel her counterstrike, successfully nullifying her attempt at finishing the fight now, with Yozakura retreating back to where [Excalibur Nightmare] was planted.
"Took you for a brute, but it appears that you have a brain," Yozakura deadpanned as she twirled her bloodied knife in her hand.
"If you had a brain, then you would've stayed with the Church," Xenovia retorted, causing the African woman to raise an eyebrow. "... Don't look so surprised. 'Cow face' aside, everyone can recognize who you are after you went Stray at a tender age of 13, Yogesh ibnat-Abara al-Igwe, former Executor of the Islam Faith of the Church."
The exposed Stray Exorcist spits to the side in disgust. "... Yogesh is dead, hatching," she retorted. "I am Yozakura."
The exposed traitor then moves forth towards Xenovia, swinging her knife as the latter ducks under her attack before delivering a sweep with her [Excalibur Destruction], only for the latter to disappear from her sight.
"What the-?!"
"Over here." Xenovia then looks at her weapon, spotting the Stray Exorcist perched atop on the flat of her Holy Sword, perfectly balanced.
The Exorcist then swings up her blade like a fan, forcing the Stray Exorcist to leap off of the Holy Sword's flat before Xenovia then plants her [Excalibur Destruction] into the ground, unleashing a burst of her own holy energy from it, triggering a massive explosion around herself before using the actual smokescreen to reposition.
Her only leverage is that [Excalibur Nightmare] that she'd carelessly left behind! Xenovia thought as she ran towards her objective as best as her injured leg could take her. That puny little toothpick of a blade will easily fall before my own-!
*CRACK*
Xenovia then instinctively turns her head back upon hearing that sound, thinking that it was a gunshot, but instead a blade was being shot out towards her instead.
That was a ballistic knife?! The Exorcist then quickly raises her [Excalibur Destruction] up to block the oncoming projectile-
*BANG!*
... Only for her other leg to get shot from behind instead, thus Xenovia completely losing her footing with the loss of stability as soon as the shot blade bounced off her Holy Sword's flat.
"I knew you would come here, hatchling."
Xenovia gasps as she hears Yozakura's voice from behind her before the former could feel her arms being pulled from behind.
"Take a dirt nap." The Stray Exorcist then pulls herself up towards Xenovia by her arms tugged from behind herself, smashing her knee into the back of the Exorcist's head and her face into the flat of her own [Excalibur Destruction]. "Calf Branding."
*SMASH!*
Xenovia's head was sandwiched between Yozakura's knee and the flat of her own sword right as she hit the ground face-first, concussing her to the point where she is left unable to battle.
Yozakura dismissively scoffs as she then takes [Excalibur Destruction] from the Exorcist's weakened grasp. "... Nothing but the biggest grub in a bucket of maggots."
She then walks over towards Irina, still crying and screaming in horror right before snatching her [Excalibur Mimic] from her left bicep and leaving her in her own worst nightmares.
Yozakura then walks over towards where Yuuto was lying at, crying and wailing, his mind being eaten alive by his own trauma.
"... Here's a parting gift for all of you," she mused to herself. "Think of it as my way of giving gratitude."
She then pulls out a Mk 2 frag grenade before gently placing it inside Yuuto's shirt pocket.
"Lie down and think about your loved ones, Isaiah."
*CLICK*
Upon pulling the pin, Yozakura then books it, taking [Excalibur Nightmare] with her on her way out, dispelling the illusions trapping the two inside.
"Wha-What happened...?!" Irina deliriously mumbled, her eyes watery from the tears she'd shed.
"Urgh... my head..." growled Xenovia as she regained consciousness.
"Whoa, lady! What gives-"
"Move."
Yozakura then shoves a teenage boy aside, revealing himself to be none other than Issei, dropping his groceries onto the ground, right at the same time when Yuuto finds that there was a bomb stuffed into his shirt pocket.
Panicking, he then tried pulling it out, but all he did was fumble and have the grenade roll right into Issei's direction.
"ISSEI-!"
"WHAT THE-?!"
*WHAM!*
Xenovia quickly wills herself back up before tackling him down.
"DUCK-!"
*KABOOM!*
At Kuoh Town's Central Park...
"GIVE IT UP!"
*CLANG!*
Jacob swung his [Excalibur Rapidly] down onto Leon's [Fragarach].
"NOT EVEN THE EVIL DRAGON USER COULD FELL ME!" the Stray Exorcist boasted. "WHAT CHANCE DOES A NEUTERED PUP LIKE YOU HAVE AGAINST THE ONE WHO'S MORE DEDICATED IN OUR WAR AGAINST ALL EVIL?!"
"NOT EXACTLY A GREAT METRIC TO MEASURE YOURSELF ON!" Leon then kicks Jacob into his stomach to break off the blade lock, moving in shield-first before counterattacking with his Holy Sword.
Jacob easily evades the vacuum slash before attacking him from behind, to which the Inquisitor narrowly dodges.
USE ME, LEON! Ddraig begged. THE SOONER WE END THIS FIGHT, THE BETTER-!
"NO!" Leon rebuked as he parried [Excalibur Rapidly]'s strike with his [Evalach]. "I will not use the power of the Red Dragon Emperor as a crutch!"
"For what?" Jacob sneered. "Still holding onto that hope that you can best me all on your own?!"
Leon then braces his stance with his Holy Sword and magical shield. "... Too many times, I've been goaded into carelessness because of the power I was bequeathed with," he revealed. "... Seeing my friend fight without his Balance Breaker... reaffirms my resolve. I will grow stronger on my own, so that I may be worthy of the power that was given to me! Ddraig, please! Believe in me! Believe that I can become worthy of your powers!"
"PLATITUDES!" Jacob then rushes Leon down with his own Holy Sword as the latter responds to his attacks with measured and calm parries. "POWER IS JUSTICE! POWER IS OUR SOLE WEAPON AGAINST OUR ENEMIES! TO NOT USE IT IS THE GREATEST SIN OF ALL!"
"THEN EVERYTHING IS A SIN FOR YOU, ISN'T IT?!"
*CLANG!*
Now Playing: "Kakusei" by Ricky (from Kamen Rider Blade)
Successfully parrying Jacob's two-handed swing with [Evalach], Leon then exploits the opening by slashing his [Fragarach] across the Stray Exorcist's body before swinging up towards his neck.
*CLACK!*
Jacob then catches the Holy Sword between his teeth, clasping his teeth around the blade so tightly that Leon was left stuck in place.
With that opening, the Stray Exorcist then brought down his [Excalibur Rapidly] towards Leon's head to cleave him across his twain.
Seeing that he couldn't raise his shield in time, Leon performs a risky maneuver by dematerializing his [Evalach] and exchanging it for [Excalibur Blessing], thrusting it towards the swing of the other Holy Sword's trajectory, using the blade itself to guide the swing out of his way before flicking it back up, disarming Jacob in one smooth motion.
"WHAT?!"
"YOU'RE OPEN!" Taking advantage of Jacob opening his mouth to exclaim, Leon then pulls his [Fragarach] out, enhancing it with his [Excalibur Blessing], and then unleashing a point-blank vacuum slash towards the Stray Exorcist.
*SLASH*
Rolling out of the way, Jacob sacrifices his left arm as it was severed from his shoulder before kicking Leon aside to recover his [Excalibur Rapidly].
"Curses, I missed," Leon clicked his tongue.
"YOU WILL NOT BEST ME THAT EASILY, GREENHORN!"
Now with both players rearmed, the two swordsmen both disappear into blurs, clashing their blades in the realm of speed.
Leon forgoes any sense of defense in favor of offense, matching Jacob's speed blow for blow, his strides enhanced by the winds of his [Fragarach] boosted by his [Excalibur Blessing], aided by the former's ability to see into the future of what his opponent is able to do next now.
His repetitions are becoming clearer... Ddraig commented as the visions bestowed by [Fragarach] were less muddled than before. There's something working in your favor, Leon. Keep up the pressure!
The Inquisitor then acts upon Ddraig's instructions, swinging both of his Holy Swords in perfect tandem and rhythm to Jacob's sporadic and unfocused swings spurred by his drug-fueled rage.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" Jacob screamed out.
"I WILL NEVER VALIDATE YOUR NIHILISM, TORRES!" Leon retorts as the two continue clashing.
As the ringing of clashing steel filled the air, Takeshi groggily got up from the vending machine that he'd landed on.
Just as he was getting up, he noticed that the contents of said machine where he'd landed on were loose. Instinctively, he picks one up from the scrap he was laid on, and notices something... peculiar, about it.
"Hmm..." He then cracks the can open before spilling it, the liquid hissing like acid upon being spilled to the ground, catching his attention.
The Evil Dragon User then notices that another can was touching [Kokatsu Denryū]'s urumi blades, and senses a hint of kegare seeping over into the can.
An idea then strikes his mind like lightning. "... This better damn well work!"
He then gathers up all of the cans with his urumi before scattering them across the air.
"LEON!"
Then, a vision heralds the Inquisitor's eyes, revealing that the whole area was about to be bombarded with caustic liquids.
He then looks up to see that a hail of soda cans were falling towards himself and Jacob's heads.
"What futile attempt is this-?!" Jacob then notices that Leon was retreating. "GET BACK HERE-!"
Acting quickly, Jacob then sheaths his [Fragarach] before whipping it out, unleashing an interminable number of slashes across the air before returning the blade back into its scabbard.
*CRACK!*
*FIZZ*
Every single can full of kegare-spiked soda rains unto Jacob, the caustic contents of the tainted beverages melting away his grafted muscles and cybernetic parts.
"HOLY SHIT, BRO! YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THE JUDGMENT CUT?!" the Evil Dragon User exclaimed.
"Admittedly, if it weren't for the future vision, I would've melted like the Wicked Witch of the West," Leon pointed out.
"My venom makes even the gods weak to their knees!" the Evil Dragon of Lust boasted from [Cataclysm Zone]'s central gem. "KA~KA KA KA KA-!"
"GARGGGH!" Jacob then screams out in utter fury before pulling out several bottles of his painkillers before messily dumping all of the pills and tablets into his mouth. "How...! HOW DARE YOU SOIL ME LIKE THAT, YOU FILTH!"
"DUDE! BLACK KNIGHT! JUST DROP DEAD ALREADY!" Takeshi then flipped off the Stray Exorcist that refused to die.
Leon rolled his eyes before drawing his [Fragarach]. "... Ready for the final stretch?"
"You take him from the front," the Evil Dragon User suggested as he cracked his [Kokatsu Denryū] like a whip, "I'll nail him from behind."
With that consensus, Takeshi and Leon then begin their final offensive.
Jacob, even with most of his modifications structurally compromised, refused to yield even slightly. Using the pain of his fraying muscles and creaking prosthetics, he lets the agony fuel his zeal ever moreso, wildly swinging his [Excalibur Rapidly] against the opposing pair.
"DIE, EVILDOERS!" The Stray Exorcists roared before his blade clashed against Leon's [Fragarach], which was then followed up by Takeshi's [Kokatsu Denryū]'s urumi form lashing against his back, adding more of the pollution onto his fraying body.
Jacob immediately pivots before swinging his Holy Sword towards the Evil Dragon User, but Takeshi immediately switches his urumi to its [Niku]/cudgel form, tanking the blow before countering with a hammering strike with the bludgeon, which then Leon pierces his [Fragarach] into Jacob's back and out of his stomach.
"YOU WILL NEVER HARM ANOTHER INNOCENT EVER AGAIN!" Leon declared as he channeled his holy energy though his blade. "THE ONLY THING WAITING FOR YOU IS DESPAIR!"
*SLASH!*
Half of Jacob's torso was ripped to shreds, but Jacob, still undeterred, pulls out another bottle of painkillers, and then proceeds to crunch the whole bottle into his teeth, swallowing tablets and plastic alike.
"I... WON'T...! LET THIS...! BE THE END OF MEEE!" Not content, Jacob then swings his [Excalibur Rapidly] around himself to repel Takeshi and Leon, giving him enough space to pull out a syringe of stimulants before injecting it directly into his overlocking Spiritron Engine, turning his blue holy energy into blood-red, driving him further into his own madness fueling his resilience. "YOU...! WILL...! DIEEE!"
The Stray Exorcists' swings after the stim boost were so fast and heavy that they replicated [Fragarach]'s own aerokinesis, sending Leon flying just from attempting to parry the vacuum strike with his own Holy Sword.
"LEON!" Takeshi cried out before he then attempted to leap in with his [Promotion: Knight] active, only for Jacob to outpace him by a mile before striking him from behind, the slash feeling akin to being cut in two (again).
*SPLASH*
Takeshi ends up inside the fountain as Leon got back up to his feet.
"... Hey Ddraig?" Leon spoke out. "... I finally figured out Torres' weakness."
"[Dragon Booster]!" Upon sheathing his [Fragarach], Leon's left arm then manifests [Boosted Gear].
"SO YOU FINALLY BROUGHT HIM OUT!" Jacob then cackled madly. "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE, GREENHORN!"
"[Boost]!"
Leon then swings his [Excalibur Blessing] towards the berserk Stray Exorcist, parrying [Excalibur Rapidly]'s strike before delivering his own with a blade that cannot cut through anything.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Ddraig commented as he saw Jacob's wounds heal, causing the Stray Exorcist to laugh before resuming his offense.
"Trust me," Leon reassured before adding another [Boost] to his own [Excalibur Blessing]'s healing output and his own speed. "I'm exploiting his weakness."
And so, Jacob and Leon clashed their blades, [Excalibur Rapidly] versus [Excalibur Blessing]. The former was a sword that granted its User unparalleled speed and reflexes, whereas the latter granted its User the ability to heal and enhance at the cost of being disqualified as an actual weapon of war.
Jacob could feel his body becoming stronger, faster, and more invigorated with each "blow" struck against him. Sometimes, he even stood still just to receive free healing from Leon before "thanking" him with a free attack of his own.
*CLANG!*
The Inquisitor was sent flying before skidding across the ground by his shoes.
"There are better ways to kill yourself, Inquisitor," jeered Jacob. "... Surrender won't spare you from my wrath!"
*RIPPP*
Leon then rips off his white clerical robes, revealing his own Church-issued combat suit, only fully covering his entire body, showing off his muscular and toned figure through the spandex-like uniform.
"I never asked for surrender, Torres." Leon then points his [Excalibur Blessing] towards the Stray Exorcist. "... Come. See if I am to be felled by your hand!"
Jacob then charges towards the Inquisitor, using his [Excalibur Rapidly]'s abilities to their maximum and propel him into a blur.
"[Boost]! [Boost]! [Boost]!" Leon then takes a deep breath as he maximizes [Excalibur Blessing]'s healing potency and [Fragarach]'s guidance.
"It's all so clear now..."
*SLASH!*
Upon the two crossing each other, the two swordsmen drew their blades out at the same time.
Jacob chuckles before cackling. "You should've used [Fragarach] to cut me, Inquisitor!"
Neither of them suffered any form of damage during the exchange, with Leon dodging Jacob's swing, and Jacob himself being fully healed by Leon's Holy Sword upon contact.
"NOW DIEEE!" Jacob then turns around to finish Leon off from where he stood.
"As they say in Japan..." Leon then sheathed his Holy Sword back into its oaken scabbard. "... 'Omae wa mou shindeiru'."
"WHAT-?!"
*SPLAT*
Jacob begins vomiting blood before collapsing, his mighty body now quaking from symptoms akin to that of a fatal seizure.
"Wha-Wha-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" Jacob panicked as he lost control over all of his bodily functions. "... [EXCALIBUR BLESSING]... IS CAPABLE OF SUCH... SUCH A... THING?!"
"You know what they say, 'winners don't do drugs'," Leon revealed. "... My [Excalibur Blessing] 'healed' your drug symptoms. Normally, a human body can 'ween off' the effects through natural biological responses and systems, it's just that my Holy Sword 'accelerated' that natural process to the point where the resulting dissonance between your physiological and psychological senses triggered a dysphoria akin to withdrawal symptoms."
Jacob's eyes widened at how novel of a use of a Holy Sword that can't cut was utilized to actually harm him.
"Have to confess, but I did not see that coming," the Red Dragon Emperor remarked. "Exploiting your enemy's arrogance and addictions... a rarity."
"And given the amount of painkillers you ingested..." The Inquisitor then looked out at the ruined park grounds, littered with emptied pill bottles and torn-off caps. "... Your whole body was nothing short of a cocktail of drugs waiting for you to turn around and bite you in the butt extra-hard."
"Da-DAMN YOU!" Jacob heaved as he tried to force his body, feeling as if a thousand arrows was sticking into him like a pincushion. "... I-I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
Leon sighs as he draws his [Fragarach]. "... Don't resist," he requested as he raised his blade. "... I don't wish to prolong your suffering."
*CLANG!*
In a desperation that can only be described as "mad beyond all reason," Jacob swings his [Excalibur Rapidly] to parry the finishing blow before crawling away like a cockroach, screaming and heaving in maddened desperation to find a way to turn this bad situation around.
"I-I REFUSE TO END IT LIKE THIS!" Spotting an unopened pill bottle flowing down from the broken fountain, Jacob then ditches his Holy Sword for the bottle, twists the cap open with his teeth, and then inhales all of the pills inside.
"HE'S TRYING TO REFUEL!" Ddraig pointed out.
"NOT ON MY WATCH-!"
*THUMP*
"GARGGGH!" Jacob suddenly grasps his chest in agony. "... Wha-WHY?! WHY IS MY BODY REJECTING IT?!"
Then, a smarmy snicker was heard coming from the fountain.
Now Playing: "Spinnin' Around" by Takashi Hagino (from Kamen Rider Ryuki)
"Keh keh keh keh..." the snicker chuckled. "KA~KA KA KA KA!"
Coming out of the other side of the fountain was Takeshi, or rather, Yamata no Orochi, taken over their host's body, as evidenced by the color of their eyes behind the grill visor being yellow.
"How do you like the taste of my own cocktail of kegare?" the Evil Dragon of Lust revealed. "... It's to die for, isn't it?"
Having no other options left, Jacob then reaches into his malfunctioning Spiritron Engine to activate the self-destruction mechanism built into his body before pouncing onto Takeshi in hopes of taking him out with the blast.
"GO TO HELL, EVIL DRAGON-!"
*SPLURCH*
All eight blades of the urumi slither and worm their way into Jacob's body via his stump where his left arm was at, with three making their way into his chest, and disarm the bomb inside, the glow of his Spiritron Engine dimming instantly.
"You leave when I tell you to leave, BITCH!" Yamata no Orochi then proceeds to hammer in the Stray Exorcist across the ground like a metronome, swinging around the urumi with its trapped prey like a wrecking ball.
With each completed arc, the traveling blades of [Kokatsu Denryū] continue slithering inside Jacob's cyborg body, running their wavy edges as if a whole nest of snakes had invaded his body.
Kegare continued to spread throughout his body, but the rate of the pollution's spread was so slow that even with most of his organic body gone, the Stray Exorcist could feel every nick, every cut, every strike inflicted onto and inside his whole body.
Then Jacob lands before Leon's feet, exposing his writhing, twitching, and convulsing body, the blades of [Kokatsu Denryū] violating every open orifice that could be found throughout Jacob's cyborg body. The sounds of his pained choking harmonized with the grinding of metal and corroding iron. His limbs were being bent and twisted beyond all human imagination, the articulated limbs moving and shifting more akin to cephalopods rather than a mammal's bone structure of joints and cartilage, his face was a contortion of both hellish pain and heavenly pleasure melting into an amalgam, and whatever pride and dignity that Jacob Torres had as both an Exorcist and a man of God was DEAD.
The wave of revulsion causes Leon to vomit, too disgusted and horrified at the Stray Exorcist's suffering death throes to even act. Even Ddraig had no words to describe the utter horror show that was happening before his host.
"I regret eating dinner..." the Inquisitor groaned before resuming to puke in sheer horror at the sight.
... How revolting, Grendel scoffed. To deny a worthy opponent an honorable death... to think I held any modicum of respect for you, Yamata no Orochi.
"Oh come on!" the Evil Dragon of Lust bemoaned as they dragged Jacob up close, his pained groans now mixed in with orgasmic moans. "I'm doin' God's work by sending this pious sunnuvabitch to Heaven."
Nidhogg grumbles in disgust. ... At least we grant our victims the mercy of a quick death, the Evil Dragon of Envy commented. Your enjoyment for the carnal is beyond perverse.
"Whatever!" Yamata no Orochi then lifts up their victim into their, suspending their twisted and mangled body by the length of their [Kokatsu Denryū]'s urumi blades. "... More for me!"
Jacob wanted to curse and scream at the Evil Dragon before him, but as he was brought closer to them, Yamata no Orochi snickered in a gremlin-like candor.
"So, tell me," the Evil Dragon of Lust said. "... The past thirteen years of your fucking life, killing whoever you want, however you want, all for the sake of the 'justice' that never existed... all gone down the shitter. How does that feel?"
The struggling Stray Exorcist could only curse as he was forced to give one of the blades the most painful blowjob.
"I dunno how you got your murder-boner, but let me be straight with you, bro," Yamata no Orochi continued. "... Whatever you lost, whoever hurt you on the way, doesn't mean shit compared to me."
At that moment, Jacob then forgets why he fought for the Church in the first place.
"No God, Devil, or even Angel can come close to what I can do," boasted the Evil Dragon of Lust. "I make gods look like babies every time I ruin their rice fields and poison their waters. I make Devils look like Angels for the amount of shit I can unleash upon wherever I end up at. I am Yamata motherfucking no Orochi, bitch. And I do whatever the fuck I want."
The horror of the realization that he'd wasted his entire life and to die in a faraway country in East Asia plunges the rest of his eroding resolve into the depths of absolute despair, fueling the kegare flowing through his body as it begins rotting slowly and painfully from within.
"YOU GOT NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF FOR THIS, BRO!" Yamata no Orochi cackled rapturously as the cyborg Stray Exorcist was writhing before them like a puppet to the Evil Dragon's chthonic whims. "SUFFER TRUE DESPAIR! BEG ME FOR MY CLEMENCY! SCREAM FOR MY NAME, BITCH!"
All Jacob could do was scream as Leon and Ddraig watched in utter horror as the Evil Dragon broke whatever was left of the Stray Exorcist's soul, laughing all the while.
"KA~KA KA KA KA!"
*SLASH*
With one swift and fluid motion, Yamata no Orochi pulls out their [Kokatsu Denryū] out of his body, the corpse now breaking into pieces upon landing, evidence of the Evil Dragon's work of shredding the the madman from the inside-out.
Jacob Torres, "The Exterminator," was slain.
"... Welp, I had my fun!" chortled the Evil Dragon of Lust before facing Leon, who was wiping the bile off of his lips with his sleeve and quietly thanking God above that the nightmare that had transpired before him and Ddraig was over. "Catch you guys on the flip-side!"
They then relinquish their control back to Takeshi, groaning deliriously as if he drank too much the night before. "Wha-What happened...?" he mumbled. "... Where am I?!"
"... Evil Dragon stuff," Leon answered as he wiped the bile off of his mouth with his arm before pointing at what was left of Jacob as he recovers [Excalibur Rapidly], to which Takeshi freaked out at seeing the pieces laid before them. "Thankfully, it was just us, so no innocents got hurt."
"I don't remember him looking so swole!" he commented, causing Leon to raise an eyebrow.
"Takeshi?" the Inquisitor asked. "... What was the last thing you remember?"
"Uhh..." Takeshi then racked his brain to remember the last thing he had experienced. "... Me getting shocked by the vending machine-AW SHIT! DID YAMATA NO OROCHI HIJACK MY BODY AFTER I FAINTED FROM THE AMPLIFIED PAIN?!"
"Evidently, we assumed that they took over your body after you took a dip into the fountain," Ddraig pointed out.
"Ka~ka ka ka ka!" The Evil Dragon of Lust cackled gleefully. "GUILTY AS CHARGED! How did you like my impression of my bro?"
Leon and Takeshi's jaws went agape at the revelation before hearing sounds akin to aerial bombing come towards their way.
"INCOMING!" Akeno, Koneko, Pandora, and Rias (carried by Koneko) were spotted running from Lailah riding on a heart-shaped flying saucer, the latter raining down unholy Hell in her wake while her face was cherry-red.
"I...what?!" Leon grimaced.
"ORC had weirder days." Takeshi then rips out what was left of the fountain with his [Kokatsu Denryū], swinging it around before hurling the debris towards the Fallen Angel.
In amidst her screaming, Lailah effortlessly blasts the projectile out of the air before resuming her bombardment, to which Takeshi counters the barrage by grabbing the bits of the rubble with his urumi and then whipping the multi-pronged flail around, knocking the Fallen Angel out of the sky before she recovers.
"Hey guys, you alright?" Takeshi asked ORC before looking at the grounded Fallen Angel. "And why does she look like a middle-aged divorcee who went crazy on a shopping spree at Harajuku?"
"I DON'T NEED YOU TELLING ME THAT!" The Fallen Angel's reddened face blushed even hotter of embarrassment before blasting a beam of holy energy at them, to which was then countered by Leon blocking the barrage with his [Evalach] enhanced by his [Excalibur Blessing], conjuring a massive energy barrier from the magical shield. "HURRY UP AND DIE ALREADY SO I CAN RID MYSELF OF THIS MORTIFYING VESTMENTS!"
"C'mon, tutz, you don't look that bad for an amputee-cyclops of a Fallen Angel," Yamata no Orochi complimented (attempted to). "Own that look! Some people are into that shit!"
"You need higher standards," Takeshi deadpanned before facing Lailah, who looks as if she wants to die in order to escape the embarrassment. "And for the record, THEY DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME!"
Rias rolled her eyes as she was carried by Koneko. "To be fair, you kinda didn't help."
But just before anyone could lose any more brain cells for today, Yozakura comes out of the surrounding woods, carrying both [Excalibur Destruction] and [Excalibur Mimic] on her person.
"WHAT THE-?!" Akeno exclaimed upon seeing two of the Holy Sword's fragments on the African woman.
"We're done here!" the unmasked swordswoman declared. "We must withdraw!"
Wasting no time, she then rips off her cloak, revealing a bodysuit similar to Leon's underneath, only covered with bits of gunmetal-black armor plates, and said flung cloak being revealed to be containing several rows of Mk 2 frag grenades, with all of their pins removed by Yozakura pulling the thread that connected to them.
"GET BEHIND ME!" Leon then erects a magical barrier before everyone with his [Evalach].
*KABOOM!*
"[Genjutsu: Art of the Incorporeal Body]." Under the cover of hot smoke and flying shrapnel, Yozakura and Lailah successfully make their retreat.
As soon as the smoke clears, everyone then lets out a sigh of relief as they look upon at the utter devastation left behind by the invaders.
"... I think it's over for now." Takeshi then dismisses [Cataclysm Zone]'s base armor before walking up to Leon. "... Silver lining, we got one of the [Excalibur] fragments back."
"And we lost two in return!" Leon snapped before calming himself down. "... Forgive me, but I must stress that the situation has turned for the worse."
"We'll worry about the consequences later..." Rias then gets off of Koneko's back before pulling out her phone. "... Hey Sona, are the civilians unharmed?"
"Yeah," the other King replied from the other side. "Your Pawn helped out with the evac of the Restaurant Row. I'll contact my House's contracted Magicians to clean up the mess, erase a few hundred memories, edit a few CCTV footage, and bribe the press and media. Futile, but we have to hold up the masquerade."
"I'll pitch in," Rias confirmed as she looked around the park. "... Our foes weren't exactly subtle this time around."
"Looking forward to the after-action reports..." Sona then hangs up as Xenovia comes out of the woods, carrying Yuuto, Irina, and Issei on her back before collapsing, the former two's eyes looking sunken and traumatized, as if they've been through literal Hell on Earth just recently.
"XENOVIA!" Leon then rushes towards the Exorcist before pulling out his [Excalibur Blessing]. "Hold on! I'll tend to your injuries-!"
"The others... first," she requested, prompting Pandora to assist in the healing, with Gin using her hypnosis glare to put Issei, Yuuto, and Irina to sleep. "... Took a grenade while saving this civilian."
"Aw shit..." Takeshi cursed upon seeing his friend in the pile. "How did Issei get caught up in this mess?!"
"Bad luck, all things considered," the Catholic Exorcist explained. "... Groceries. You can see them by the roadside just outside the park."
"Protocol dictates we wipe his memories," Koneko replied as she erased Issei's memories of the last hour as his injuries were being healed. "... Hopefully, this doesn't become a recurring thing."
Takeshi nervously chuckles as he recalls how Issei's first date resulted in him nearly dying at the hands of Raynare (now working for Re:Live).
"Alright, the worst is over..." Leon sighed in relief after finishing healing the four before pulling Issei out of the pile and carrying him on his back. "... Takeshi, you know where he lives?"
"Just dump him at a nearby bus stop. He'll come to on his own," he groaned before looking at the pile of piecemeal cadaver scattered before his feet. "... Dammit, I just realized, but we lost our lead!"
Everyone groans upon realizing that the enemy had left little to no evidence of where they had come from, nor how they managed to sneak into the town undetected.
"Although, to be fair..." Leon then looked at what was left of Jacob before shuddering. "... I don't think he was willing to talk. Nor can his brain be prodded due to the amount of painkillers he'd ingested prior."
Akeno grimaces at the sheer amount of emptied pill bottles that are scattered about. "... Where the Hell was keeping those things?"
"THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO KNOW!" Takeshi exclaimed before slumping. "... We're in it for the long haul, aren't we?"
"... Not exactly."
Everyone flinches at Nidhogg's voice coming from Takeshi's [Cataclysm Zone].
"... What do you mean by that?" the Evil Dragon User pointed out.
"Whelp, bring one of that corpse's pieces to the belt," the Evil Dragon of Envy ordered. "... Just hazarding a guess here, but I can faintly pick up a familiar scent coming from that thing."
"Are you sure that it's going to work?" Leon asked.
"I'd place my trust in that wyrm as much as I can guarantee his death," Ddraig pointed out.
"I concur with the Red Dragon Emperor," Xenovia added. "... What's stopping you from lying through your teeth, Evil Dragon?"
"Well, do you have any other alternatives that would prevent this day from becoming a complete wash?!" Nidhogg's statement was met with silence. "... Didn't think so. Best to keep the plot moving forward, then."
Reluctantly, Takeshi then picks up half of Jacob's decaying (accelerated by the kegare) head before placing it near his belt. "Ugh... that guy seriously needed a shower," he winced. "... Hey Nidhogg, can you actually smell what's on him?"
"Don't underestimate me, whelp." The Evil Dragon of Envy began sniffing the corpse through the belt. "Like that pervert, I have lived in filth ever since I was born. My nose has adapted to differentiate varying scents of rot and decay, kegare included. I can tell where the person has been and when they've been there from the scent alone. Those well traveled tend to pick up several aromas of varying habitats, with none of them ever fading, almost forming a sort of 'timeline' detailing of their travels..."
Nidhogg then snickers upon picking up a very familiar scent from countless others coming from the hair of Jacob Torres.
"... And I finally figured out what was bothering me!" He then bursts out laughing at the discovery. "WE HAVE OUR LEAD, WHELP! NOW WE CAN TAKE THE FIGHT TO OUR ENEMIES!"
"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" cackled Grendel. "THE STAGE IS SET! BRING ON THE PLAYERS!"
"What is it?!" Rias asked. "What do you smell?!"
Within [Section Náströnd] inside [Cataclysm Zone], Nidhogg smirks with utter glee.
"We're going back to Gifu~!"
Takeshi's jaw dropped before his knees followed shortly after.
"NOOO!"
Leon and Xenovia both blink confusedly as the rest of ORC grimaces. "... What exactly happened at Gifu?"
At Nemichi Shrine, Gifu Prefecture...
"We're back," announced Yozakura as she and Lailah returned to their base, greeted by Nuriel.
"Report," the taciturn Fallen Angel stated.
"Got two [Excalibur] fragments, lost one in the process, and Lady Lailah lost her ability to use [Moody Phantom] because of that Gremory brat," she summarized as she held up [Excalibur Destruction] and [Excalibur Mimic]. "Also, Jacob got himself killed, presumably by that Evil Dragon User."
Kokabiel and Father Galilei then show up behind the Fallen Angel in sentry, the former dismissing him back to his post with a gesture before sighing.
"Another one gone too soon..." The Fallen Angel then takes a nip from his flask as he quietly mourns the loss of a holy warrior. "He didn't talk, right?"
"Given the amount of painkillers he'd abused, I doubt that he was even humoring the option of being taken alive, Lord Kokabiel," Yozakura replied.
"Still though, a fine work indeed!" The "Genocide Archbishop" then does a small jig to celebrate. "A pity that we couldn't acquire [Excalibur Blessing], but alas, the Evil Dragons do what they do best; guarding their horde like the greedy lizards they are."
"To be fair, Father Galilei, Fafnir isn't classified as an Evil Dragon, but rather a Dragon King," Yozakura corrected.
"What's the difference?" he scoffed dismissively. "But enough small talk. Time for business!"
Yozakura rolled her eyes as she followed Father Galilei into his workshop inside the temple's subspace, leaving Kokabiel with Lailah, the latter's face still red as blood from sheer embarrassment.
"... Your looks aside," the Stray Cadre commented before taking another nip from his flask, "can you explain how you managed to regain [Shining Superstar] even after you gave it to Mittelt a month prior?"
"I honestly don't know..." she explained. "... When that Gremory brat bound my powers with [Lock Control], I... I felt a sense of... desperation. Like how... I knew that I was going to die... but even against those hopeless odds... I didn't want to die. I wanted to live... because I felt something... something vague... that I still needed to fulfill something... before I can call it quits."
Kokabiel, upon listening to her testimony, understands what she was saying. In fact, it almost felt eerily familiar to why he stuck out for this long in the first place, going as far as to distance himself from Azazel because the latter refused to do what he was doing.
A sense of loss. Something that had scarred many Fallen Angels like Kokabiel.
"... Hold onto that feeling," the Stray Cadre advised. "... I sense that your powers are growing from your scars, Lailah. Hone it. Refine it. Let it grow and mold you into a stronger being."
"... Yes, Milord," she answered with a nod, realizing that Mittelt did not die for nothing. "... And perchance... are you willing to guide me on this path I find myself in?"
Kokabiel nods. "... I will," he reassured, "because no one else will."
And so, the two Fallen Angels go inside the temple, with Gadreel listening in on the whole conversation just as he was returning from his patrol.
"... How revolting," he hissed. "That wench thinks she can supplant my position all because of my one faulty slip-up?! We'll see about that."
He then resumes his patrols with a growing feeling of resentment boiling deep in his heart.
Inside the temple's workshop, Yozakura then sets down [Excalibur Destruction] and [Excalibur Mimic] on Father Galilei's work counter before taking out her [Excalibur Nightmare] and placing it with the retrieved Holy Swords.
"... Are you sure that you wish to part with such a powerful weapon?" asked the Father.
"It's no longer useful to me," Yozakura answered with a scoff. "... I don't hunt rabbits with a cannon. What I have on me is more than enough."
"Ah, so they fell short?" Father Galilei asked as he prepared to get his work started.
"To be fair, individually speaking, it was no fault of their own," she pointed out as she then reaches for a wooden hannya mask before putting it on to hide her patchy-looking face. "It's just that their teamwork was garbage."
"Ah, typical Devil and Exorcist-coordination," scoffed the Father as he checked his phone for something. "... Like oil and water, I suppose."
"Although, one thing did catch my attention," she revealed. "... I found Isaiah. He goes by 'Kiba Yuuto' nowadays. Took a gander at his Student ID while he was incapacitated by [Nightmare]'s effects."
Father Galilei's eyes blinked before widening in surprise. "... Oh?" He then grins. "Do tell, how was he?"
"As expected of a child that is still angry at the world for taking his friends away; sloppy," Yozakura answered. "... You know, I feel as if House Gremory's children seem to be a magnet for trouble from the people they gather."
"Then again, that is their problem for taking in an Evil Dragon User of all people," the old man scoffed, dismissing Yuuto as an impotent threat. "Of course, history's ultimate villain would attract trouble like flies to manure. I suppose he can't help himself. He's the bad guy, after all. So of course heroes would rise to the occasion to face him!"
"Jacob ate shit, so there's that..." Yozakura then rolled her eyes.
"Shame, but I suppose that is the reality we live in..." Father Galilei then looks out of the front door before walking out towards it. "... Can't win all of our battles, so might as well make sure that his and countless others' deaths aren't in vain."
Yozakura then follows the Father outside, greeted by a giant packaging box that was as large and tall as her.
"Finally! My package!" Father Galilei chortled before going around it. "... Be a dear and help me get this inside, would you? My back is not as sturdy as it used to be."
The two then carry the box inside before setting it down before the Father's workshop before Valper then checks his phone.
"Oh pooh," he grumbled as he shook his head disapprovingly. "... It appears that our future acquisitions are no longer in the cards. Our sponsor's endowments have been intercepted."
"Elaborate." Yozakura then takes out her ballistic knife before tearing the tape open, revealing a sealed steel sarcophagus with a fogged up viewing window where a person's head would be oriented at.
"It means that I can no longer augment what's left of our forces into combat-ready cyborgs," Father Galilei sighed in disappointment before looking at the package and smiling. "But, as the saying goes..."
Reaching his hand into his pocket, he then pulls out a gem radiating with a chaotic cluster of holy energy, something which causes Yozakura of all people to take a step back in shock.
"When life gives you lemons..." Father Galilei then smiles as he sees the window of the sarcophagus, the fogginess fading away to reveal a girl no older than twelve years old suspended inside. "... Make some lemonade."
Back at the ORC Building...
"... You know," Takeshi remarked as he looked down at [Cataclysm Zone], "you really should consider a career as a detective."
"I don't help people, whelp," Nidhogg dismissed. "I kill them."
"Senpai..." Koneko hissed as she and everyone else in ORC (sans Yuuto; who got incapacitated and is in bedrest, again) were in a video-call meeting with Leon, Xenovia (sharing the same screen), and Sona.
"Okay..." the Sitri King said as she adjusted her glasses. "... Thanks to everyone's efforts, the whole incident that ended an hour prior has been successfully swept under the rug, all eyewitnesses had their memories wiped, all CCTV footage has been scrubbed and edited, and the local press is going print out a story of a lone-wolf gunman attacking a restaurant tomorrow. Everyone is in agreement of how it's being handled?"
"It's for the best, all things considered," Leon consents as Xenovia nods in agreement.
"I concur." Rias nodded before turning her attention towards Leon and Xenovia. "... So, how did the Church respond?"
"They're not happy," Xenovia bluntly answered. "We spent the first ten minutes getting yelled at by the Magisterium, and then when we revealed that Yogesh ibnat-Abara al-Igwe, currently referring to herself as 'Yozakura,' they changed their tune instantly and... somewhat forgave us for our failures."
"Okay, so how dangerous is she to warrant the Magisterium to do a complete about face?" Rias asked.
"She's SSS-Rank Stray Exorcist," revealed Leon, causing everyone's eyes to widen in horror. "And no, she's not augmented in any other way. She's a bonafide, 100% flesh-and-blood human being who makes gods tremble with her presence alone. Even the Magisterium are wary of her."
"And how long has she been running free?" Akeno asked.
"10 years," answered Xenovia. "The trail of slain Executors she left behind are proof enough that she's not to be taken lightly. I only faced her because someone had to, even if it meant meeting my end."
Grendel chuckles in anticipation facing a worthy foe. "... Perfect."
"Great..." Pandora groaned while holding onto Gin for comfort. "... So we have a Stray Exorcist that is just as dangerous as Kokabiel himself."
"With that in mind, the Magisterium permitted me to use the Red Dragon Emperor's powers in full," Leon confirmed. "... No more holding back, I suppose."
"Your secret is safe with me," Sona reassured. "Anyway, let's move onto discussing other matters pertaining to this sequence of events."
"Before we start though..." Takeshi then raises his hand. "... Quarta-san, I... I have something to say."
Before Xenovia could give lip, Takeshi bows his head, much to her surprise.
"... Thank you for saving my friend Issei back there," he said. "... It means a lot to me, and preferably, I rather not see him die because of what we went through today."
"Think nothing of it," the Exorcist dismissed. "I was just doing my job. That's all."
Takeshi nods before sitting back down.
"Okay, first and foremost, how the fuck did those three get into Kuoh without tripping any alarms?" Sona began as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "... Just for clarification, my familiars did spot them fleeing Kuoh Town before disappearing, so clearly, whatever escape method they utilized prior wasn't clearly it."
"We can hazard a guess," Akeno pointed out. "... Mainly, Lailah."
"Her way of fighting seems to promote stealth and guerilla tactics, appearing and disappearing in and out of thin air as if she was using [Excalibur Transparency], but somehow even more imperceptible, at least until she comes out and attacks."
"Three of her six wings are missing on her back along with her left eye, so we presume that she got good at hand-to-hand combat after surviving an encounter with Re:Live," Akeno added. "... Thankfully, the President was able to seal away her stealth powers via [Lock Control] and [Power of Destruction], but just like the wounded and cornered animal that she is, she somehow managed to gain a power that allowed her to glass various parts of the town while dressed like a J-Pop idol way past her prime. I'm not kidding on that last part."
Sona groans at the sheer insanity of what had transpired in combat, grateful that her Peerage was only in charge of evacuating and protecting the civilians from the combat zone. "... In any event, I suppose that they're not going to come back to Kuoh again?"
"I think the adage of 'it only works once' is in effect, Sitri-san," Takeshi pointed out. "Then again... our foes made off like bandits while we only managed to get one of the [Excalibur] fragments back. And speaking of..."
Leon then holds up [Excalibur Rapidly] to the screen. "... Normally, upon recovery, we'd be ordered to return it posthaste, but given that we lost two of our own, the Magisterium is allowing us to use it in our mission as a force multiplier."
"Wait a minute," Koneko said out loud. "Can't they just send backup?"
"Even if they wanted to, we tried, but failed," Xenovia revealed. "... Several remaining Exorcists are either too underqualified for the mission of our severity, or are too busy dealing with problems across the rest of the world. In a word, we're on our own."
Takeshi grimaces as he and everyone else sees the odds stacking up against them.
Don't take it too hard, whelp, Nidhogg snickered in anticipation. Young, plucky heroes, fighting against insurmountable odds, either emerging in hard-earned triumph or falling into disgraceful deaths! Either way, I look forward to seeing how this story ends!
Bring it the fuck on! Grendel then laughed rapturously. Gods, Devils, or Angels! Someone's gonna bleed! I do not care which way the ichor flows!
More people to utterly fuck up means more fun for everyone! Yamata no Orochi pointed out with an ecstatic glee. ... I'm going to enjoy every, last, moment.
Takeshi sighs, knowing that if the Evil Dragons have something to look forward to, then they're gonna be in for a really rough time. "... Hold on, I just remembered something," he addressed. "Mainly, about Lailah."
"Go on," Sona replied.
"Anyone know what her deal is?" he asked. "I mean, last time we checked, we knew nothing concrete about her. At best, all we can piece together is what we see from her, like her stealth powers and holy energy output bordering on Ultimate-Class."
"That is concerning, indeed," Rias remarked before checking her texts from a few minutes prior. "... So far, nothing. Lailah is still an enigma as far as the supernatural community is concerned."
"And a dangerous one, to boot," Leon added. "... Disturbingly, Torres had disclosed to me that Lailah had been watching us from the shadows since our little goodwill sparring matches, meaning that the enemy knows that I am the Red Dragon Emperor and Takeshi has two active Balance Breakers at the ready."
"Speaking of, why didn't you use one?" Xenovia asked.
"Aside from me avoiding the civilians ending up as collateral?" Takeshi began to state his answer. "... Okay, my Balance Breakers have a bit of a pet peeve where if I'm knocked out while using one of them, they go into a 'cooldown' state and are unable to be used until the day after. Granted, [Dead Shore Advent] was still an option, but I rather not get caught-off guard when a stronger opponent shows up and I end up with no viable options. I took a risk with Freed a month prior. I'm not pushing my luck on how far I can abuse my powers."
The Exorcist sighs. "Fair enough," she groaned. "You and Inquisitor Ainsworth are birds of a feather in terms of flippancy. No offense."
"None taken," Leon reassured before clearing his throat. "And finally, our sole lead."
"I took the liberty of checking any supernatural activities within Gifu Prefecture with my scout familiars, and so far..." Sona then pulls out her phone before adjusting her glasses. "... Quiet. Eerily so."
"Elaborate," Rias requested.
"Normally, you'd have some spirit activities of the local Yōkai running about but my familiars can't pick up anything," she revealed. "... It's almost... quiet. Like something scared everyone off."
That last part then causes Leon to go into alarm. "... Xenovia, can you contact the Church's civilian agents stationed within that Prefecture?"
She then pulls out her phone along with a Church-issued phonebook from the chapel that they were staying in before trying to contact all of the numbers, only for all of the ones in Gifu to be redirected to voicemail.
"... No one's answering," she revealed in slight shock."... Alright, I guess we know where we're heading next."
"As soon as Irina recovers and we dress covertly, we'll begin scouting," Leon instructed. "I'll notify the Magisterium of the shift in our plans."
"I'll keep my scout familiars active around that area just in case," Sona confirmed.
"What about us?" Pandora asked.
"Normally, we'd tell you Devils to stay out of our business," Xenovia answered. "... But due to our current circumstances, the Magisterium is allowing you Devils to assist in our mission. Don't get used to it. I still cannot trust that other Knight of yours to hold his own."
"That, and I doubt even we can leave this alone even if we were given the choice," Takeshi pointed out. "... We did piss off the war hawks within Grigori by taking Pandora last month, so they have every reason to have our heads on a pike. That, and need I remind you of ORC's tendencies to make enemies that tend to come back for another round if they escape?"
"Sad, but true," Rias pointed out. "... In any event, I'll leave the planning to you Exorcists while we sort out our own options. We'll move when you're ready. Just let us in on the know during the process."
"Will do," Leon confirmed with a nod.
"I'll excuse myself to check on Kiba-kun," Akeno said as she went out the office door and upstairs.
"Speaking of the injured, how's Irina-san doing?" asked Takeshi.
Leon sighs. "... My [Excalibur Blessing] could heal only physical wounds. To mend the tears and scars of the heart and mind is beyond me."
"She's strong," Xenovia reassured. "... One experience with [Excalibur Nightmare] won't be enough to break her."
"Speaking of injuries..." Leon then looked down at the Exorcist. "How are your legs?"
"Not my first time pulling random objects out of my body with a pair of tweezers," she revealed. "... The demonic energy within said bullets however, is dirty pool."
Before the conversation could go anywhere, Akeno then comes running back into the office. "YUUTO'S GONE!"
Everyone promptly goes catatonic upon hearing that sudden news throwing a wrench into their plans.
"WHAT?!"
Outside of Kuoh Town...
Running through the woods leading outside of town, Yuuto ran as his legs could take him.
He didn't know why he was risking his life as a Stray Devil even after being defeated thrice in a row, but he knew in his mind that it had to be done.
Was it foolish pride? Was it an opportunistic chance for vengeance? Or was it something more animalistic instinct that he needed to fulfill?
He doesn't know. He doesn't know anything anymore.
Every single scar he had, both physically and spiritually, reopened during his fight with Yozakura.
He could see her standing before him, mocking his pain, exploiting his fear, puppeteering him like a slave to his own past for her own amusement.
He knew that if he'd waited, then it would mean that his enemy would get away before he could try.
Looking back at Kuoh Town for what it felt like for the very last time, Yuuto then hardens his resolve before running towards destinations unknown.
"... I'm sorry, everyone," he apologized quietly. "... But this is something I have to do myself."
He then disappears into a blur, letting his Knight's speed take him away from Kuoh Town as far as possible.
"YUUTO!" Rias cried out as she and the rest of ORC searched the area.
"He couldn't have gone that far!" Takeshi said as he then unfurls his wings before activating [Promotion: Knight]. "Come on!"
30th of May, 2019 AD
"Ugggh... where am I?"
Raynare then blinks before opening her eyes, finding herself at a dimly-lit basement resembling an operating room.
"Ah! Our little patient's finally come to!" a German-accented voice remarked as he walked up towards the Fallen Angel. "Wakey-wakey!"
Raynare then shoots a look at the doctor. "... Hey," she said. "Where am I? And why am I here?"
"Uhh..." The German doctor then pulls out a mirror from his apron pocket. "... Try not to freak out."
He then places the mirror before Raynare's face, revealing that her hair's gotten a lot shorter in length...
"Wha-Wha-What the...?!"
And discovering that everything from the neck down was no longer there, her neck being linked to an apparatus powered by a pair of jumper cables and a car battery.
Then, she remembers EVERYTHING.
The long boat trip towards Russia.
The freezing rain at Okhotsk.
The meeting of two cloaked men.
Then Yozakura's betrayal, decapitating her and dumping her head and body into the sea below the cliff.
Raynare then mumbles and wails in panic as the doctor moves his body aside, revealing her own decapitated body being operated on by the three other doctors.
The Fallen Angel begins screaming in utter horror as the existential nightmare of her own life was exposed in full before her own eyes.
"Will you keep it down?!" the eyepatched doctor groaned as he was busy surgically fixing the spine. "Your body parts aren't going to replace themselves, you know?!"
"HOW AM I STILL ALIVE?!" the head of the Fallen Angel panicked as her head failed on the bolted-down table where the contraption keeping her head alive was at. "AND HOW AM I STILL TALKING, WITHOUT MY FUCKING THORAX?!"
"The beads," revealed the nurse. "They're not just a bomb collar with a mile-wide blast radius. They're also your soul anchor in case your body expires from mortal means. You'll be kept alive in these for a year rather than the average soul lingering in a corpse for three days."
"Whatever... it takes... to save... you," the doctor in scrubs and paper bag-mask jittered, removing the barnacles growing inside of her organs.
Raynare could only mumble as she saw these absolutely brilliant, yet utterly-deranged quacks do their work of repairing her body. "... Just who are you people really?!"
"Well, you can say that we could've been legitimate doctors, saving lives and bettering the common good," the German doctor remarked. "But alas, fräulein, it wasn't in the cards."
"... Our pasts... our shame... our atonement," the baghead doctor mumbled as he continued operating without breaking focus.
"Not every life on this planet are roses," the nurse commented as she took out a heart before planting it into Raynare's body. "Some of us can't help but be born during interesting times."
"And no matter how you dress it up, fate is a bitch," the eyepatched doctor remarked.
"That doesn't answer my question!" Raynare pointed out. "... I want your names."
The German doctor shrugs. "Well, since you asked, might as well, ja?" He then turned towards his colleagues, all of whom nodded in consent before the doctor began his proper introductions. "... I am Ludwig von Frankenstein, descendent and reincarnation of the infamous Victor von Frankenstein, an infamous Alchemist and not just Mary Shelly's central antagonist character. In fact, the book itself was his deathbed confession he told to said author when she was but a mere lass."
"... P.P. Palmer," the baghead doctor revealed. "... For every life... that my ancestor has taken... I will save... and I will save more... no matter what."
"... Amrita," the nurse said. "... I was a regular nurse in Bangladesh before memories of Sushruta came back to my head. I now seek to write another volume of his work in this field of supernatural medicine."
"Michał Kłosowski," the eyepatched doctor confided as he took a drag from a freshly-lit cigarette.
"From who?" Raynare asked.
"George Chapman."
"Not ringing any bells."
"Jack the Ripper."
If Raynare was drinking anything right now, she would've done the most messiest spit take ever.
"Relax, I ain't gonna leave you scattered all over this room in pieces," Michał reassured before exhaling a plume of smoke. "... That was what my old man did to my fiancé when I was in medical school. Iced that bastard with a scalpel before I ran for it and went underground."
"Are you done?" Then behind Raynare's head, Re:Live shows up, surprising the Fallen Angel while the rest of the Mad Doctor Shift Squadron are nonplussed by their boss' sudden appearance.
"Just need to replace the organs eaten out by barnacles and other bottom-feeders and we're good to go!" Ludwig confirmed.
"Then keep at it," the superhero replied before facing Raynare face-to-face. "And as for you..."
"... Please let me go after her," Raynare requested.
"Who?"
"YOZAKURA, DAMMIT!" the Fallen Angel exclaimed. "THAT BITCH HAD THE FUCKING OVERIES TO BACKSTAB ME!"
Re:Live then stands up before picking up their phone and calling someone.
"It's me," they said into the phone before walking away. "About our plans..."
Re:Live then stops in their tracks before letting out a deep sigh of annoyance.
"... It's fine. Go on without me." Re:Live then growls before tapping a spatial ripple in the air, opening a spatial distortion before them before tapping on their phone. "When you're done, deploy Raynare to these coordinates."
En Route Towards Gifu Prefecture...
He honestly didn't know how far or how long he'd run for.
The batteries on his phone was dead, he hasn't eaten anything but water and wild grass his mind was buzzing like an agitated hive of wasps clamoring for the vague notion of revenge, and he hasn't slept a single wink lest the memories of his past came back to devour what was left his own soul.
That was Kiba Yuuto's life for the past three days as a Stray Devil.
"... Have to... keep going." His voice trembled as his shaky feet dragged through the grass and dirt, his shoes dirtied and soggy. "... Don't stop... don't stop-"
"Don't stop until what?"
A bassy and filtered voice causes Yuuto's synapses to flare in surprise, reflexively summoning his Demonic Swords of his [Sword Birth] into his hands before facing none other than Re:Live.
"... What are you doing here?!" the Stray Devil asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," the superhero deadpanned. "... For the record, I was at Hokkaido until I heard a report of you going AWOL and one of my covert contacts spotted you running around here. How the fuck did you survive this long, I won't ask."
Yuuto, rather than feeling any relief, felt only rage at their presence. "... Then move!" he hissed as he brandished his blades towards the superhero. "Call ORC or even Hell's authorities all you want! I WON'T LET YOU DENY ME MY REVENGE!"
Re:Live merely scoffs at the boy's rage before snapping their fingers, enveloping them inside a spatial distortion akin to what ORC had been placed in during their training camp at Shikoku.
"Actually, that was the furthest thing from my mind." The superhero then pulls out a keycard from the side of their belt before running through the slide reader.
"[Re:Trieve]," announced the belt. "[Caladbolg]."
From the discolored night sky, a rainbow-bladed Holy Sword lands before Re:Live's feet, with them picking it up by its handle before swinging it outwards, unleashing an oppressive gale from the motion alone that sent Yuuto buffering back a few inches.
"... You're trying to piss me off, aren't you?!" the Stray Knight hissed.
"I do that to a lot of people," Re:Live replied before pointing their blade towards Yuuto. "Come. Best me if you can."
1st of June, 2019 AD
For the past week or so, both ORC and the Church operatives were running themselves ragged pulling double-duty in both trying to find the enemy's hidden base of operations and Yuuto.
So far, nothing has turned up except for crickets. As the sun began to set on a certain town in Gifu Prefecture Leon, Xenovia, and Irina all stood outside of a certain location called Saint Spring School...
*RUMBLE*
*BEEP-BEEP*
*CRACK*
Currently being demolished as they stood there to watch the place's "retirement" as a form of therapy of coming up with nothing, all three of them dressed no differently from regular civilians, with varying ensembles of jackets, jeans, hats, and shoes hiding their combat uniforms underneath.
"... You know, I tried asking the town's inhabitants if they saw a blond boy around High School-age being around these parts," Leon remarked as an excavator tore through the second story of the closed-off building. "... They did not give me the time of day, let alone, my attention."
"It's the same when I asked about something weird happening around these parts as well," Xenovia added. "... I even checked our agents' home addresses, but their houses were left vacant. Sold off a week ago at the latest."
"... It's almost like this town is dying," Irina mumbled as her glazed eyes stared at the building being torn down.
"You okay?" Leon asked.
"I'm fine, really..." the Protestant Exorcist answered before sighing. "... Actually, no. I'm not. I'm not okay."
Xenovia sighs as she knows what was the source of her woes. "... [Excalibur Nightmare]?"
"It wasn't just a bad dream..." she revealed. "... I felt... everything. The flames... the burns... the suffocation... and the weight of Issei in my arms... Oh my God...! Why?!"
Irina sobbed as she was comforted by Leon and Xenovia.
"... I'm so sorry I couldn't do more for you," he apologized. "... And don't worry about Issei. He's in good hands now."
Irina nods before hugging Xenovia, causing her to freeze in shock. "... And... thank you for saving him," she said as her embrace around the Catholic Exorcist tightened. "I wouldn't know what I'd do... if he'd died in front of me...!"
Xenovia aloofly takes the hug. "... It's the least I can do as a servant of God."
"Excuse me?" A meekish and nervous voice called out to them, revealing a young man in his mid-to-late twenties dressed in a red and white tracksuit and tennis shoes walking up to them, carrying a plastic bag of groceries in his hand. "... What are you three doing in a place like this?"
"Just killing time," Leon answered. "... Mr... what should we call you?"
"Just call me Atsugi," the young man answered before looking at the building with a hint of nostalgia and disappointment. "... You know, I've only worked there for a few months before... well, as you can already see."
"Curious, but what happened?" asked Xenovia. "Parts of that school building look sort of new, so why is it being taken down?"
Atsugi sighs before explaining. "... You see, about a while back, a slashing spree perpetuated by one of my own students took place in the Junior High wing of that school," he began. "At first, the principal did everything in his power to keep the incident from going on national news, even tried to scapegoat me for it."
"... That sounds so wrong!" Irina commented while the rest of the Church operatives grimaced in disgust.
"Try telling that to him, he wouldn't budge even if it was the end of world," Atsugi cynically remarked. "... Even though I kept my job, it didn't matter. A week after, several reports of this school being part of a massive embezzlement and bribery ring under the pretense of 'donations' got leaked all over the internet, along with and exposé that ties this school with numerous criminal connections had amongst its student body, one of which being a blackmail ring run by one of my own students that got murdered during the slashing spree."
The three of them were at a loss for words at how utterly corrupt-no, CRIMINAL, Saint Spring School's administration was.
"Japan's Ministries of Education and Justice ordered that this school to be shut down immediately, with everyone working there losing their jobs, including Akeboshi-sensei, and the rest of the students who enrolled here are going to have to transfer to other schools and continue with their years," the ex-teacher went on. "And just last week, the principal was found murdered in an alleyway, with the culprit still being unknown. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, that son of a bitch..."
Atsugi then sighs before offering them each a can of soda from his bag.
"Something for your troubles of having to listen to this old man," he said. "... I know, but looking back, working at that place might've shaved off several years of my life."
Leon sighs before opening his can of Pepsi. "... Well, Mr. Atsugi, I hope your journey to find greener pastures proves to be fruitful."
The former educator nods before leaving. "I'm getting out of this stupid town like everyone else, anyway," he remarked. "Maybe somewhere like the countryside would be nice..."
As soon as Atsugi had left, the three Exorcists look back at the Saint Spring School currently under demolition, now seeing it as not a place of learning gone too soon, but a cancerous tumor that is rightfully being excised for the greater good.
"... I hate this town," Xenovia groaned.
"You think this place is why Takeshi-san was so against on coming back here?" Irina pointed out. "... Or why the Evil Dragon was so jazzed on coming back?"
Leon sighed before finishing his drink as did everyone else. "... Let's get out of here."
The three then take a bus leading out of this stupid town, stopping at an open bus stop in the middle of the countryside. Driving up to them was a motorcycle followed up by two chiropteran winged-girls landing adjacent to him.
"Anything on your end?" Takeshi said as he took off his helmet.
"No," Leon replied. "... And judging by your looks, I suppose Mr. Kiba is still AWOL?"
"Basically," Koneko groaned as she withdrew her wings. "... Headless chickens have a better chance of finding senpai than we are."
"We're wasting time," Xenovia pointed out. "The longer we spend time searching for our objectives, the more time that the enemy has to prepare!"
"It's not like we have a concrete direction to run towards to begin with..." Pandora pointed out. "... But she's right. At best, we only have about 2 weeks left until our own base of operation gets leveled to bedrock by Kiri-sensei's bombs."
"Oh crud, I forgot about that!" Irina exclaimed before nervously chuckling. "... Shoot, we've got a lot to juggle all at once, don't we?"
Everyone sighs before wondering what to do next.
*grumble*
"... Then again, we really can't think on an empty stomach," Takeshi pointed out as he then checks his phone. "... There's a sukiyaki place in the next town over. Wanna meet over there and bash?"
"Can't think of anything better," Leon conceded as he received the address. "... Alright, we'll take the next bus over."
"See you there, then." Takeshi then rides off with Pandora and Koneko flying above him.
A Couple Minutes Later...
Sitting around a massive clay pot of boiling meat, vegetables, and broth were the three Devils and Church operatives, currently situated at the outside seats.
"... So we have to share?" Xenovia asked incredulously.
"To be fair, it's a communal meal," Koneko pointed out. "... No dipping chopsticks into the pot if you used them."
"Fair enough." Leon, Irina, and Xenovia then went into a small prayer. "Blessed be our bounty, O Lord Deus Trinity. Amen."
"Itadakimasu!" With that, everyone dug in.
"So..." Takeshi began as he took his ladle and poured his own share into his bowl. "... How does it feel working with us for this long?"
"You mean working with us," Xenovia commented before clearing her share with a single gulp. "... I still don't like it. This kind of alliance we have right now? It's unheard of. Especially there being an Evil Dragon User in our midst."
"What can we say?" Koneko commented before finishing her own share. "... Ever since senpai came into our lives, we've been breaking norms left and right."
"That's nice..." Irina remarked before the ladle was passed onto her. "... If we can save lives from being lost by those seeking to destroy them, then I will gladly accept."
Leon chuckles before eating his own portion. "... Admittedly, even if we weren't allowed to ally together, you still would've done so, right?"
"... Admittedly, it was because of Takeshi moving heaven and earth for me is why I am with them now," Pandora confessed before drinking her broth.
"And besides, we of Gremory Peerage had made a reputation for being Hell's delinquents," Takeshi added with a smirk. "Screw the laws and norms! We follow what is right! And right now, we want to stop a bunch of warmongers from killing millions, for obvious reasons!"
"By potentially starting a war yourself?" Xenovia deadpanned.
"Hey, Gundam 00 taught me that in order to stop a war, you start one yourself," he countered.
Indeed, Nidhogg agreed. Interesting times we live in...
Really wish that there was a war happening right now! Grendel commented. But if that Kokabiel prick lives up to his reputation as a SSS-Rank Stray, then I am going to savor every bite!
And silver lining! It won't be a total sausage fest! Yamata no Orochi cackled madly.
Ddraig rolled his eyes within Leon's dormant [Boosted Gear]. ... The fact that I cannot dispute anything you maniacs say just proves that this world has gone to Hell.
"Never change, my friend..." Leon sighed before taking his own share from the pot.
The six then continued eating before another topic was addressed.
"So, Miss Shidou," Pandora broke the silence. "... I take it that you're the provisional User of [Excalibur Rapidly] after the loss of [Mimic]."
Irina nods in confirmation. "... Honestly, I'm back to basics when using it, so yeah," she remarked. "... I really wish the Church actually sent reinforcements."
"Come to think of it, what kind of missions are they occupied with that keeps them busy?" Takeshi asked.
"How bold of you to make us disclose our own affairs," Xenovia remarked. "... It's nothing special. Ever since the Church spread its influence throughout the world, we've been holding the line against the domestic entities native to our missionaries. Even though we've made agreements with the local Pantheons to let us practice our faith and spread our gospel, let's just say not everyone agrees."
"I mean, a few random evil spirits and wild magical creatures? That's basic work for the rookies," Leon added. "But sometimes, domestic gods come knocking at our doors leading a mob wielding pitchforks and torches, resulting in our more experienced operatives to take the field, hence why we're so short-staffed. It's a never-ending struggle, although even I have to admit that my side didn't exactly help their case when blood started spilling..."
"Speaking of, I am kind of curious about something..." Takeshi then poured his share into his own bowl. "... Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Three faiths under the umbrella of the Church. What are the other faiths, and which one did Yozakura come from?"
"Allow me to explain," Leon responds before the ladle was handed to him. "... Aside from the three, there are other branches of the Church that are each represented by a member of the Magisterium as of today."
"There's the oldest, the Jewish Faith," Xenovia pointed out. "... After the Nazis attempted to kill them all, they've been steadily radicalizing over the years, although nowhere near enough to be considered Stray. Although I heard rumors of some of them starting to splinter off into the Zionist sub-faction, but its so far unsubstantiated. And don't even get me started on Israel. Politics are enough of a headache already."
"And then there's the Chaldean Faith," Irina asked. "Those guys normally keep to themselves and operate quietly within the Middle East. Their influence is comparatively miniscule, but steadfast."
"And then there's the real-hot button branch, the Islam Faith," Leon groaned. "... I won't sugarcoat it, even since its founder, Muhammad, passed away, it split into two subfactions that loathe each other, and it got worse as time went on."
"I can tell..." Takeshi shuddered when he was about to watch ToQger, he instead watched a news broadcast about a journalist being beheaded somewhere in the Middle East, scarring countless children who just wanted to watch Tokusatsu. "... So, where's Yozakura from?"
"Islam," Xenovia answered before explaining more about the Stray Exorcist. "... Nobody knows where she'd come from other than she just showed up on someone's recommendation one day, graduated from her Acolyte status within a year, became an Exorcist at the age of 10, and later moved to becoming an Executor for the Islam Faith."
"In a word, she was a prodigy," Leon added before chuckling nervously. "... In fact, she was originally supposed to be an Inquisitor before I took her place."
"So what happened?" Koneko asked. "Why did she go AWOL?"
Irina looked to the side before sighing, her soul still shaken after the Stray Exorcist had forced her to live out her worst fears via [Excalibur Nightmare]. "... No one knows why, but during a mission to stop a contingent of Stray Exorcists around 2009, she flat-out killed everyone all by herself, including her own teammates, before just... vanishing."
"... So you're saying that she just went crazy one day and left?" Pandora pointed out.
"The only thing that the Magisterium knows is the amount of bodies left behind in her wake," Leon revealed. "... Stranger still? Our trail for her went cold about 5 years ago. So her showing up now of all times is a bit concerning."
Takeshi grimaces as he scoops up the last bits of the meat and vegetables with the ladle and pouring it into his bowl. "... Okay, the more I learn about her from you guys, the less sounds like the likes of Freed and Jacob, and more akin to the fucking Zodiac Killer or a cryptid."
Leon, Xenovia, and Irina all nod in agreement. "... An apt comparison."
"I think we'd be better off hunting actual cryptids," the Catholic Exorcist deadpanned. "... At least they're not real."
"In a world where gods and demons coexist as if it were Shin Megami Tensei? Doubt it," Takeshi rebuked.
Everyone sighs upon finishing the hotpot.
"Well, that was a good release..." Leon then stretches his back while Takeshi footed the bill.
"No kidding," Koneko agreed. "... Food is the universal cure."
"Now we can resume our hunt." Xenovia then stretched out her legs.
"Right..." Irina sighed out, her hand steadily placed around the hilt of [Excalibur Rapidly]. "... We got a job to do."
Pandora then summons Gin before handing it to the Protestant Exorcist. "... Here," she offered. "... You still look troubled. She can help."
The Cath Palug meows before jumping into Irina's arms, the latter being comforted by her.
"Thank you, Gin-chan..."
The kitten meows before cuddling against her bosom.
"Wait!" Takeshi then runs up to them. "... Now that we're a proper search party, don't we need a team name first?"
"A... what now?" Xenovia asked.
"A team name!" Takeshi clarified. "You know, to better coordinate ourselves as a cohesive unit and for general morale boost. We got six people here, so that makes for a proper Super Sentai team!"
Irina's eyes then lit up. "... You're a fan, too?"
"I started with Kamen Rider, but Super Sentai is also my favorite as well!" the Evil Dragon User revealed. "Me and Leon acted out our favorite episodes and series when we were kids!"
"Omigosh, why didn't you tell me sooner, Inquisitor?!" the Protestant Exorcist squealed in delight.
"Work," Leon flatly answered, to which Koneko and Pandora nod. "... You know how it goes. I was lucky enough to have a portable DVD Player on me during my previous forays."
"Hey, hey, so what are your favorite Sentai teams?!" Irina asked. "Mine is Tensou Sentai Goseiger! Protecting the planet is an Angel's duty! That perfectly describes our beliefs to a T!"
"Wherever there is life, there is the roar of justice!" Takeshi then pounces up, strikes his palms into the ground before posing. "Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger!"
"The strongest and the bravest in history!" Leon then does a samba-esque dance before twirling around once and then pointing his finger up towards the night sky. "Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger!"
Irina, upon seeing this sign of solidarity, feels as if her weighed heart was unburdened, knowing that these two have her back. "... Thank you, Deus Trinity," she prayed. "Thank you for this wonderful blessing that is bestowed unto me!"
"... I don't get it," Xenovia said. "... Just what makes this 'Super Sentai' have to do with anything?"
"Don't you see, Xenovia?" Irina then placed her hands onto both her shoulders. "A true fan of Super Sentai is an ally of justice! Man or Devil, if they have love of heroes on their side, then they are trustworthy allies to our cause!"
Xenovia rolled her eyes in exasperation. "... Lord Deus Trinity, grant me the patience to bear with my fellow Exorcist's antics."
"Hey! I take offense to that!" said the other Exorcist while Leon and Takeshi shared a laugh.
"Oh sweet Satans, now there's three of them..." Koneko groaned.
"I think you might be onto something when you once said that Takeshi's fanboying might be more akin to an infection," Pandora commented.
After finishing their proclamations, Leon then takes out his phone. "Here," he said. "My number and everyone else's. Call any of us if you guys see anything."
"Will do!" Takeshi then adds Leon, Irina, and Xenovia's phone numbers onto his contact list and speed dial. "Koneko, Pandora, need the numbers?"
"Please." The Nekomata then adds their numbers onto her phone.
"Hey, Pandora," Irina asked before handing Gin back to the Knight. "... Why don't you have a phone?"
"Legally blind, remember?" She then pointed to her shades. "I gotta keep up with the act until next semester."
*bzzt-bzzt*
Takeshi then picks up his phone to find what he'd received.
"Guys?" he said as everyone else looked over his shoulder and at his phone. "... Re:Live sent me a text."
Said text were coordinates to a certain location along with a map.
"... That's literally about a couple miles from here!" Leon pointed out.
"Then let's go."
Takeshi then shares a ride with Xenovia while Leon and Irina are carried by Koneko and Pandora respectively.
"Come to think of it..." Takeshi said out loud while Xenovia was clinging onto his back while riding down the road. "... Why are you hitching a ride with me?"
"Don't overthink it," she replied. "... I just don't want Devils touching me with their filthy hands."
At the Rendezvous Point...
"Is it just me...?" Leon remarked as he was let down by Koneko before Pandora and Irina landed next to them. "Or have we been on a runaround as of late?"
"To be fair..." The Nekomata withdrew her wings before letting out a sigh. "... I'm so blaming Kiba-senpai for this crap."
Takeshi and Xenovia arrive soon after, the latter quickly getting off of the former's bike.
"So," the Exorcist said while looking around, "where's our contact?"
"Hold on..." Takeshi then checks his phone. "... She's coming right now."
"Wait, 'she'-?!"
*woosh*
Descending from above, a Fallen Angel appears before landing before them.
"Hey," she greeted. "My boss sent me to assist you guys. Please take care of me."
Xenovia and Leon looked towards Takeshi. "... Who is she-?!"
"Raynare?!" Takeshi exclaimed, almost not recognizing her due to her shorter hair. "What the Hell's with the new look-?"
*WHAM!*
Instantly, upon hearing the name "Raynare," Irina pounces onto the Fallen Angel, pins her arms down, and places the edge of [Excalibur Rapidly] against her throat.
"Give me one good reason, why I shouldn't kill you here and now," the Protestant Exorcist snarled, her eyes trembling in rage upon confronting her childhood friend's almost-murderer. "GIVE ME ONE!"
The Fallen Angel rolled her eyes before pointing her finger at the prayer beads around her neck. "See this?" she said. "That's a bomb collar. I so much as take them off, and it will glass everything within a mile-wide radius. That and, well, look at what's behind what I'm wearing."
Everyone then looks around Raynare's neck, spotting an ugly-looking line of surgical stitches and staples banded around her whole circumference.
"Are you...?" Koneko blinked before rubbing her eyes to see if she's not hallucinating. "... Are you some kind of a zombie right now?!"
Raynare nervously chuckles. "... It's a long story."
She then tells the six the abridged version of what had happened to her. From the boat ride to Okhotsk, to revealing that Yozakura used to work for Re:Live before betraying them, with her corpse retrieved by Riser and his Peerage, and brought back from the brink by the Mad Doctor Shift Squadron, with German doctor being a descendent of Victor von Frankenstein himself.
"What," Pandora flatly replied.
"So these last five years after her trail went cold, she was slumming with Re:Live only to betray them just last month?!" Xenovia pointed out. "That makes no sense at all!"
"Trust me, I'm confused as well," Raynare confessed. "... There, I told you everything I know, so can you please get off of me?!"
Irina growls before releasing the Fallen Angel. "... Fine," she scoffed, barely hiding her rage. "... Bloody cunt."
Takeshi sighs before texting to Rias. "... I really hope we don't end up with a second Yuuto in our hands."
Back at the ORC Building...
Rias then picks up her phone upon hearing its buzz, seeing a notification that Takeshi and Re:Live's agent, Raynare, had made contact.
"Alright, now we're going somewhere," the King remarked as Akeno came into the office. "... Anything?"
The Queen shakes her head. "No sign of Kokabiel, his associates, or even Yuuto," she confirmed. "... Honestly, I'm getting a little worried."
Rias sighs before massaging her temples. "... The Holy Sword Project, the Fallen Angels, the attack on Kuoh Town a week prior, and the enigmas that are Lailah and Yozakura, just how are all of these things connected?"
"Who knows, President?" Akeno remarked before sitting down on the couch. "... Typical Fallen Angels, tricky bastards as usual."
Rias then begins spinning around her office chair in contemplation. "... There's something we have to be overlooking," she remarked. "... Think Rias, why did the attack happen last week in particular? Who could've tipped off our enemies to make them wary of our improved security system in the first... place-Oh fuck me sideways, the answer was literally staring at my face!"
Without hesitation, Rias then contacts her brother.
"Akeno!" she ordered while waiting for Sirzechs to pick up. "Get Sona to pull up records of the Underworld's border movements! Someone who knows how we operate is aiding our enemies!"
Meanwhile, in the Underworld...
*bzzt-bzzt*
A deep voice sighs in exasperation before picking up his phone. "... It's me."
"Hello, Falbium Asmodeus," Sirzechs' voice called from the other side.
"There better be a damn good reason why I was pulled out of my office," the nondescript bald man with a thin moustache and goatee with a wide and muscular frame with a slight slouch replied. "... You know that I don't like being given more work than the bare minimum."
"I apologize for inconveniencing you, but if we don't address this properly, we might have a war on our hands," Sirzechs pointed out.
"Let me guess, Kokabiel?" Falbium replied as he entered into an elevator, pressing the buttons into a certain combination before the car he was in lurched down. "... Damn bastard can't sit still, can he?"
"To be fair, Governor Azazel was taking a risk when he brought him into the fold upon the formation of the Grigori," the Lucifer remarked. "... It was his choice, after all. He already called and however this ends, he's willing to take full responsibility."
"Less work for all of us," the Asmodeus sighed before the elevator doors parted, greeted by a pair of uniformed Devils dressed akin to military police with a bow. "... Alright, I'll do my part before I call you back."
"Take care." The call then disconnects as the two adjacent Devils then guide the Asmodeus down the dimly-lit hall.
"Alright, so what's the mess we're dealing with this time?" Falbium asked.
"Our border agents have intercepted an illegal shipment of a fully-grown Cerberus being transported out of Hell and into the mortal world," one Devil in uniform explained.
"Have Zatouji take care of the thing," Falbium ordered as the Devil then made the arrangements. "Anything else?"
"We've also intercepted a shipment of junk parts heading towards the same direction as well," another Devil explained. "Closer inspection has revealed that said package matches up to the old Grigori prototypes."
"And what of the courier?" asked the Asmodeus as he was guided towards a certain cell.
*ZAP!*
Screams of agony were heard coming from behind the barred window.
"We are currently interrogating him as we speak," said the Devil. "So far, we've only confirmed the existence of a network of spies and operatives within Gehenna. No names have been disclosed as of yet, Milord."
Falbium sighs in annoyance. "... Great, more work."
The Asmodeus then comes into the holding cell, gesturing his men to stand aside so that he confronts the captured spy himself.
"... Do you bastards enjoy giving me more work than necessary?" Falbium began. "So to not waste any time, I'll make it as easy as I can for you to understand; who hired you?"
"I-I DON'T KNOW!" the Devil replied. "I-I JUST GOT HIRED BY SOMEONE TO TRANSFER SOME CARGO FOR A FEE-!"
*TWACK*
The Devil croaks as he is kneed in the gut.
"Alright, so you don't know," the Asmodeus remarked before grabbing the Devil by his face. "... Alright, so was the Cerberus we've caught the one that you captured yourself, or was it someone else?"
"IT WAS ALREADY CAPTURED!" the Devil in captivity answered. "... It was already muzzled and caged by the time I was ordered to ship it out to the mortal realm. I don't know who it was for, but I needed the money-!"
*TWACK*
"I'm not here to listen to your excuses, wretch." The Devil screamed and moaned in agony after Falbium punched several teeth out of his mouth. "... Alright. I'm done with him. Make sure you don't kill him until I get a name."
"Yes Milord." The torture resumes as soon as Falbium exits the holding cell, escorted by his men as he takes out his phone.
"They're giving me and my staff work..." he sighed before the call was connected. "... It's me again. Alright, so it's clear that someone's hiring desperate saps off the streets to do their dirty work. But how they acquired the illicit goods and a fucking Cerberus might imply that there's someone higher-up on the food chain involved."
"Thank you," Sirzechs replied. "I'll notify the other Satans-"
"No, keep it quiet," Falbium vetoed. "... Soon as the word gets out, we'll waste even more time chasing shadows. No one but me, you, my men, and that asshole who's having his teeth removed hears of this while I send my men to their duty. Got it?"
"I'm not the one to question the wisdom of 'Shadow Warden of Gehenna'," the Lucifer replied. "... By the way, Re:Live sent a tip. I'll send it to you right now."
Falbium then receives an email containing the last month's gala's guest list along with a few annotated notes from Re:Live themselves.
"So that's why they insisted that they be head of security for that event in particular..." the Asmodeus commented. "... Alright, you just sit back and make sure everything in the public sector remains under control."
"Thank you." Sirzechs then hangs up as Falbium is then escorted back to the elevator.
While riding up the car, the Asmodeus then pulled out his phone again before calling someone.
"Hello?" he said. "It's me, Falbium."
To Be Continued...
And that concludes the reboot's "Chapter 23" and while it was less brutal than the last chapter, it still took a lot out of me.
I had a lot of ideas for this chapter in particular, but a couple didn't survive the transition from concept to paper, and more than a few of them had to be modified to better fit the flow of the plot that I'm writing for my interpretation of this reboot in particular.
But all of my personal gripes aside, here what I have managed to get out in my list of ideas:
In the fight with Jacob, Takeshi is shown as an example of "Skilled, but Naive," in that he learns the ropes of the supernatural absurdly fast, to the point where he and Leon, despite having a six-year gap of experience, are equally matched. However, the "naive" part comes from his recovery upon being caught off-guard (such as Jacob's lack of testicles) is sluggish, which leaves him vulnerable for the Evil Dragons to take the wheel.
Comparatively, Leon is an my example of "Technician VS Performer," in that while he is stronger than Takeshi in that he's mastered using his Holy Swords and [Boosted Gear] (thanks to that six-year gap), the way he uses them before he met Takeshi wasn't particularly creative or as daring, until his fight with Takeshi gave him some ideas to use [Excalibur Blessing] offensively. In a sense, Leon starts out as a "Technician" with Takeshi being a "Performer" as a base.
And to those concerned about Jacob being more resilient than he should be, well, being a cyborg and hopped up on a dozen bottles of painkillers effectively turned him into a Norse Berserker. He wasn't going down without a fight.
As for ORC vs Lailah, the latter survived Re:Live, so she's going to have the tenacity and will to survive like that of a cockroach. It's that will to live that allowed her to regain [Shining Superstar] in a moment of desperation. Even she doesn't know how far she can push her powers, and Kokabiel is more than willing to help her get stronger, like she did with Mittelt.
And credit to ORC, pulling the "Sicilian Dragon" to turn things around was a pretty ballsy move, given that it requires two Rooks and a Bishop to make it work, but ORC kinda proved that they don't always play by the rules. Hell, it's because of that they managed to seal away Lailah's [Moody Phantom], meaning that she can no longer get the drop on them ever again.
Now onto the fight with Yozakura... yeah, it was a curb-stomp in her favor, although Yuuto going all "Leeroy Jenkins" didn't help matters.
As for Yozakura's real name, Yogesh ibnat-Abara al-Igwe, loosely translates to "Lord Shiva/Krishna, Daughter of Spirit of the Heaven" in contemporary Northern African. If anyone knows how African names work better than I do, please let me know.
I also based Yozakura/Yogesh ibnat-Abara al-Igwe's unmasked appearance on of Samurai Leader from Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachiman (a short-lived IP from the creator of Naruto), Annette from Castlevania: Nocturne, Sister Sage from The Boys, and Shade the Echidna from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
And of course the bloody sociopath would use [Excalibur Nightmare]. Although her interpretations of "creating illusions" means "make everyone who's not mentally strong enough trip the BIGGEST of BALLS" ala make them live out their worst fears imaginable. And if Irina's testimony meant anything, Yuuto's little foray as a Stray is incentivized by him living out his worst fears (and felt EVERYTHING), effectively making him double down on his own desires for revenge.
And now onto the Evil Dragon of Lust's features:
[Kokatsu Denryū] has three forms, with them being named after the Three Poisons of Buddhism, Greed/[Yoku]/"欲" (urumi form), Hatred/[Niku]/"憎"(cudgel form), and Delusion/[Mōsō]/"妄想" (unknown form: will be accessed with Yamata no Orochi's Balance Breaker form).
And how they killed Jacob in the end... give credit to Nidhogg and Grendel, at least they humor the idea of a quick kill.
Yamata no Orochi, by DEFAULT, wants their victims to SUFFER. They will break their prey's mind, body, and soul. And that scene where [Kokatsu Denryū]'s urumi blades doing what "I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going"-thing? Anyone know Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood (an anime loosely inspired by Lady Snowblood, and how I learned of said source material in the first place)?
There's an episode where a Nue Executioner, Rinko Takemichi, "interrogates" someone in a train by shoving her "golden claws"/40 oronium metal bands implanted throughout her whole body (and why drinks like a fish; moving around with those things in her body hurt like HELL) into some poor sap's mouth and the rest of his bodily orifices until he dies in the pool of his own blood (Yamata no Orochi-approved).
Little wonder why Leon vomited at the sight.
Also, they revealed that they can now perfectly mimic Takeshi's voice and behavior, with the only "tell" being the double entendres.
Fear them, for they are Nidhogg on "Hard Mode."
And just a small thing for my own personal amusement, I'm having Maria no Danzai's Saint Spring School torn down as a form of karmic catharsis for my own end. And the asshole principal running that bedlam is murdered in an alleyway.
Hooray!
Then, Raynare came back from the dead. Or not?
I dunno, if you get brought back as a pseudo Frankenstein's Monster, does that count as "coming back to life"? The line between life and unlife is a bit muddy in terms of ethics.
And as soon as she comes back, Re:Live puts her to work, because of course, seeing her own beheaded body wasn't enough of a brainfuck.
Finally, the background elements of people investigating the shit behind the movements around Kokabiel.
It's gotten to the point where Hell's canonical lazybones, Falbium Asmodeus, is getting involved in the investigations. The "Shadow Warden of Gehenna" will make whoever's behind this mess regret making him wake up in the first place.
And with that, that's the end of this chapter. Hopefully, the development for the next one won't be as taxing, although that might be an exercise futility given my habits of going above and beyond for the things I do.
Tune in next time, when the investigation towards this arc's endgame finally begins, and the players gather at the stage! Until then!
Headcanon Voices:
- Atsugi: Shun Horie (JPN), Bryson Baugus (ENG)
- Falbium Asmodeus: Tetsu Inada (JPN), Major Attaway (ENG)
Tokusatsu References:
- Leon paraphrases Nago Keisuke/Kamen Rider IXA 2008 catchphrase.
- [Kokatsu Denryū]'s ability to enhance its User's nervous system eightfold is loosely based off Kamen Rider Gaim's [Jimber Arms]' enhancements.
- [Kokatsu Denryū]'s [Niku] form is based on the [Bloody DO] used by Kamen Rider Dread Type 2.
- Lailah's retort for Akeno calling her a "coward" is based on Debo Kyawaeen's line from her highlight episode from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger.
- Rias' new technique with her [Power of Destruction] and [Lock Control], [Domain of Destruction: Jester Five], is named after the Five Jesters of the Galactinsects from Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger.
- Yuuto and Irina's nightmare sequence ala [Excalibur Nightmare] is based on Redyue trapping Kouta in a dream sequence where the latter was an Inves in Episode 40 of Kamen Rider Gaim, "Awakening The Overlord."
- Leon ripping his clothes off is based off Leo doing the same during Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
- Raynare looking at her own decapitated body mid-operation is a reference to Power Rangers Operation Overdrive where Mack discovers that he's a robot (and only 2 years old to boot).
- P.P. Palmer's naming convention is based on how Carranger's Gorotsuki MotW are named (two same letters, followed up by a full name/surname).