Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness, Shigiya
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-Kuoh-
Helpless.
That was the only word that could describe how Xenovia and Irina felt at this moment. The two exorcists, proud warriors of the Church, were now chained up against a cold, damp wall in a darkened room. If Xenovia had to describe the entire thing… Their capture had been swift and humiliating — snatched in the dead of night while they rested in enemy territory, their bodies and minds too exhausted to resist.
This was further worsened by the fact that the one who called herself Assassin poisoned them, a foreign substance within their bodies that — while it didn't kill them — leeched most of their strength.
Before them, a ghostly projection flickered on the wall, displaying the grim events unfolding outside. It was a cruel window to the world they could do nothing to influence, despite it being the focus of their holy mandate.
While Irina barely remained conscious because of the poison and its effects, Xenovia forced herself to keep watching. Both of them had been sent here on a sacred mission: to retrieve or destroy the stolen Excalibur fragments. Instead, they had failed spectacularly. Worse, they had been reduced to mere bargaining chips, tools of leverage that had yielded nothing.
"It's… gone?" she whispered, watching the crimson pillar of lightning descend upon the land and lay waste to everything. An attack she doubted she could have survived unscratched had either of them been there, whether it be with Excalibur Destruction or Irina with Mimicry.
For a brief moment, she bore witness to the newly remade Excalibur made from six of the seven fragments shattering within Kokabiel's hands.
After that, everything disappeared from view as the spell dispersed.
Xenovia wanted to laugh. "What a joke we are." The young woman had trained her entire life for this kind of battle, wielding Excalibur Destruction with the divine purpose of eradicating evil. Yet here she was, powerless, unable to even contribute to the fulfillment of her mission.
Her fists tightened against the cold metal of her chains. The shame and frustration burned deep.
"What should we do?" Irina's defeated voice broke the suffocating silence. The young brunette, usually so full of optimism, now spoke with a tone of despair. Her cheerful smile, once her defining feature, had long since faded. "They definitely killed Kokabiel… and even if that Assassin woman is still alive, she's probably been scared away. Most likely, they've forgotten about us," Irina continued, her voice hollow.
It was a grim observation, but not unfounded. Even without a clear perception of the passage of time in this enclosed room, Xenovia was certain that at least a few hours had trickled by since they woke up, and it had to be morning by now. Then again, for all she knew this could have been another trick from Assassin, and even more time had gone by without her knowing.
"We need to find a way to break these chains," she said, her voice firm despite her inner turmoil. "I think the poison or whatever substance she gave us is starting to wear off. I can feel my strength slowly returning."
"You think? I don't know, I still feel my head pounding like crazy." From the looks of it, her partner was most definitely in a worse state than herself. Perhaps the poison had a more substantial impact on Irina compared to Xenovia's more muscled body.
More of a reason to find a way and get out of here, Xenovia also had to prioritize Irina's current state and make sure it would not get worse.
The chains were not unbreakable or enchanted, with enough brute force she could see herself breaking them. Even if their weapons — Excalibur Destruction and their other holy relics — were gone, confiscated by their captors. But even if they escaped, the mission was in shambles, their objectives unattainable. And to make things worse, Devils who were supposed to be their mortal enemies had averted the catastrophic consequences that the Church had sent them to prevent in their place.
She stared at the darkened surroundings, her jaw tight. Neither of them wanted to admit it aloud, but the thought gnawed at them. Could they ever return to the Church with shame the likes of this hanging over them?
So having no other choice, and experiencing a faint presence of regret over her own pride… Xenovia was finally able to gather enough strength to call out the trump card she had been saving to use against Kokabiel.
"Oh Peter," voicing out the first verse of her prayer, she concentrated all of her will into the next part. "Oh Basilius and Dionysius, and the blessed Virgin Mary… I ask you to please answer my prayer…"
As she uttered those last words, the air shimmered with a wave of golden light. A gentle ripple formed right next to her head, golden light illuminating the dreadful room as a blue handle belonging to what appeared to be a large greatsword appeared. Surrounded by chains as it awaited its user to pull it out, but in her current state, she did not have that luxury. "If I have failed my mission to protect and retrieve the Excalibur fragments, then I shall embark to destroy any trace of the abomination that Valper left behind."
Even if the cadre was killed from what she saw, the young woman had doubts that the sword he'd wielded followed the same fate. While she understood that it was technically a holy weapon that came the closest to matching the original artifact destroyed all these centuries ago, seeing it being wielded by that monster made it clear that there was nothing holy about it any longer.
Thus it fell onto the shoulders of the exorcists to destroy such an insult to their predecessors.
"In the name of the saint living within this blade… I hereby set you free."
Woosh!
The weapon she had called forth further descended, the chains shattering by their own accord and in the next moment, the entirety of the weapon came into view, falling downwards at an angle close enough that its edge managed to slice through a portion of the chains keeping her bound. This weakened them enough for Xenovia to exert every ounce of strength she'd gathered with a loud huff.
Clang!
The links were shattered, freeing her right arm just in time to grab the handle of the golden blue sword before it touched the ground.
"Serve me well, Durandal."
Unlike Excalibur Destruction which was a reforged fragment granted to her thanks to the Church's advancements on the initially barbaric experiments conducted by Valper Galilei, Durandal was a holy weapon of legend that had chosen her naturally. To Xenovia's knowledge, she was the only active member of the Church to have anywhere near as strong an affinity to this particular holy sword.
"You did it!" Irina perked up, The prior presence of despair melted away giving place to a ray of hope. "Wait, Xenovia, you're bleeding!"
Upon further observation, the twin-tailed exorcist discovered a trail of blood streaming down Xenovia's right wrist. It pooled on the floor, enough to create a small puddle. An admittedly likely outcome was due to the shackle cutting into her flesh before she broke free. But that didn't matter.
"Don't worry about me, it is nothing but a scratch. Stay still, you're next." After freeing herself, the young woman went over to her partner and swiftly cut through the chains. Xenovia carefully supported Irina's body lest she crumble to the ground, offering her support and a few minutes to recover her strength.
"We should make this quick, that woman could come back at any moment if she has any desire to keep using us as bait or hostages."
"G-Got it, but what about me? I don't have Excalibur Mimicry anymore, I'll just be dead weight if you bring me along." Irina whispered, to which Xenovia could only frown in sympathy. As much as she didn't want to think it, Irina was right in that with no weapon of her own she was basically useless.
Without Excalibur Mimicry or even a basic light sword by her side, Irina would end up being more of a burden than anything else against any enemies that could be waiting for them outside.
"Doesn't matter, right now we need to get out of here and then go over our next course of action afterward. Even if the Excaliburs have been destroyed, we still need to make sure neither Kokabiel nor any one of his followers remains. Showing any signs of weakness now will only boost the Devils' confidence — something that we cannot allow after we've already failed so terribly."
With a firm grip on Durandal, the weapon hummed with power. Similar yet very different from Excalibur Destruction, both holy swords held the ability to destroy anything they touched, but Durandal stood at a level much higher than the reforged fragment.
Something that was demonstrated with a single slash aimed towards the blank wall where both saw that woman open some kind of hidden door. A white aura of energy engulfed the sword and then lit up the room, with the holy blade unleashing a wave of pure destruction that easily cut through the walls and everything else in its path.
"Hn!" The tip of the gigantic blade easily pierced through the floor, allowing Xenovia to get a good enough foothold to not get blasted away by the shockwave. "Watch out!"
Yet it was not only the doorway that got blasted away, the walls around them also began to crumble within seconds. With no time to prepare, both exorcists threw themselves forward so fast that they quickly found themselves falling face-first into the mud. "Oof!"
Their bodies tumbled from a steep hill of sorts, Xenovia's vision picking up the heavy presence of trees and dried-up leaves. The air was damp, cold, and humid, making it obvious that it had rained recently — or rather, it was still raining from the sound of it. "Ouch!"
Both girls ended up at the very bottom, surrounded by trees and undergrowth, a ditch practically. They were in the middle of a forest somewhere in Kuoh maybe, and it was just past the earliest cracks of dawn from the looks of it.
"We… we really made it out, hehehehe… " Irina chuckled weakly, groaning from pain afterward when trying to get up. "I'm so hungry… When was the last time we ate anything?"
Food?
Xenovia found her eye twitching as she remembered the root cause of their hunger. Not long after their first meeting with the Devils, Irina had squandered the entirety of their mission funds on what had clearly been a phony painting of some supposedly holy figure that the airhead couldn't even identify, just because some greedy curator at an art gallery had told her so. That had left them unable to afford the hotel they'd been staying in or even a decent meal. Then when trying to search for a solution to their lack of funds, she remembered finding that annoying white-haired man, Archer, and the Gremory Devil's Knight brazenly desecrating many replicas of the holy Excaliburs.
Everything afterward just… it all happened so fast. From challenging him to a fight, getting beaten to the point of total exhaustion, being brought back to the Devil's lair to recover, and finally getting kidnapped by that woman.
Throughout all these events, they never received the chance to quell their hunger. And now with that poison no longer slowing down their bodies, that hunger was returning in full force, with interest.
Even so… "We can worry about getting something to eat later. For now… let's… let's…" go where? Back to the Gremory and Sitri heiresses? The abandoned Church? The side of the road to ask for donations? Any place with a phone to contact Mother Griselda?
Hard to decide, she was at a complete loss.
"…I don't know." She ended up answering honestly, shielding her tired eyes from the morning rays of the sun. "I guess we should at least try to make our way back to Kuoh."
Irina nodded, "I don't even know where we are."
"You both are at the northern border of the town, a few kilometers away from the Himejima Shrine." A calm feminine voice spoke from behind, making both exorcists jolt awake with Xenovia immediately brandishing Durandal against the speaker.
Who as it turned out, was the familiar face of the light brunette Pawn of the Gremory peerage, accompanied by the man who humiliated them before. A small dog-like familiar was rubbing its head affectionately against the woman's leg before it got sent away.
"My oh my, here we went through all the trouble to come and rescue both of you, and this is how we get thanked? Tell me Archer, should I consider this as provocation in Rias Gremory's stead?" Kiyome mused out loud, holding a fan to cover the lower half of her face while Archer stood behind her with his arms crossed, looking unamused.
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'Master, we found them.'
The moment he sensed the sudden burst of holy energy coming from the side of the hill, Archer had easily been able to guess who was responsible.
After his… insightful conversation with Rider, both returned to the main group who had all gone completely silent, and many of them were staring at him with varying emotions that largely ranged between shock, jealousy, and in a few instances even anger.
It was quite evident that the Devils — all of them from the looks of it — had in fact decided to spy on what was meant to be a private conversation between him and Rider. And they'd all seen the kiss she gave him at the end.
Truthfully, a large part of him was not at all surprised that both Rias and Akeno got too curious. But for the others, including Sona and her peerage, to also join in was not something he expected. Either way, the fact remained that they all saw what happened… And he had nothing to say about it to any of them.
Archer himself had still not fully processed everything Rider said, or the meaning and reasoning behind her actions. Or rather, he did not want to understand it, for she was wasting her time in whatever this endeavor was meant to be.
In any case, Rias pretended to act normally by asking him and the others to find the exorcists, but he did not miss the look of pure possessiveness and jealousy in her eyes.
Upon finding the pair, he sent a quick message to his Master while gazing curiously at the weapon being pointed at them.
'Durandal… I shouldn't be surprised anymore. At least it's not broken.' While not nearly as powerful as the Sword of Promised Victory from his world, and even being very different from his world's Durandal, at least it held true to its legend of being indestructible even after Roland tried to destroy it.
Furthermore, this sword… while this Durandal did not hold three miracles within it, its sharpness still stood leagues above every other sword he'd come across in this world so far. Indeed, the blade he saw was a great deal more powerful and durable than all six of the Excalibur fragments he'd seen combined. The shape itself was what made him raise several questions, but he kept his silence. He was not in the mood to antagonize the opposite party with comments on how impractical it looked to use in battle, though he supposed that spoke of its wielder's credit that she was strong enough to hold with just one hand.
Yet the more he observed, the more confused he became.
'Was this meant to be her trump card against Kokabiel? While the sword perhaps would have been able to kill him, its full potential is being held back by its user. She's just too young and inexperienced to command all of its power, even if she has a surprisingly strong natural affinity to the blade.'
"My oh my, here we went through all the trouble to come and rescue both of you, and this is how we get thanked? Tell me Archer, should I consider this as provocation in Rias Gremory's stead?" He heard Kiyome comment, sounding amused more than anything at having Xenovia point the sword at her despite its obvious holy aura.
"Don't be so offended, Kiyome. It's natural that the both of them would be feeling extremely cautious after what they've just been through," he pointed out with a shrug, walking past the young beast tamer and stopping a few feet away from the two exorcists. "Let me make this clear so that there are no misunderstandings. Kokabiel is dead, and both of your swords were unfortunately lost when they were combined with the fragment he'd already stolen to forge an attempted replica of the original Excalibur, and that in itself was destroyed in the end as well by another Servant called Saber. I'm afraid that little more than dust remains of any of the six fragments."
"…"
He could see the lack of any substantial shock on their faces, making him understand both women must have seen the fight through a spell crafted by Assassin. Well, that at least made things easier for him. "The one who kidnapped you, Assassin, is missing and is unlikely to reappear any time soon if she wishes to not disappear for good. So for now, you don't have to worry about her anymore."
They were proving to be much more compliant than previously, neither giving him a glare nor any insults. Perhaps it was due to exhaustion or something else entirely, guilt even.
"So that leaves you with two options. First, you can return to Kuoh Academy with us and meet both my Master and Sona Sitri to discuss the next step in your plans, and be given the chance to recover with proper rest and a good meal, along with being provided healing magic."
A simple choice, one that merely required them to put aside whatever animosity remained between them and regroup. Discussing the next course of action sounded like the wisest path in his opinion, for even if the threat of Kokabiel was gone, the fact that the White Dragon Emperor was somehow involved raised many concerns.
What's our second option?" Irina asked curiously.
"You leave Kuoh at once," he said sternly. "Kokabiel has been reduced to ashes and the Excalibur fragments are no longer a factor, meaning as far as your mission is concerned there is no point in either of you staying here any longer. I suppose you could stay and continue to search for Valper if you wish, but something tells me he is likewise no longer of this world. So unless you're willing to accept the hospitality of Kuoh's overseers, your next course of action should be to pack your bags and leave this place. Perhaps say your goodbyes to Issei in your case, Irina. He's been worried about you."
The chances of Assassin not taking advantage of this opportunity to rid herself of her contract with that obsessed old man were unlikely. Of course, that would require her to find another Master, but he had a suspicion as to why these two had really been kept alive even after taking the swords.
A mere guess, but one that made sense. But for her to not have come for them… did she find someone else?
"We failed… you want us to go back empty-handed?" Xenovia asked. "We… we…"
"You were dead weights," his harsh words cut through both of their pride like a knife through butter. "I am just stating the obvious, we would have dealt with Kokabiel one way or the other without either of you. He was not even the most dangerous opponent last night by a wide margin, and if either of you had insisted on involving yourselves in that fight then I would have had a much harder time trying to protect both of you."
His eyes went to glance at Durandal.
"I doubt things would have gone any differently regardless of whether you brought out the Indestructible Sword. In my honest opinion, it is not a matter of you making the wrong decision, rather both of you were just far too outclassed by the opponents we faced last night. Your loss would have been inevitable."
Kiyome walked next to him, "A bit harsh, but our dear Servant here is right about how dangerous the opposition was. Even I felt overwhelmed last night while being a good distance away from either of the more serious fights. That said, you really need to work on how you decide to comfort our potential friends, Archer~!"
"I was not trying to."
"…"
Xenovia did not say anything, an internal struggle happening within her while her grip on the sword tightened. A few seconds passed in silence and she made her decision, walking away with Irina still being supported by her. "It is still too early for us to make a decision," was all she said, leaving the area with only Archer and Kiyome remaining behind.
He watched their backs as they grew smaller the further they went.
"Don't you think what you said was rather… blunt?" Kiyome asked her prior smirk nowhere to be seen. "Even without their Excaliburs, they are still members of the Church. And that sword… it's dangerous. I felt far more nervous being in its vicinity compared to Excalibur Destruction."
"Durandal."
Kiyome's eyes widened, her mouth agape as she tried to say something, but sheer shock held her back for several seconds. "…Durandal? That is indeed a surprise. I can certainly see why it's regarded as such a magnificent sword. I have never seen such an intimidating weapon in all my life."
"Seriously?" Emiya gave her a side glance. "It is impractical if I had to be honest. Not exactly the most ridiculous-looking sword I have ever seen, but its design does leave much to be desired. It is undeniably sturdy, but I doubt its edge would hold up so well if brought to bear against Saber's sword."
"Saber's weapon is that powerful? Your own dual blades have proved to be quite impressive based on what I have heard from Gremoy and Himejima. Also, that shield you used to block Saber's Noble Phantasm…"
He could understand her confusion, the woman had just recently joined Rias' peerage, and he wasn't going to hold simple ignorance against her.
"Kanshou and Bakuya are certainly effective Noble Phantasms that I find to be most useful, but they are far from indestructible. Rider was able to break them multiple times during our first battle, and I imagine that Durandal could likewise easily break them if used by the right person — that girl is a long way from fully mastering the sword's power she holds in her hand. Ask for the shield, It is easily amongst the best defensive Noble Phantasms I have in my arsenal, but it is not invulnerable. Saber has an abundance of power, and had she charged up another blast quickly enough, then I have little doubt that she would have eventually broken through. Regardless, Clarent is not a weapon you should be underestimating in any way. It is amongst the greatest of swords to have existed in my world. Not even a dozen of those Durandals would leave a scratch on it, especially when it is in the hands of Mordred."
Despite only being a C-ranked weapon after Mordred's theft and desecration had tarnished the blade's edge, it was no less deserving of its reputation as the mighty blade that Mordred had used to strike down the King of Knights. Despite Clarent's middling rank as an offensive weapon among Noble Phantasms, its durability remained unblemished as proven by how well it held up against Mordred's astonishing strength and brutal way of fighting.
To say nothing of how she was easily able to use it as a conduit to channel her power, her grudges and hatred amplifying her Mana Burst skill to the point she was able to unleash an A+ ranked Noble Phantasm through the sword. Compared to that, this Durandal had no chance against it, though he had no reason to think Mordred held any kind of grudge against the sword of Roland. So he doubted she would have gone out of her way to destroy it.
But if Xenovia had been present for the fight and as stubborn as she'd been when she found him helping Yuuto vent, then the Excalibur fragments would not have been the only holy sword the Church lost that day.
"We should return, it's best to avoid the others getting even more suspicious of us. We don't want them to think that your lips were stolen by another maiden in a single day fufufufu~!" He rolled his eyes at her attempt to tease him. Kiyome, unlike the others, did not bother hiding the fact that she witnessed the scene.
"This is going to be a major annoyance, isn't it?"
"Who knows, I am not in your position, Tojou-sensei. And it does not help your case that at least half of the school is already convinced that both of you are dating. But now that this is official, I can see quite a storm brewing in the future," she said while petting her canine familiar, who was all too happy to receive its master's affection. "No wonder Issei is jealous of you."
"We are not dating, Rider and I do not share any kind of romantic relationship. This is just her trying to accomplish something pointless."
Even though he said that it only made the young woman's smile widen, "I would not see it like that, Sensei. From what I saw, you did not behave at all like you disliked the kiss she gave you or its implications. Maybe I am overanalyzing the details, but I like to believe that I saw acceptance in your eyes."
"Acceptance? Then you were staring at the wrong set of eyes." He considered it quite the stretch to call what he'd been feeling in that moment acceptance, but he would have also been lying had he said he hated it. The best way he could describe it was frustration at seeing someone go to such lengths for him when such gestures would ultimately amount to nothing for a dead man like him. Then there was confusion; Rider should have understood the futility of her actions better than anyone, and that left him all the more unable to see or understand why someone like her would go this far for him.
Rider knew he was no longer Emiya Shirou who once walked a path of self-destruction. He belonged to the Counter Force now. Despite knowing all of that, she still insisted on this. Why? Because Sakura asked her to look after him? It did not make any sense.
"Did the others hear what we discussed?"
Kiyome shook her head, "We were far away enough that we could only observe. It was funny to see how much the two heiresses were visibly struggling to not use the connection between Master and Servant to hear the conversation. I was impressed, not many Devils would hold themselves back even that much when they want something. Maybe they did it out of fear of disappointing you. From the short amount of time I spent with your group, it's become very clear that many of them look up to you far more than even the students in your class do."
"You are not curious? After all, you did join the peerage to study me more closely."
The brunette chuckled, neither denying nor confirming his words. "Everyone has their story. I do not know whether or not you were truly a saint like Argento likes to say, nor am I really that curious about the kind of life you lived before."
"That's… not what I expected to hear from you," Archer admitted, for he truly believed she would share the same kind of curiosity as Sona.
"Tch, tch, You are far too quick to judge, Archer. I truly expected better from you. Isn't it the role of the teacher to set an example for the student?"
"I am your English teacher and combat instructor, not your parents or babysitter."
"Well, that's a boring answer." She looked a bit disappointed with his response. "But if you must know, I am more interested in the very idea of what a Servant is in the first place."
She started talking as both made their way back to Kuoh. Walking side by side and sharing a conversation They rarely found themselves able to converse without anyone else nearby.
"Heroic Spirits, the Throne of Heroes, the whole summoning ritual, how you have a body like this despite already being dead, how skills and Noble Phantasms work, and the history behind the very crystallization of one's legend. The more I learn about Servants, the more I want to know more. I sometimes wonder why this system exists in your world and not here… Or maybe it does and we just never managed to discover it."
He could accept that answer, for the girl sounded genuine and her curiosity sounded understandable. In fact, she was most likely the first person he met who was more interested in such things rather than him personally.
In some ways, she reminded him of a Magus finding a fascinating new topic of research.
"Hopefully you won't be trying to summon a Servant yourself."
Kiyome shook her head. "Definitely not, That seems like it would cause me more trouble than anything else. And… I doubt I will get anyone who will be willing to answer my questions. So, Tojou-sensei, May I have your attention for the rest of this walk back to the school to have you answer a few of my questions?"
Her eyes twinkled with anticipation, a sight that made him also feel amused.
"As long as you don't forget to turn in your assignment I gave you three days ago. Being turned into a Devil won't work as an excuse anymore."
"But we almost had a life-threatening battle against a ten-winged fallen angel and two Servants! Not to mention the White Dragon Emperor!"
"No excuses."
"Hah… fine. Oh, by the way, should we tell those two exorcists they went the wrong way? Kuoh is in the opposite direction of the path they took."
He smirked, "I doubt they will go very far before they either realize their mistake or collapse from hunger. Let's just grab something for them to eat from a nearby store and go pick them up after. I saw one of your familiar following them."
"Fufufu~! I can't get anything past you, Sensei."
{Break}
(A few hours later)
-Kuoh Academy-
It did not take long to bring the two back to the school, Archer having ended up carrying them back to the clubroom. Suffice it to say, the pair of starving girls were overjoyed to see that a couple of large bentos were waiting for them, things he and Kiyome bought for them along the way.
But seeing the way Xenovia was practically inhaling the food, Archer reckoned they should have gotten several more. Thankfully, he had a few leftover desserts in the fridge from his last baking session with Akeno.
"You can eat at your own pace, the food won't disappear."
It was not the noise nor the ravenous eating that made him slightly upset, but rather the fact that these two girls were messy eaters and kept dropping morsels onto the once pristine floor. His eyes twitched when a few drops of sauce got onto the rug.
"…I am once again indebted to you Devils. At this point it would be better for me to just sell my body as compensation," the blue-haired exorcist eventually said in between mouthfuls. "I am willing to bear the consequences of my decision."
"No! You should not have to do this on your own, Xenovia! Let me help you as well! Accepting food and a place to sleep from kind Samaritans is one thing, but to be continuously indebted to Devils is the closest thing I could think of to a sin!"
"Please, Irina, let me handle this. I was the first one to take a bite, so I should face the consequences of making a deal with Devils. That said, I would prefer to keep my soul to myself… so selling my body is the better option."
"But I opened my bento first! I'm half the reason you were even tempted in the first place!"
The two of them went back and forth like this for a good while. This entire spectacle was no different from a comedy sketch in Archer's mind.
"Here is some tea." Of course, the other Devils in the room welcomed the two exorcists despite their prior interactions. However, perhaps 'welcome' was too strong of a word. More that everyone was far too preoccupied with something else.
Especially Akeno, who despite smiling kept shooting stares at him with a chilling gaze. The ravenette looked like she was just barely holding herself back from blasting his head off. Rias was barely any better, as she'd insisted on taking a seat right next to him. She'd practically glued herself against the side of his body and acted as though they were seated in a single chair as opposed to a sofa.
Koneko kept ignoring him while Asia would sport a massive crimson blush all over her face every time she so much as glanced at him, which she kept on doing.
Kiyome at least was able to enjoy her tea in peace, completely detached from the weird atmosphere in the room. Issei meanwhile kept grumbling to himself, though no one was able to discern what the words might have been. Their intent, on the other hand, was easy enough to guess.
As for Yuuto, he had been mostly quiet. He had shown some shock on his face upon seeing Durandal within Xenovia's grasp, but the boy did not go into a fit of rage or demand any answers as to what they were doing here.
Thankfully Sona and her peerage members were not present, for he knew they would have also behaved weirdly. He was at least confident that Rider was most likely experiencing something similar to what he was dealing with. Then again, that woman would probably find it amusing more than anything else.
"Please, we are helping you out of the kindness of our hearts and respect for our valued allies. There will be no selling of anyone's body or soul happening anytime soon." Rias spoke, keeping a straight face in front of the two exorcists. Something that Archer felt clashed heavily with how she was pressing herself against him while practically sitting in his lap, along with sandwiching his arm between her breasts.
Akeno on the other hand stood silently behind him. An act that gave him the nagging urge to dodge an oncoming bolt of lightning.
"I'm sure Archer told you everything that happened so far and has brought you up to speed on the latest events with Kokabiel. While I am extremely happy that both of you came out of this mess unscathed, I understand that there is still the matter of your mission we need to discuss."
Xenovia took a moment to gulp down another large mouthful of food. "There is nothing to discuss. We turned out to be of no use in this fight. Our sacred weapons were stolen right from our grasp and the enemy kept us bound until everything of relevance was already dealt with. This has been a humiliating defeat for us, but it is something that I have no choice but to accept. Which is why… which is why I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for my conduct the last time I met with each of you."
To everyone's surprise, Xenovia actually ended up apologizing to them and following up her words with a deep bow.
"I was perhaps wrong about you Devils. I am aware that destroying the holy swords plays in your favor whether you were truly on our side or not, but the fact that the city is still not in ruins and Kokabiel's plan was not allowed to succeed is already a positive in my book."
Irina joined in, placing her empty bento box on the table and quickly getting up to bow. "Like she said, we would have loved to help you guys face those people. But the fact that we ended up like this cannot be easily excused. I'm sorry, Issei, I couldn't show you my cool side, hehehe…" She laughed awkwardly, trying to make light of the situation, but her emotions were clear for everyone to see.
The brown-haired Pawn waved his hands frantically, "That's not what's important! I am just glad that you are alive and well, Irina. I should be the one apologizing for not recognizing you when you first got here. You never did anything wrong to me. And hey, you can show me your cool side another time, you know?"
"I doubt that," she replied with less vigor than before. "While Kokabiel was defeated… not only were the holy fragments of Excalibur destroyed, but even the ones we were entrusted with to get them back are now gone. Even the cores were completely destroyed from what I understand, making any hope of recovery impossible. I doubt that our superiors will let us continue being exorcists anytime soon after a failure like this. At least not without doing a LOT more training under Mother Griselda."
Both girls trembled when Irina mentioned that last part, memories flashing behind the eyes of the pair of devout girls that caused them to turn quite pale.
"Guess we'll be stuck as nuns for a good while…" Irina eventually shrugged helplessly. "But who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and they'll overlook all this."
Xenovia sighed, "In any case, our first objective is to report back to the Vatican. I am sure they are expecting our report very soon. As much as I would like to remain here for a bit longer to show my gratitude for how much you've all aided us despite how things turned out, we have to go."
In the end, the conversation between them turned out to be short and to the point. Both girls quickly left the club room, leaving Rias uncertain about what to do from the looks of it.
"That was a bit anticlimactic," she admitted, whilst sipping on her tea. "I was waiting to hear a barrage of nonsensical accusations, insults, and theories about how we somehow planned all of this from the beginning. Guess I also had the wrong impression about them. What do you think, Archer? Eh? Ah!" Trying to get more comfortable while she shifted in her seat, the red-headed Devil nearly fell over when her Servant vanished into thin air.
'I will be back shortly, Master. Just need to confirm a few things and make sure relations with the Church don't become too sour in the wake of these events.' His voice spoke within her mind, leaving her stunned at just what he was trying to accomplish.
Yuuto quietly walked out of the room around the same time, with only Issei and Kiyome seeing him leave.
.
.
.
Outside on the school grounds, two hooded individuals stood on the empty path where not a single soul could be spotted at this time of the day. With it still being far too early for any students to arrive, it made the large institution eerily empty.
"Haaah, we don't even have enough money to grab a cab to the airport! Plus we're gonna have to make a call so they can arrange for our flight back in the first place," Irina moaned, seeing her empty wallet that did not even have a single coin for them to use. "Can't we just go back inside and ask for some change or to use their phone?"
"…No." That would damage what little was left of her shattered pride. "We can just walk over there. And we can use a phone somewhere else"
It would be a tough journey, walking for hours was hard enough without any money on them to even buy water. But she considered this as part of her penance to the Lord for everything that happened so far.
But just as she was about to leave, the girl halted in her step when she spotted a shadow leaning against the wall near the school's main gate. He was no longer wearing his black armor or the red shroud, now garbed in a simple black buttoned shirt and pants — making him look no different from an everyday civilian.
Yet his physical appearance would still stand out if he were in the middle of a crowd. Tan skin and white hair were rather uncommon in this part of the world.
"I don't believe we have anything left to discuss, Archer."
"Strictly speaking we do not, so just think of this as me satiating my own curiosity," he answered calmly. "I am admittedly curious what the Church's reaction might be if both of you return like this to them. Because from their perspective, it'd be all too easy to accuse us of deliberately allowing the two of you to be kidnapped, and then use the situation that was created to destroy all of the Excalibur fragments at once. It would be a problem for my Master if such a development brought more discord into the already fragile relationship between our factions."
The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that this was an outcome he wished to avoid if at all possible. The naked animosity that had been displayed by Xenovia during their previous encounters and the absolute lack of trust given to him or either of the Devils overseeing this city provided him an idea of how the people over there viewed Rias and Sona's kind and any who associated with them. He was also still not convinced that this hadn't been a cruel ruse meant to send this young pair of girls to their deaths just so their superiors would be able to declare a holy war, so it was not a stretch to think that the Church might find a way to spin this into blaming the Devils for everything despite the averted disaster.
"You have my word that I will speak only the truth to them in our reports. If necessary, Irina and I will come to the Devils' defense no matter the consequences to ourselves," Xenovia declared, to which Irina nodded firmly in support.
Archer frowned. "We both know that means little to nothing. At the end of the day, you two are reporting to people who sent you here to serve as sacrificial pawns to justify a future crusade against what they view as an irredeemable force of evil and sin. Nothing gives me the confidence that they will truly believe you at your word. And if you refuse to toe the line after failing as you have, you might even be labeled heretics and be excommunicated."
"…"
It took almost a minute for either exorcist to come up with a response to that.
"Then I will accept the consequences of staying true to my principles," Xenovia eventually insisted with growing conviction behind her words. "I serve the Lord, not the Vatican, not the Pope, and not the archbishops. He sees everything, so He knows my words will hold no falsehood. I will do what is right, even if stating the truth requires me to speak favorably of the Devils."
"Exactly!" Irina happily agreed as well. "You have my word. I promised Issei that everything would go well and I intend to keep that promise!"
"I do appreciate the sentiment, but it's the decisions of your superiors that ultimately have me concerned," Archer replied. "Unless the two of you are able to show proof of success at every aspect of your mission, your report and opinions won't mean anything to the agendas of those who sent you here. Which is why…" And with a single mental command, six waves of blue light coalesced in the air. They created a beautiful scene that commanded both of the exorcists' attention, who could not take their eyes off of the display of magic. And within a second, six swords formed midair and were impaled into the ground.
"…I feel it'd be best if you had these."
"W-What!?" Xenovia and Irina recoiled backward, stunned by the appearance of the newly Traced swords which were all too familiar to them. "The Excaliburs!?"
While she had previously seen his ability to recreate Excaliburs Destruction, Rapidly, and Mimicry, along with other weapons he'd used against Assassin, this was still something she struggled to believe. For these were not just any weapons, but all six different fragments!
Weapons she believed were gone for good now hummed with waves of holy energy coming off them.
"Excaliburs Destruction, Rapidly, Mimicry, Nightmare, Transparency, and Blessing." He named each one of them, going so far as to rest a finger on each of their hilts as he listed them off, which further made it hard to believe for both girls. "Since I doubt the Church will be sending these weapons out onto the field any time soon given what just happened to them, it is very likely these will be secured inside a vault for a good while. If damaged enough, they will disappear for good, but so long as they're left alone, they will continue to exist in pristine condition for a long time."
There was no time limit to his Tracing, so he was pretty certain that these weapons would stick around without much of an issue.
"You can also choose to only take back the very same weapons you used before if you'd prefer. Personally, I think it'd be better if you took all of them, but if you feel they'd have a hard time believing that you did that well or are just uncomfortable with the idea, then I understand."
It was a good way to avoid any trouble, not many parties were aware of the destruction of every single fragment barring the one that hadn't even been here, and these two could come back at any time for replacements if their current blades shattered again.
"H-How is this even possible…" Irina whispered, grabbing Mimicry and seeing it turn into the very same knot around her arm. "It's the same. But how? I know you were able to make what seemed like a convincing copy of Excalibur Destructions… But you… what…?"
Xenovia looked him in the eyes, wordlessly asking him what was the point of all this even though he made it quite clear.
"It's better for my Master to have more allies than enemies. Not everyone wishes for there to be another war, unlike Kokabiel or certain parties in the Church. If you are asking me how I can do this though, don't."
She accepted his explanation to some degree, her hands inching towards Destruction slowly. The weapon itself felt alive and called out to her, yet she only held the handle without picking it up. Her jaw clenched and she whispered, "What exactly are you?"
"Hm?"
"Are you actually a saint as Asia Argento said? Why go to such lengths for us… Even if it's in the best interest of your Master, your actions confuse me. I have insulted you, raised my sword against you and so much more… yet you still help us as if it were nothing!? We are supposed to be enemies!"
A slew of emotions flashed across her usually stoic face, an internal struggle storming within her heart and stopping her from pulling the sword from the ground.
"And who ever said that?" Archer replied, his voice echoing in her ears as she continued to stare at him in disbelief. "Are we enemies because your superiors said so? Oh please, you cannot be so short-sighted. You are mature enough to understand who is the enemy and ally in this situation regardless of the faction. Need I remind you that Valper was originally part of the Church before he revealed his true colors? Had we cooperated from the beginning, I doubt things would have gone down the current path."
She found his words compelling and it did make sense, but part of her continued to switch between different conclusions on how to interpret this entire scenario. Xenovia was unable to truly decide what her next course of action would be.
And more importantly, a distinct presence of unwillingness started to bloom within her chest.
The unwillingness to accept an outcome that was the product of their failings. At least not without doing all she could to correct it.
And out of nowhere, she punched herself across the face.
"Xenovia!?" Irina yelped.
Archer just raised an eyebrow at her reaction, wondering what made her decide to do that.
"As much as I appreciate the intent behind this gesture, Archer, I cannot take these swords to the Vatican for the same reason I am willing to risk being excommunicated. I will not commit the sin of bearing false witness, least of all to make myself look better to a bunch of deceitful warmongers. So for that reason, we unfortunately must decline."
An admittedly frustrating decision, but he could respect why she had made it. "Fair enough. But while you have Durandal, I hope Irina over here would not mind taking Mimicry or one of the others. Without a holy sword of your own, you would not be of much help in a fight."
"…You don't have to say it like that," pouted the twin-tailed exorcist. "But as much as I don't want to accept a present from the Devils' side, without one of these swords I'll be pretty useless, hehehehe. So I'll accept and make the sacrifice!"
Strangely enough, the girl removed Excalibur Mimicry from her arm, then turned it back into a sword which planted in the ground before picking up Excalibur Blessing.
"I always wanted this one. While I do love Mimicry, as Xenovia's partner I should also do my best to serve as good support."
Xenovia respected her partner's choice, not saying anything to argue her decision. She then turned back to Archer. "You mentioned that Assassin was still on the loose, right?" she asked, to which he replied with a simple nod. "Then that means our mission is not done yet."
She took one last look at the copy of Excalibur Destruction that seemed no less real than the original, then shook her head.
"I already failed before because I chose to keep Durandal hidden until the very end. My desire to keep it in reserve as a weapon of last resort was a mistake, I realize that now more than ever. I won't make that mistake again, this I swear in the name of the Lord Almighty." Her hands flashed, and the blue and gold sword reappeared again, firmly held in solemn reverence. "Our objective was to retrieve the fragments and eliminate Kokabiel and those associated with him. Assassin is still alive and Valper Galilei is not yet confirmed to be dead either, meaning our duty here is still unfinished."
With a single swipe, she cut through Excalibur Destruction with a single move, turning it into motes of light that soon dissipated completely. A whisper of a prayer left her mouth, giving the sword a final goodbye before looking back at him.
"I hope the Devils… no, I hope you will aid us in this endeavor. We will be ready to lend a hand however we may if required. Our debt to you is something that must be repaid. Will you accept my decision, Archer?"
She lowered Durandal and extended her right hand, not a trace of hesitation to be found within her eyes. This determination flashed with joy when Archer accepted her gesture, causing Xenovia to flash a simple smile for a brief moment. It may have just been wishful thinking on her part, but she felt like he was impressed with her choice even if he would not say it.
"If that is the path you want to take, then I will respect that. You should report to your superiors and then discuss details with my Master and Sona Sitri."
For the first time since she arrived in Kuoh, Xenovia felt relieved to be hearing his voice.
…
With the two exorcists having gone to convey their report and Irina saying she needed to make a stop back at the abandoned church to grab something that caused Xenovia to grimace, Emiya was left all alone with the swords apart from Destruction and Blessing still present before him.
"You don't have anything to say?" he said, not even looking behind to see Yuuto who'd been hiding behind the wall, walking over with an unreadable expression.
This scenario felt familiar, similar to the first time these two girls came to speak with Kuoh's overseers.
Yuuto stared at the replicas in front of him as they started to break apart and disperse slowly. Unlike in the past, Archer could not see any rage within the young Knight.
"It never dawned on me until now just how fragile the swords I hated for my whole life truly were, when faced with real power. I guess that is to be expected from a sword reforged from a broken-off piece of the original." He was soft-spoken, standing there calmly as he took in the sight. "I thought that when I saw them again, I would feel the same old rage once more. But when I look at them now, I don't feel anything. Not even joy or satisfaction at seeing them fall apart."
Yuuto's eyes moistened, a slight tremble present in his voice.
"Back when the swords were completely destroyed… I don't know if it was just my imagination or something more, but I remember hearing the voices of… of my family."
"Voices?" Archer asked.
"Yeah… It was… It was like they were there, by my side once again. I could see their faces from back when I was still a kid. I saw them all smile at me, and I remembered the times we played together, found ways to distract ourselves from the tortured lives we were forced to live because of an evil man's obsession, and I remembered their final wish for me." He touched his chest, barely able to keep himself together. "At that moment, my chest felt warm, I felt their memories merge within me. I know… it must sound crazy to you. I don't even know if I should trust myself to figure out what happened."
"If it felt real to you, then who am I or anyone else to say otherwise?" Archer said. "…What was their last wish?"
"For me to live." Yuuto answered, "They wanted me to continue living happily, to smile and throw away my anger, and I could feel that they still want that for me. But… I can't see myself doing that, Archer. All the pain and sacrifices that they suffered and made for me, that I've suffered and made in trying to avenge them, I cannot allow myself to forget all of that."
"Yet when you see the swords, you don't feel any rage."
"I feel nothing," Yuuto admitted. "I feel… empty. Maybe it's because I know these ones are fakes, that the true fragments were completely destroyed by Saber last night, and the original sword was broken long ago. I feel like I'm about to go mad, honestly."
Archer felt sorry for the boy, he truly did. It was not an easy thing to move past such a deep childhood trauma. This was a boy who had barely escaped death while all the other kids who'd been his family stayed behind and died so he could get away until he was eventually found by Rias and given another chance at life — Archer had drawn more than a few parallels between Yuuto's story and his own.
"What you feel is guilt, not just rage. Enough guilt to wonder why you were the only one who survived, and not someone else from your family. You're asking yourself, why did they all have to die to save you? Whether or not you could bear the burden of their sacrifice. And maybe… you also hate yourself, for taking the chance they gave you and running without looking back until it was too late."
It felt like a joke that he'd found someone with such circumstances. They were not the same but, in a way, he understood him. The silence from the blond was more than enough for Archer to know that his words had hit the mark.
"Blaming the swords and seeking their destruction was never what you truly wanted. They were just the best thing you could think of to channel your rage towards. Now that they no longer exist, you don't know where to point that anger anymore."
"…I know." He ended up agreeing with him. "I know it was never the swords' fault that Valper did what he did to us. I know destroying them won't bring my family back and I know that I was being a fool. But… does that mean I'm supposed to just forgive them?"
It was a genuine question, asked by a grieving boy who was truly lost.
"No, this is not a matter of suddenly liking the swords or forgiving them. At the end of the day, they are just tools, no different from a toothbrush or a shovel. The swords were each made to serve a single purpose. Learn to see them for what they truly are, not something that others want them to be."
"Heh," the boy chuckled a bit. "Comparing the holy fragments of Excalibur to a toothbrush. Only you can say something like that with such a serious face, Archer."
He turned his attention back to the school gate, looking afar where Xenovia and Irina had gone. Almost as if he could see the weapons they held in their possession in his mind's eye. Clearly, Archer's words had resonated with him throughout their conversation.
"At the end of the day, they are nothing but tools to be used… I can get behind that."
"You are still alive, throwing yourself into the midst of danger just to satiate your rage and guilt is not something your family would have wanted for you, nor would any of the friends you have with you right now. Take their voices as their last attempt to pull you away from going down a path that would leave you with nothing but regrets. You have forged new bonds now with the others, don't be so quick to lose them as well."
Yuuto looked at him with a smile that seemed genuine and forced at the same time. "I get the impression that you are speaking from experience."
Emiya smirked, "Who knows, I have lived a pretty long life. You tend to pick up a thing or two."
And that was all he said before walking away, leaving the boy to mull over their conversation. Enough had been said for him to draw his own conclusions and then make his own choices. Archer was not going to hold his hand at every moment, and he would ultimately have to walk down a path of his own choosing.
Archer had just offered a bit of advice that would hopefully cause him to be a bit less stupid in how he went about it.
As he walked back inside the school, he froze for a moment when coming to face a certain Gorgon vested in a turtleneck sweater and tight pants. Rider stared back at him through the glasses he gave her, standing near the door as if she'd been waiting for his arrival.
Even if the smile on her face was utterly beautiful, seeing it made him feel more wary than anything else.
"How did it feel, talking to an old mirror?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes, walking past her quickly. "Hardly. That fool was a broken husk of a being who was far more prone to making stupid decisions that would haunt him for all eternity. This one at least is not that far gone yet."
Kiba Yuuto was in a much better place in life. At the very least, he had never inherited any broken dreams that were not even his own.
{Break}
-The Underworld-
Pain… so much pain.
And it showed no signs of growing numb. The heavy taste of iron filled his mouth and the wheezing breaths he took every second only served to emphasize how this pain had even come to occupy his other senses. The passage of time became a mystery, seconds, minutes, hours, and days all blended together to the point he could not even distinguish how long it had been since this nightmare began. He was suffering from a growing list of alignments; starvation, thirst, and exhaustion. Diadora Astaroth was utterly convinced that he had experienced the worst kind of torment that Hell had to offer, enough agony to kill him over a thousand times.
Yet still he was made to live through it.
He was still alive for no other purpose than to serve as a living battery for the monster he'd made the mistake of bringing into the world. Dragged around aimlessly by a mad beast who had no traces of rationality or intelligence to be seen in its eyes.
The sound of flesh shifting against rock filled the empty cave as he slowly sat up. The young Devil was barely able to open his eyes and see through a crimson-tainted view of his surroundings for a brief moment. "Hah… hah… hah…" Food and water, he needed those if he wished to remain alive for another few days. "Where is…. Where…." His voice no longer sounded like his usual self, more like his throat was full of gravel, dry and weak. Looking at his surroundings for a brief moment, he figured that for the first time in a long while he was…
"I'm… alone?" The words that came out of his mouth were of pure honey, filling his heart with joy as if they were being permitted a glimpse of hope.
For a long while, that monster had always been by his side, never giving him any opportunity to run away and always extending his suffering to brutish actions which slowly chipped away at his sanity bit by bit.
"B-brother…" He needed to leave, he had to get away from this place and reach either the Astroth mansion or the Beelzebub castle in Lucifaad where his parents and brother respectively had to be searching for him. As the heir to the Astaroth clan and direct relative to a Satan, they would not abandon him so easily. So grasping at every ember of hope with all the strength he could muster, Diodora did all he could to push himself off the ground.
"Ah!" Only to fall face-first back onto a puddle of thick liquid that reeked of blood. It was at that moment, that the young heir realized he could not support himself properly, for the moment he tried to brace himself, nothing moved. "A-Ah… Aaaah…kghurgh!"
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Diodora's left hand slowly went over and touched… nothing. Nothing but air. A sense of disbelief resonated all throughout his body the moment he touched where his other arm should have been, but all that he could feel was air… and then the charred, cauterized flesh of a new stump.
Tears strength down his face, and madness nearly engulfed him the moment he realized the blood puddle he'd fallen into was none other than his own, having recently had his right arm viciously ripped away and consumed right before his eyes.
"Aaaaaaah!" Terror engulfed him, for the desire to leave this place grew exponentially. And so despite the act itself being disgraceful, Diodora had no other choice but to crawl. Using every single fiber of his being to move perhaps a foot every minute or so toward the exit. His legs were mutilated with his right one having no feeling whatsoever, but it was still there.
Slowly but surely he managed to make his way towards the exit, the sharp edges of the cave's uneven floor scraping his skin as he continued to move, but such minor cuts and bruises were next to nothing in comparison to the prospect of staying here for another hour. He did not wish to waste his opportunity and risk once again being at the mercy of the monster who might well end up feasting on him for all he knew. After what felt like an eternity, Diodora felt a sensation at the tips of his fingers that he hadn't sensed for a long while.
Grass…
And the sound of the leaves rustling in the distance, carried by the wind breezing across his form. His eyes adjusted and he finally saw moonlight from the sky above, the artificial celestial body created through magic, what once he just considered a trivial illusion made just to better accommodate the reincarnated Devils for the first time looked extremely beautiful. For the first time in his life, Diodora felt the urge to lay on his back and just stare at the purple sky and the moon for hours. But he could not afford to waste a single moment, he needed to get out of there and figure out where he was. But no matter where he looked at his surroundings, the young man found himself at a complete loss as all he could see was a vast forest and ever-expanding land with no cities in sight.
But there was one thing about this empty landscape that Diodora took as an absolute positive note. "He's not here?"
Indeed, Berserker was nowhere to be seen, nor were there any traces of his presence. Though he did not know how long this good fortune might last. For all he knew, the maddened spirit could return at any moment, and if he found him running away, then the consequences would be too much for him to bear.
"W-Water!" He noticed a shimmering light a short distance away, and joy filled his heart at the sight. The Astaroth heir dragged himself forward with haggard breath as he found a small spring. Nothing less than an oasis to the young Devil's eyes as he was allowed to finally quench his thirst. With barely any strength to hold himself up, he stumbled into the pond but did not care, readily drinking the water and letting the current clean away much of the accumulated filth and dried-up blood from his body. The cool sensation brought some calmness back to his mind.
"…I can't risk walking out of here, that fucker will find me." Even though he was exhausted, running on fumes, and about to collapse at any moment, he was still a high-class Devil with an abundance of demonic energy that would even rival the heiress of the Sitri clan. As the life-giving liquid reinvigorated his spirit, Diodora managed to pour magic into his legs, restoring them to a state that he slowly managed to stand, however shaky.
"But if I go back to Lucifaad, that thing could follow me there, and my brother will find out about the summoning and how I stole the ritual."
A conundrum, one that he hadn't thought about until this moment. His desperate need for survival begged him to go to his brother, while the scheming side of himself knew that it was a mistake in the long term. Most important of all, even if he wasn't punished at all, his brother would lock him up somewhere far away in order to keep him safe, which would make it virtually impossible to get his revenge on that monster for destroying his collection and even taking his arm! He needed to see the creature he'd summoned to grovel on the ground, and then be put down like a dog for daring to hurt him and feast on his flesh. He could not accept his fate, and the only way he could wipe away this humiliation without compromising everything was to seek the help of the bastards of the Old Satan Faction.
"I… I should have enough power to teleport there… Yes, I'll go there and get them to capture Berserker and truly make him my Servant. I may even be able to get them to trade him for another one."
He was no fool since he was the whole reason they even had the summoning ritual, he was certain that the Old Satans were going to use it for themselves at some point. Perhaps they'd even been waiting for him to do so first and see the outcome of his summoning. He did not fear that after his disastrous failure, they would back away, those people were too prideful for that and would simply dismiss him as being too weak to handle the thing he'd summoned. Perhaps they were right, or perhaps they were just arrogant, either way, Diodora had to swallow his pride and reach out to them for help. Failed Satans or not, the three of them were all powerful Ultimate Class Devils, which gave him confidence they'd be able to take on Berserker.
"Huh-argh!" He tried to gather his demonic energy for a simple teleportation circle, but the pain he was still in made concentrating a challenging endeavor. To say nothing of the difficulty of casting a spell with only one arm.
Each movement made his bones rattle and caused more blood to flow from some of the newest wounds, but he kept his mind focused, his pure desire for revenge and his need to survive serving as the pillars of his determination.
Woosh!
Diodora stumbled forward the moment after his spell came to life and his vision turned white. His breath labored, each step feeling like it would be his last. The dimly lit passageway seemed to stretch on forever, the silence pressing against his ears like a cruel mockery of his desperation, and his continuing fear of what might break it. The only sounds were his ragged breathing and the occasional scrape of his boots against the uneven stone floor.
The magic circle had saved him, but only just. His body ached, and the ever-present slight sting of the Command Seals burned into the back of his hand was a constant reminder that Berserker was still out there — somewhere. For all he knew the connection they shared might already be betraying his position… that possibility terrified him to the core. He gritted his teeth, frustration and fear mingling as he tried to focus.
There was no time to lose!
The faint glow of torchlight up ahead signaled the passageway's end, and with it, the familiar sight of the hidden base. Relief washed over him, but it was fleeting, replaced quickly by irritation when his arrival — his plea — was met with silence.
"Help me!" he screamed, his voice echoing off the stone walls. No one responded. He clenched his fists, shaking with rage and humiliation. "It's me, Diodora! Is anyone listening? I need help, damn it!"
Minutes passed, and still, no one came. His anger boiled over. "These bastards dare ignore me when I'm in this state? Don't you know who I am!?" he hissed under his breath. "When I recover, you'll regret this! I'll make sure every one of you pays! You hear me!?"
Swallowing his pride, he forced himself forward, leaning against the damp walls for support. Each step felt heavier than the last, but he pressed on, retracing the familiar route that led to the heart of the base.
The passage opened into a vast cavern, and there it stood — a sprawling mansion carved into the very mountain itself. Normally, its imposing presence would fill him with satisfaction once it became his, a symbol of the Old Satan Faction's power. But now, something felt… wrong.
As he approached, the absolute stillness of the place chipped away at his indignant rage, which became replaced by an unnerving suspicion prickling at the edges of his mind. There was no activity, no sign of the usual guards or servants bustling about. The air was thick and heavy with an unnatural quiet that sent a chill of danger down his spine.
"Is anyone here!?" he called out again, his voice trembling.
No answer.
The closer he got to the mansion, the more unsettling the scene became. The grand ornate doors were slightly ajar, the faint smell of something metallic wafting through the air. Diodora hesitated, his instincts screaming at him to turn back, but he had no choice. His survival depended on finding shelter and allies, and these were the only ones whom he had any confidence in not screwing up everything he'd ever worked for.
He pushed the door open, the creak echoing eerily through the empty hall. What greeted him made his blood run cold.
The once-pristine interior was in total disarray. Furniture lay scattered and shattered, walls bore scorch and scratch marks, and the faint remnants of magical energy lingered in the air — the telltale signs of a recent battle.
Diodora's heart pounded as he stepped inside, his eyes darting around for any sign of life. "What the hell happened here?" he muttered, fear creeping into his voice.
Then, he saw it — a trail of blood leading deeper into the mansion.
For a moment, Diodora's breathing stopped, terrified that even that much noise would betray his presence to whatever had done this.
"…H-Hello?" he eventually managed to whisper, though he was starting to wonder if coming here had been any better than just trying to escape that cave on foot.
Had his brother and Sirzechs managed to sniff out this place when searching for him, and forced the residents to retreat somewhere else? If that were the case, then his being here would also be a mistake if they ever came back and found him.
"Huh?"
But the sight that greeted him in the next room proved that idea could not be farther from the truth, for there were no Devils of any faction roaming the area or standing guard. Rather, all that met him was the familiar stench of blood.
"N-No…" His body froze and Diodora could not summon the strength to walk any further. His legs trembled and his face turned paler than ever. Memories of his nightmarish time with Berserker resurfaced, and for a brief moment, he feared the worst.
"N-nonononono… H-He can't be here, he can't be herehecan'tbehere! HECAN'TBEHERE!!!"
The shadow of the golden-armored Servant stood tall and foreboding within his mind, casting a veil of terror that covered his heart. His vision became blurry, and having already used the spell to teleport here with his demonic power already low, began to have a noticeable effect on his body which was already badly injured.
"Eurgh!" The nausea that followed made him retch. His body wanted to vomit but there was nothing in his stomach other than the water he drank, along with bits of blood and bile.
"C-calm down… I-It's not him, it can't be him…" Finally, after a minute of breathing and resting, the fear started to subside and he managed to once more get control of his emotions, even if just barely. And so he continued to make his way inside until he finally reached the main gates and pushed through them with a loud groan.
The creaking sound of the opening of the hinges permitted him to see the interior of the main hall, a space that from numerous experiences he knew held opulent decorations and furniture befitting a king… And now it was all ripped apart and covered with blood and bits of flesh.
"—!"
His eyes widened at the gory sight before him, Diodora fell backward onto his butt, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps. This wasn't the work of a Devil. It was too… barbaric. Savage. The remnants of flesh he saw inside couldn't even be called corpses, there was too much missing and what remained seemed scattered everywhere. A bit of flame continued to burn, serving as the sole source of illumination, which seemed to make what had torn the place up all the more prominent.
Cuts and slashes that seemed more like claw marks than anything marred the walls and floor with deep slashes found all throughout the hall. Partially devoured bits and discarded pieces of flesh had been strewn about haphazardly, and looking upon such carnage caused Diodora's prior belief that Berserker had managed to find this place to resurface stronger than ever.
"A-Ah…eh?" As he tried to crawl away, the boy felt his hand touch something slimy, a jelly-like substance that felt like a small ball of sorts. Slowly looking downwards, he grew horrified at what was a violet eyeball staring right back at him.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
As quickly as he made his way in, Diodora's spike of adrenaline gave him the strength of will he needed to flee far more quickly back the other way. Newfound strength gave him the boost he needed to get as far away from this deathtrap as physically possible, any prior plans of getting revenge burned asunder. He no longer cared what might happen if he fled back to Lucifaad and every scheme or dirty deed he'd ever been involved with was exposed.
"Hn!" He tripped to the floor a couple of times, running with a limp with one of his legs still proving very much unresponsive to any of his brain's commands.
A chill ran up his spine the moment he started to believe that something really was out there, observing him, tracking his every moment from the cover of shadows so dark that not even a Devil's eyes could see through them.
"W-Who!?" From the corner of his eyes, it was almost like the shadows had become tangible. A pair of glaring yellow eyes stared in the darkness at him with primal hunger. "L-Leave me alone!"
The sounds of his footsteps seemed to become overshadowed by something else, all his senses going haywire and he slowly descended into despair once more. Yet he never stopped running. When he pushed past the doors and made his way outside, he just kept running, not noticing as he took a path that led him deeper into another forest.
Moving for what felt like hours, no other thoughts existed in his head but the desire to go as far away from that place as his tired, ruined legs could carry him. Yet no matter how long he ran, the sensation of being watched by a savage beast out for his blood only seemed to grow stronger.
Stalked from afar by… something terrifying.
He could not tell what it was, and Diodora wished with every ounce of being that he would never have to find out.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shouted the Devil madly, throwing rocks, branches, and anything he could find on his path behind him in a desperate attempt to slow down whatever was pursuing him.
"Ah!" His body flinched at the sight of each strangely shaped tree, and his delirious mind started to see the trunks as humanoid shapes. His vision became more and more blurred until he inevitably collided with one of them. "Gah!"
His head reeled at the painful crash, and Diodora was sent crashing to the ground as his adrenaline just seemed to suddenly peter out. Even the constitution of a pureblooded Devil had its limits, and the heir to the House of Astaroth had been pushed far past them. Diodora lay there panting, barely holding onto consciousness… Yet he was suddenly struck with a strange sense of relief as the unseen monster that had been following him suddenly just seemed to… vanish.
Unfortunately for him, the moment of peace proved to be short-lived when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps draw near. At that sound, Diodira's fear returned in full force.
He knew those footsteps. Who they belonged to.
"D-Don't… Kill… Me…"
His voice was barely audible. The being that the words had been intended for probably did not even hear them, as the next moment he grabbed onto Diodora's leg and started to drag him away. Dragging him across the ground long enough for the boy to lose consciousness at any moment. And he just knew that when he woke up again, he'd be right back in that cave.
'I can't… go back… there… Anything… S-Seals.'
Even in his state, he finally recalled that despite everything that happened, one of his Command Seals remained unused. He hadn't had the presence of mind to use it previously due to his sheer agony, and on some level, he'd still been hoping to bring this wretched beast to heel. But now… tired and desperate for anything — he remembered. His remaining hand clenched, teeth-gritting against one another as he slowly whispered. "I order you… kill yourself—mph!"
A second too late, for his Servant, had already moved and gripped Diodora's hand and face with a dangerous glow within his black and red eyes.
"▅▅ーーー!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHH!"
An enraged roar was followed by a cry of pure torment, as blood began spraying everywhere with a single vicious pull on the young Devil's appendage. The remaining hand was easily torn off, the resulting shock and loss of blood immediately shutting down Diodora's brain completely. Foam came out of his mouth as his last hand had been taken away, continuing to bleed until they eventually reached the same place he had endeavored so hard to escape from.
The Astaroth heir was thrown back inside while the torn-off appendage was haphazardly tossed to the side, the third still-present Command Seal continuing to glow. Diodora's Devil constitution would not see him die tonight, but in the depths of the Astaroth heir's mind, he began to wish it would.
The cave was not as empty as it had been before, as there was now also a half-consumed carcass of a demonic monster next to a smoldering fire. An unfortunate beast that the Servant of Madness had ripped apart with his bare hands.
Berserker did not bother to pay any further attention to his Master, turning away and walking back outside until coming to a stop on top of a hill where no trees could be found blocking out the moonlight. He stood there, gazing upwards for an indeterminable amount of time, and then… the all-consuming madness in his cruel eyes shifted as he continued to stare at the underworld's moon.
Unmoving.
Undisturbed.
In complete silence.
In a way, his very presence blended with the surroundings, yet not a single creature in this untamed part of the underworld held the courage to draw anywhere near him. From insects to demonic beasts, all kept their distance.
And then, for but a split second, clarity flashed within those cruel orbs.
—————
Since most people have figured out who it is by now, here are the stats.
Servant
Name: Caligula
Class: Berserker
Master: Diodora Astaroth
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Parameters
Strength: EX
Endurance: B+
Agility: B+
Mana: D+
Luck: D+
Noble Phantasm: C
Class Skills
Mad Enhancement: A+
Personal Skills
Imperial Privilege: A
Sadistic Constitution: A
Glory of Past Days: B
Noble Phantasm
Flucticulus Diana (Anti-Army): C+
As for why only Berserker's Strength stat got a massive increase, that goes back to how Diodora used his first Command Seal right after the summoning, when he ordered Berserker to become the strongest. That order was interpreted very literally, causing all of the extra power that might have otherwise been distributed among Berserker's various parameters as has happened with other Servants such as Archer, Rider, and Saber, to instead become concentrated into just Strength.