Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and Fluffy Slayer
11k words
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-Abandoned Church-
On the outskirts of Kuoh city, a place seldom explored by anyone, the chorus of cicadas gradually faded as the sun gradually faded as the sun began its descent upon the vast forest. Eventually, the solitary church emerged — having long been forsaken and left to decay. The relentless march of time had taken its toll on the structure, causing it to steadily crumble, with moisture and dust amassing both within and outside the building.
Within the dilapidated confines of the altar, a familiar Fallen entity lingered, her near-death experience still fresh in her memory. Her ill-fated endeavor to eliminate a repugnant human she had deceived during a date had met with disastrous consequences. All due to a certain Heroic Spirit, donned in crimson attire. Since then, time had elapsed, marked by a mere handful of days spent in seclusion, recuperation and deep contemplation. Yet, this period had proven to be a cascade of failures stacked upon setbacks, leaving her uncertain of her next course of action.
Raynare took a deep breath, disregarding the lingering dust in the air as she attempted to steady her frayed nerves. The news of her group's demise had sent shockwaves through her being.
Yes, they were killed, much to her disbelief.
"Those fucking Devils!" Her fury had reached its zenith, engulfing her in a whirlwind of emotions, so intense that it seemed as if she was about to rip out her own hair in retribution. "I told that stupid blue-haired bitch to steer clear of the Devils and concentrate solely on killing that human! Now their corpses are probably reduced to dust by now." Her worries have doubled since the arrival of the newest member of the Gremory peerage. Including that white-haired Knight who has been thrown at her side, causing the demise of her comrades and her plans.
"Raynare-sama!" One of her underlings, a rogue priest, approached her and swiftly drooped to one knee. "We have thoroughly combed through the ruins and detected strong remnants of Devil magic and pure Mana. However, none of our scouts managed to obtain a cl-clear vi-visual because…. Um… That is—"
"Spit it out already!"
Not in the mood for these ridiculous stutters, she silenced the man's stuttering with a crimson spear held close to his neck. With fear clouding his eyes, he promptly retreated, hastily crawling away from the vexed Fallen before responding to her question.
"A-Ah, they were killed!" He confessed, the fear in his voice palpable as her gaze intensified, fixated upon him. Those murderous, rage-filled eyes pierced his very being. The slightest misstep could cost him his life. "W-We discovered what we believe were pieces of some of their bodies. The rest were annihilated by powerful magic spells, and a few were even frozen to death!"
"Useless!" Her black leather boot smashed against the wooden floor, cracks spreading around her as she gritted her teeth. "First, Mittelt kept getting on my nerves, Donhaseek constantly questioning my orders, Kalawarna acting like an uptight bitch, and that excommunicated sister who was supposed to arrive today got her flight delayed! Nothing is going as planned! How am I ever going to end up in Lord Azazel's good graces if all of you worthless buffoons keep pulling me down!?" The Sacred Gear extracting machine was already set. It only needed a source of magic to work, which was not that hard for her to provide.
"Hiiiii!" The man shrieked when she flung the light spear perilously close to his face, cutting his right cheek and embedding it firmly into the floor.
"Where is Freed?"
Unfortunately, that insane priest was her only remaining dependable ally, if only because he had proven to be not as useless as the rest. Though his mind held a few loose screws, such eccentricities were to be anticipated in individuals of his nature — sanity was a rare commodity among them after all.
"H-He went to do some errands…."
"Urgh! Idiot! Of course, he would choose now to go gallivanting around town, needlessly wasting my precious time by subjecting me to this interminable wait! He's probably still out there hunting humans who've had dealings with the Devils, relishing in their torment for his sadistic gratification."
The lackey wanted to mention how she was the one who sent him outside to procure some food but opted to stay quiet as he had no desire to meet an untimely demise.
"Hah, I'll retrieve the girl tomorrow and handle everything myself as usual. As long as I remain within this rundown church, the Devils won't dare to attack me due to the factions' truce. Tch, I'm still pissed off by what transpired. Even though those idiots died, they were more useful to me than all these pathetic humans combined. Perhaps I can channel my anger on a few Stray Devils once the ritual is complete. Those idiots won't be able to retaliate because of that." Rumors had reached her ears about a Stray who had escaped from a duke in Kuoh, wreaking havoc by feasting on humans like a rampaging feral monster.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the surroundings shook violently, leaving Raynare perplexed and uncertain about the cause. THowever, her confusion was short-lived as one of her goons rushed inside with a face filled with panic.
"W-We're being attacked by the Devils!"
"What!?"
{Break}
In the sky outside the church, a group of Devils hovered, their forms illuminated by the radiant light of the full moon.Rias and her peerage had gathered all the information from Kalawarna, leading them all the way here, where they found the abandoned church in the distance.
Though now they had a new member with them.
"Woah, where the heck do you think you're touching, dude!? I don't swing that way!" Suspended in the air was the newly turned Issei, hovering with great difficulty as he nearly fell on multiple occasions. Rias had intended to use this opportunity to educate him about the basic knowledge of Devil anatomy and the powers of the Evil Pieces… but she didn't expect that something as seemingly simple as hovering would prove to be such a challenge for him, let alone actual flight.
Normally, reincarnated Devils instinctually learned how to hover by just concentrating, and in every case she'd seen, it only took them a few minutes at most to master the basics before moving on to flight. Yet Issei was already having so much trouble…
They still had yet to see his Sacred Gear manifest, too, as Issei fell unconscious after transforming into a Devil, which concerned her enough to order him to skip school the next day and focus on recovering. Archer had speculated that the accumulated stress from recent events, particularly the Yuuma incident, had taken a toll on the boy, and the reincarnation finally pushed him over the edge.
Overall, they had limited time to research his abilities, forcing them to postpone it for the time being. Nevertheless, this was as good an opportunity as any other to kill two birds with one stone. Yuuto, ever the gentleman, helped carry Issei the entire trip, often resorting to a princess carry on more than one occasion, though hilariously enough, which amusingly appeared to have traumatized the brown-haired boy in its own way.
"You should be careful, Hyoudou-san. I'm just trying to help you." Kiba said with a princely smile that would have stolen the hearts of many young maidens on the spot. "You are part of the peerage, and so it is my duty as a Knight to protect you in both sickness and health."
The newly turned Pawn's face turned ghastly green, bile rising up his throat and almost making him vomit. "Please… have mercy on my soul and stay away from me, Kiba. I'm afraid I'll lose my man card by staying too close to you. I'm not into guys for God's—ouch!"
He and everyone else around him flinched, "Issei, remember what I told you about not mentioning that word out loud? As a Devil, you must understand how that word carries holy power, and our species are especially susceptible to such things. This includes crosses, holy water, and even churches like this one. Even if it's not deadly, it emanates a sense of peril for us Devils. Even now, I know you have a sensation spreading across your body the closer we get. The sun, although it affects us minimally, has some impact as well. As creatures of darkness, Devils unleash their true potential under the cover of night. Consequently, you'll probably feel quite tired and sluggish the following morning, but with time, you will learn to adjust and adapt w."
She was right. He felt goosebumps all across his body, it being enough to make him forget that he was literally being held by Kiba, who made sure he wouldn't fall for the sixth time. He looked at the church in the distance, with a translucent barrier surrounding the entire premise, a complicated feeling gripping his heart. "So that's where Yuuma is…"
"She is not Amano Yuuma." Kiba mentioned, the smile on his face gone as he gave him a serious look. "Raynare, that's her name. She tried to kill you over nothing and is an enemy of us Devils. You can't let your guard down around her. She'll just try to kill or manipulate you again."
"Yuuto is right," said Rias as she was planning on sharing the same piece of advice. "Devils are in a constant feud with both the Angels and Fallen Angels, constantly attacked from both sides and pushed to their limits. If it weren't for the creation of the Evil Pieces, then our kind would have been wiped from all planes of existence. I'm not going to ask you to kill Raynare but rather, see with your own eyes how our world operates and whom to look out for. Now, let's begin."
As she flew closer, Rias maintained a vigilant survey of her surroundings, alert for any potential ambushes. She felt no fear towards the remaining Fallens or the rogue priests whatsoever, though; by her side was a potentially ultimate class entity capable of matching the formidable Grayfia. She was as much in danger here as she was back in her own clubroom at Kuoh Academy. Nothing and no one here could even dream to overpower her Archer.
'Is she inside?' Using the link between Master and Servant, the redhead inquired with the white-haired Archer about their target's location.
'That she is, Master. Our little crow friend threw quite a temper tantrum seconds ago after one of her underlings delivered some bad news for her. Almost impaled him through the face, so clearly, she's never heard of not shooting the messenger. Anyways, upon hearing our arrival, she retreated through a hidden wooden door at the back, which led to an underground chamber with a contraption in the middle. Aside from her, all I could find were twenty-four rogue priests and no other hidden Fallens.' Archer's voice registered inside her mind as she sighed in relief. Even if Rias was certain that her peerage members were more than enough to handle most challenges thrown at them — it still didn't stop her from worrying.
'Good job, Archer. You may return to me now. We are more than capable of handling these people.'
Silence followed, '... I'm afraid I can't do that, Master.'
Hm? That was odd. Did he not want to lose track of Raynare and preferred to stay below? Sure, despite being a low-ranked Fallen, that woman still posed a danger to Devils in general if she managed to hit one of them by surprise with her spear of light, but still… 'Don't worry about Raynare, Archer. She's not worth your time. At worst, she will launch a desperate attack at the end or plead for mercy. I highly doubt she has any hidden weapons or trump cards that could actually pose a threat to us, especially with you by my side.'
This time, she heard a sigh on the other end.
'I think there has been a misunderstanding here, Master. I can't exactly be by your side at the moment, given you are at least a few dozen meters in the air.' He said with a dry tone which made her imagine Archer giving her a deadpan stare. 'And I don't know if you have noticed, but I must inform you that I do not possess wings of any variety.'
'W-Wait, I thought you could turn into that astral or spiritual form! You even said that it lets you pass through walls like a ghost!' She read enough of Gogo's Strange Journey to understand how an Avatar worked. She thought it would be the same with Archer!
'It indeed allows me to turn intangible and invisible to the senses of other beings, but when did I ever imply anything about flying? Just think about it, even if I could hover next to you in the air and were to materialize… wouldn't I just immediately fall down? In spiritual form, Servants also lose a large part of their senses, which is another reason we need to materialize to fight at our full effectiveness.'
Ah, that was a bummer, honestly. The heiress wanted to have the comfort of knowing that her Servant would always be right next to her like a knight in shining armor — or blackened armor, in his case. It was her start to wonder if her Servant could be granted wings with an Evil Piece and If it was possible to change him to a Devil.
Wait, was it possible? She could try and ask him at another time.
"We got company," Koneko said, seeing the group of rogue priests rushing out of the church with light guns and swords. She and Kiba descended, the former donning her combat gloves and the latter summoning a sword.
"Issei, given this is your first time seeing us Devils fight, then there are some facts you must first learn. Yuuto is my Knight, meaning I used a Knight piece to reincarnate him into a Devil. The Piece has granted him an incredible boost in speed which can make him look like a blur to the human eye if he is pushed to his limit — you could even say he vanished from sight. This, coupled with his mastery of his Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, allows him to create demonic swords with various effects, making Yuuto quite a deadly force on the battlefield."
As she mentioned, the newly turned boy watched with shock as the blonde prince turned into a ruthless whirlwind of steel, gripping a European sword. Drawing the weaponfrom its scabbard, its blade shimmered under the moonlight. With astonishing ease, he sliced through the ranks of priests. Each swing of his sword cut through his enemies like he was carving a cake, employing his speed offensively rather than defensively, striking his opponents before they could even register his presence.
"Woah… Kiba is scary." To think that the handsome bastard who always wore a smile and captured the hearts of every girl in Kuoh would turn out to be such a ruthless combatant. "W-watch out! Koneko-ch—what the heck!?"
The cute little girl whose stoic face and overall adorableness had easily solidified her place as the undisputed mascot of Kuoh Academy. As he and his friends liked to call her — the ultimate loli! She was the epitome of the ideal little sister that everyone wished for. Astonishingly, she had just delivered a devastating punch that sent a man hurtling through the air until he collided with a tree trunk, producing a splattering impact.!
Rias giggled at his reaction. It was common for people unfamiliar with the Supernatural world to find such a scene shocking or even unbelievable. "As you can see, Koneko packs a lot of strength in her strikes despite her small frame. This is because she is my Rook. This Evil Piece acts like a tank, basically. The trait of a Rook is simple: absolute strength. And also very high defense. She could bend stacks of rebar or snap a human spine with minimal effort, so these people are of no danger to her.."
On cue, the little girl uprooted a tree and wielded it like a club, obliterating a significant portion of the enemies surrounding her with a single strike. The impact shattered bones and ruptured flesh, leaving behind a gruesome scene. To see a tiny figure like her pull such a feat of strength was mind-boggling. Issei's jaw dropped as the dozens of priests were reduced to a mere handful in an instant.
"My turn~," Akeno said, her tone sounding less mirthful than usual, in Rias's opinion at least.
Issei watched the girl with starry and lustful eyes. Known as one of the two great Onee-samas of Kuoh Academy, Himejima Akeno was a breathtaking beauty who embodied the Yamato Nadeshiko persona in the hearts of many love-stricken boys. He was one of them, and knowing how insanely erotic her body was made it that much better! Her boobs were even bigger than Rias, according to Motohama's analysis!
"Raikiri!" With graceful elegance, she raised her hand towards the sky, causing static electricity to envelope her fingers.
Woosh!
The released energy soared upwards, creating a magnificent display as a large magic circle materialized in the sky. From within the circle, numerous lightning bolts descended like a torrential rain, wreaking havoc on the surroundings. Trees were reduced to charred remnants, and even the fallen adversaries were struck, causing them to cry out in agony.
"Ara ara! Seems like you people still have some energy left in you after all. Well then, how about this?" She spoke with a playful tone, raising her hand once again towards the sky. The next instant, an intensified barrage of lightning bolts descended upon those nearby — forcing both Kiba and Koneko to retreat for a bit.
Then a third wave happened, a fourth, and finally, a fifth that tore down the building itself.
Akeno's face while bringing down the lightning bolts looked… frightening and icy to the Pawn, despite her smiling the whole time.
This person was thoroughly relishing it… Her gleeful laughter coupled with that blush added an alluring touch that made her look oh so very sinful.
"Akeno excels at attacks using demonic powers. She can use natural elements like lightning, ice, and fire. And most of all, she is the ultimate sadist."
Rias confessed it as if it held no weight or significance.
The more he watched everyone taking part in the raid, the more useless he felt. After finding out he had a Sacred Gear, Issei had attempted to awaken the latent power that had made him a target for Raynare — going so far as to try it for a second time back at the club right before they flew here. Unfortunately, the boy had found it difficult to focus on the mental exercises he'd been trying to perform, as his new Buchou's decision to sit on the edge of her desk while speaking to him had inadvertently given the Harem King Wannabe a nice look at her black lace thong.
Issei's perverted grin, as he shamelessly gazed at what lay beneath Rias's skirt, quickly earned him a stern flick to the temple from Archer, causing him to tumble over. And when he'd yelled at the guy for doing so, the handsome bastard responded with that damn glare that sliced through his bravado like a blade before advising Rias that they call it a day in regards to her new Pawn. And Rias appeared to hold Archer's opinion in high regard as she then informed Issei that they would continue to try to awaken his magical abilities after the raid on the church, basically tomorrow — which was also when he would begin his duties as one of her personal Devil servants.
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Archer, who stood on top of the church in spirit form, watched the chaos with some degree of interest. So far, this was the first time he got to see the capabilities of the Devils in his Master's peerage and their powers granted by the Evil Pieces.
"Kiba is pretty fast, and his swordsmanship is certainly above average for someone his age. HHis fighting style appears to draw influences from an European fighting style, though… no, it's a bit of everything. However, he remains far too rigid and seems to be overly confident in his speed, leaving himself vulnerable to opponents with similar swiftness, and I doubt they're deliberate." Given the similarities between his magecraft and Sword Birth, EMIYA had a slight interest in how Kiba fought his battles. It was clear that the boy was not using the full capabilities of his Sacred Gear and did not have any particular fighting style that he'd mastered. It could be argued, though, that he did not need to show off much of his techniques against such weak opponents, but the fundamentals that Archer did see in his swordsmanship were all that the Servant needed to gauge the young Knight. "He seems to prioritize heavy offensive strikes, and I can see quite a bit of anger in his eyes. Likely some personal history driving that intensity."
Koneko shocked him quite a bit with her power of the Rook. Capable of uprooting trees and using it as a bat made the scene a bit funny to the Servant. She could even give certain Servants a run for their money if it came down to a contest of pure strength. "But she is much too reliant on her Piece's natural defensive traits and is dangerously slow. Letting the enemy hit her purposely just because she knew it would not be harmful to her is dangerous and idiotic."
As for Akeno, the girl was a wellspring of demonic energy, much like his own Master. That one lightning spell alone destroyed everything in its path. Archer had to jump away from the building as she targeted everything indiscriminately. And seeing how she began blushing and breathing heavily only showed her perverse personality, which he got a glimpse of last time. Nevertheless, she was far from mobile while in the air. A single shot could take her out if she was not careful.
"Even Grayfia had dozens of defensive spells around her body to protect herself from sneak attacks. She just did not expect the blades to come back behind her. And her attacks were faster, not needing nearly as much time to cast them despite their greater power. Then again, Akeno is still very young." The difference in power between these two Queens gave him a clear idea of how wide the gap was between Rias' group and those who stood among the pinnacle of power among Devils. In the eyes of humans, Rias and her peerage were powerful entities — but they themselves were mere ants when compared to genuine monsters like Grayfia. And it was mentioned how her husband's power surpassed that of his wife by a wide margin.
"Hm?" Archer's head turned towards the trees, where he gazed at a bird observing the group with keen eyes. Looking like a macaw with its colorful plumage, it certainly was not a regular animal one would naturally see in this part of the world. An uneasy sensation gnawed at him, suggesting that this was probably a possible enemy attempting to gather intel on Rias.
He could not let that happen.
Fwish!
Materializing, Archer traced his bow along with a regular arrow and fired at the bird.
"Squa—ksh!" The arrow pierced its head, though not a single drop of blood fell as the entire bird burst into flames and disappeared from sight.
"Tch, a familiar after all."
He would need to report this to Rias.
Crash!
The church walls, already crumbling, were further ravaged by the scorching lightning unleashed by Akeno. Jumping towards the entrance, Archer waited for the group with his arms crossed.
Issei was startled when he saw the man appear out of nowhere. "You! You were here this entire time? Why didn't you help out the others? Wait, are you that cone-shaped piece? Oh, right, a bishop!"
Archer sighed, "For the second time, I am not a Devil. Thus I can't be part of Rias Gremory's peerage. Rather I'm a Servant. That's all you need to know." His initial disagreement with the boy joining the group had mostly evaporated after discovering how many Pawn Pieces he was worth. Now it was just his personality that desperately needed some work.
"..."
Akeno walked past him without uttering a single word and with a stoic face. Such a scene caused Rias and the rest to raise an eyebrow. Even Issei was taken aback as this was the first time he saw Akeno have any expression aside from her usual smile, which she was famous for.
"Did you two have an argument?" The Gremory heiress asked, wondering what could have happened between these two to solicit such a reaction from her Queen. The last time they were together, Akeno would pester Archer for advice and feedback on her cooking and try to meet his expectations.
Archer, meanwhile, was amused by the girl's reaction more than anything. He did, in fact, overhear part of the conversation between her and Kalawarna during the latter's interrogation and came to learn about her origin as a Fallen. But it seemed like acting ignorant did not work with her as she was still evidently quite cautious of him now. "Do not worry about it, Master. A small matter, or misunderstanding if you would, between us. Nothing a civil conversation won't fix. Just give it a few days at most, and we will go back to normal."
"I can help out if you want."
To her surprise, he shook his head.
"I'd rather you leave this matter to me. She might take it the wrong way if you see fit to get involved on behalf of either of us, and it could worsen the situation. It's nothing serious, Master."
Rias narrowed her eyes, wondering just what happened in the first place. She could force her Servant to reveal the details or ask Akeno, but that thought left a sour taste in her mouth. The redhead loved her peerage members and Servant too much to do such a thing, and she had promised Archer to never use her authority as his Master recklessly.
"Alright, I believe you. Yuuto, Koneko, can you please bring out our special Fallen guest? I would like to have a few words with her." Ultimately, it was best for her to have faith in him and Akeno to resolve their small feud on their own. After all, they had previously enjoyed a harmonious relationship, so whatever had transpired between them could not have been something significant.
"Sure you don't want me to kill her immediately? There is no need to waste our time on her, given she has proven to be a threat to the locals and an enemy of your group." Archer said, understanding Raynare's personality after everything Kalawarna told him. That girl was a feral dog with a major hatred towards humanity. Furthermore, she was driven by a twisted agenda, willing to kill more people if she believed it would grant her more power or curry favor with her superiors.
Issei's hands clenched tightly when he heard that. Despite Kiba, Rias, and this bastard assuring him that she was not Amano Yuuma, the casualness with which he suggested her demise made his blood boil. Causing a mix of complex emotions to surge up within him.
"No need. Just like you've mentioned before, she still has information for us, and I plan to uncover them first before I'm done with her. The intel could be very beneficial for us, so I can't let it slip through my fingers so easily without even attempting to learn it."
"Nicely said, Master." He was honestly glad about her train of thought. Having advised her to never act recklessly without being properly informed seemed to have already borne fruit. "Then let us not waste any more time."
{Break}
They cornered her in a matter of seconds, blocking every entrance and killing off all of her remaining goons so fast they barely even had time to react.
"Puh!" Raynare coughed both saliva and blood as the white-haired Rook managed to catch up to her in the basement and deliver a destructive punch to her guts. "Y-Y-You fuc- *cough* -king Devils!" She sneered with anger while summoning her red-colored light spear.
"Stupid crow," Koneko said, further enraging the Fallen.
"You think you can come here and treat me like this without any consequences!? Think again!" With a loud shout, she flapped her wings and once again charged for the girl, intent on impaling her face and killing the twerp once and for all. The distance between them shortened, and her opponent showed no sign of attempting to move away or block her attack. "Heh, already giving up? As expected from a Devil!"
"Baka."
Swish!
"Aaaargh!" An arc of silver light illuminated the room, followed by Raynare's agonized cry as she fell to the ground in excruciating pain, her spear cleaved in two. Dozens of cuts marred her body, causing blood to splatter across the floor and walls.
Kiba appeared in front of Koneko, having defended her from the enemy's attack.
'D-Damn it, wh-where the fuck did Freed run off to!?'
"Kya!" Unable to move, she was forcefully grabbed by her hair and dragged to the top, where everyone was waiting. "L-Let me go!" No matter how much she tried to resist or flail around, Koneko's grasp remained firm and unmoving.
With another tug, Raynare was thrown across the floor with Rias and the others awaiting her arrival. Rias sat on top of the altar with her legs crossed, capturing the brown-haired boy's attention once again as he hoped to peer into the most forbidden area of a woman's body. This time, Archer did not need to intervene, as the boy's attention was instantly stolen by the arrival of an injured Raynare.
The Servant saw the boy's face turn pale, his breathing grow heavier, and sweat begin to accumulate on his forehead. 'He's gonna have a panic attack at this rate.' Archer thought, having an idea of what Issei was thinking at the moment. Not that he could entirely blame the boy, having evidently become quite enamored with what had seemed to be a normal, cute girl who he thought would be his girlfriend. Even if it had turned out to be a complete sham with her trying to kill him — he still held some lingering feelings for her, unable to separate Raynare from the idea of Amano Yuuma which a part of him had stubbornly held onto.
'Maybe I could actually use this for her benefit….' It was a risky move but one that could benefit Rias much sooner than if things took their natural course. Not like he would need to do anything in the first place for his idea to work.
'Master, I may have an idea.' Using his connection to Rias, Archer shared his thoughts with her, to which the girl stared back at him with shock. He just shrugged at her reaction. It was her decision if she wanted to go with the plan or not. Tonight, he was just an observer of a potential play.
"How are you doing, Fallen Angel Raynare?"
"…The daughter of the Gremory," Raynare's voice trembled as she weakly uttered, all the while barely conscious as her wounds continued to seep blood around her body.
"Correct, my name is Rias Gremory, heir of the House of Gremory. Though our encounter may be brief, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Rias greeted her with a smile, but Raynare only glared back at her before sneering. "…You think you've got me, but too bad. This plan was kept secret from the higher-ups, but I still have allies who will know of my de—"
"They won't. Or rather, no one will have the audacity to respond to your demise, not after what you've done." A small smirk appeared on the redhead's face. "You said it yourself, a mission hidden from the higher-ups, trespassing into Gremory and Sitri-owned territory. You and your small group caused quite a bit of a stir. You instigated a battle with my Pawn, attempted to kill my precious Servant, and caused so much destruction in the nearby forest that fixing the damage is going to be quite a time-consuming process. These actions have blatantly violated numerous terms outlined in the treaty our factions have put together that it's a wonder how you believe someone will defend or attempt to avenge you when you've already been proven guilty."
"Buchou!" From the basement, Kiba came back carrying a large contraption that sent a chill down the spine of every Sacred Gear user in the room. "I found this below. Looks like she was planning on chaining someone up for some kind of ritual."
"Ara Ara, quite a naughty toy we have here," Akeno remarked playfully as she went over to inspect the basement, examining the magic circles and inscriptions plastered upon the walls.
"What is the purpose of all this?" Rias asked the Fallen, the latter tried to stay quiet, but another cut from Kiba's sword made her spill everything. "A Sacred Gear extracting ritual? That's… quite dangerous. If I remember correctly, the leader of the Grigori worked on this project but abandoned it as the host would always die after getting their Sacred Gear torn out of their soul."
Left with no choice, Raynare answered through her gritted teeth. "I should have gotten a Sacred Gear from an excommunicated nun. That way, my status would have risen, as I would have become a Fallen Angel capable of healing Fallen Angels. I could have been of great assistance to the esteemed Lord Azazel and Lord Shemhaza! After all, there is nothing greater than earning their favor, but you Devils RUINED EVERYTHING!!!"
Archer honestly felt some small degree of pity towards the Fallen. In front of him, she was throwing a temper tantrum while severely injured and weakened. Still, despite having been summoned not that long ago, Archer had a basic understanding of Sacred Gears, and Raynare's plan had a huge hole in it.
"You would have died." He said, catching her attention and everyone else's.
"You…" Seeing him, Rayanre once again had flashbacks of their last encounter and couldn't help but grow silent under his sharp stare that felt like it pierced her very soul.
"Your plan to acquire Sacred Gear. It would have killed both the host and yourself."
"N-No, you're lying!"
He scoffed, "Why would I need to lie to you? You can't be this stupid, right? The Sacred Gear manifests inside human souls and not those that are inherently Supernatural for a reason. From what I've been told, there is a system overseeing all of this, and if, in your case, it detected the Sacred Gear being used by a non-human… it could have rejected or even killed you. Like a slow-acting poison coursing through your veins, you would have gained a purpose, but it would have been short-lived. Your plan was doomed to failure from the very beginning. In no circumstances would things have turned out the way you envisioned."
"Lies, LIES! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!" She stubbornly cried out, desperately covering her ears as tears began trickling down her face. To EMIYA, this was just a lost cause. She recognized the flaw, but her brain refused to accept it, even in the face of defeat. The revelation of this hypothetical outcome had shaken her world to its core, more so than getting punched in the guts by Koneko.
"Right, we should wrap things up now, Yuuto." Rias's tone was filled with killing intent. Not a single trace of empathy could be found. "Cut off her head."
"Right, Buchou." Her Knight responded instantly, though both Akeno and Koneko noticed something off about their King's order.
"W-Wait, you're killing her already!?" Issei's voice trembled with desperation, but no one paid heed to his words. His breathing became increasingly labored, and sweat poured down his face as the Knight approached Raynare, with his bloody blade in hand. These changes did not escape the watchful gaze of Archer, who observed the situation with keen attention..
Hearing his words, Raynare looked at him with sorrowful eyes.
"Ise-kun! Please save me!"
Taking it a step further, she altered the tone of her voice and even donned a more gentle expression as she called out to him. Archer saw how Akeno's disgust intensified at this display, her hands twitching with lightning. He intervened , placing a hand on her shoulder to restrain her.
"—!"
Her head snapped back in shock as she witnessed his action. Archer raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to remain silent. Despite her attempts to push him away, he narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip, causing her to wince in pain. "We'll discuss this later, so cut the childish act and stay put," he commanded with authority. Each word, spoken in a low whisper, carried a harshness she had never heard from him before. Akeno felt an indescribable tremor of rage coursing through her body, but gradually, she managed to calm down. Nodding slowly, she relaxed her posture.
As Yuuto approached the Fallen with his blade raised up in the air, her pleas grew increasingly despairing. "This Devil is going to kill me! I love you! I love you so much! I want to be together with you! That's why you have to protect me from this Devil!"
"A-Ah, Yu-Yuuma…-chan?" Issei's mind descended into utter chaos, torn between conflicting emotions of reason and infatuation. The overwhelming turmoil inside him became too much to bear, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.. That was no longer Raynare in front of him, begging to be saved. Rather it was Amano Yuuma, the sweet girl who brought so much joy and hope into his life in just a few hours. His first date, his first love, and his first girlfriend. As he watched the blade descend upon her neck, something snapped, and everything went blank — his body moved on its own.
[Boost!]
[Dragon booster!!]
Clang!
Archer smirked as he took in the sight of Issei having blocked Yuuto's sword with a red gauntlet, "So it really did work after all."
{Break}
-Kuoh Academy-
"Alright, that just about concludes today's lesson. Now, I hope all of you have completed the homework I assigned two days ago." Toujou-sensei announced loudly to the class, arranging the papers on his desk in preparation for the next class.
"Ah, Sensei, I forgot to do it… please give me one more day! Please~!" One of the female students pleaded, employing a cute voice that had zero effect on their stoic teacher.
"Minus one point from your final score."
"Sensei!?"
"It'll be an additional point for every day after that as well, so get to it."
This was the cycle Sona Sitri, better known as Shitori Sona in the human world, went through nearly every day. It provided a sense of comfort, given what had happened these last few days after the Fallen Angels incident. Rias and her group had mentioned how they would take care of everything.
She, of course, remained skeptical of her rival's words. While Rias was by no means inadequate in her role as one of the governors of Kuoh, considering that both of them had always shared equal amounts of their duties without any hitch in the past. She couldn't help but worry when it came to dealing with powers more dangerous than just mere Strays. The Grigori held Seraphs and Cadres in their ranks, and any one of them would be more than capable of erasing the entire city of Kuoh from existence should they choose to do so. In a similar situation as the Angels, Fallen Angels could not replenish the dwindling numbers of pure Fallens unless an Angel were to fall, making those who remained highly valued assets. Sona did not count cases like Akeno as the girl hadn't been born as a pure Fallen Angel. So it would stand to reason that the faction would fiercely guard their remaining numbers.
Nevertheless, not only did they kill the majority of the Fallens and their human servants, but they had gone a step further and managed to capture two of them alive. Sona let out a sigh of relief upon learning this, understanding that it provided them with valuable bargaining leverage when dealing with the Grigori. While they would have been fine even if everyone was killed, she still preferred to take the more optimal option when possible.
Raynare and Kalawarna were brought back to the Underworld by envoys of Lord Lucifer It was anticipated that their return would serve as a means to secure favors from Azazel. The Governor General would have no other choice if he wanted to avoid a diplomatic incident resulting from Raynare and her group's intrusion and caused trouble within the territory of the younger sisters of two Satans.
'Now comes the matter regarding the destruction of the forest west of Kuoh. Rias had purposefully dodged my inquiries and kept everything vague.' The girl claimed it was a minor skirmish between her peerage and Raynare's lackeys — but Sona did not believe that story one bit. Tsubaki showed her the extent of the damages, and no one in her friend's peerage was anywhere near powerful enough to cause such a large amount of destruction within a single day, nor could they hope to stand up to anyone capable of the same. So it became obvious that Rias was hiding some details from her, information pertaining possibly to that 'powerful' familiar they'd researched in the past.
Or, in other words, the grey-haired man sitting in front of her.
"Ah, it's Gremory-sama!" One of her classmates whispered excitedly, prompting Sona to look over at the door to the classroom where Rias stood, holding a stack of papers.
"Good morning, Toujou-sensei~! I collected the homework from everyone in my class and came here early so I could drop it off. I also wanted to ask for your help going over some questions I've been struggling with."
"How… considerate of you, Gremory-san. Hugh, whatever, let's just get it over with."
The most popular Onee-sama in Kuoh Academy walked inside the classroom. It was rare to see her without Akeno by her side, but still, a sight that made many of Sona's classmates giddy.
"Woah, she somehow looks more beautiful than before! Her hair is so luscious and vibrant. If only mine was the same."
"Kya! Rias-sama!"
"She looked at me! She looked at me!"
"You idiot, stop trying to live in a fantasy land. What's there about you to look at in the first place? She was obviously glancing at me after recognizing my face from our joint physical education class!"
"Humph, why are you all reacting like you've never seen a pretty girl before? Kaichou is obviously prettier. The glasses just add that extra charm factor with her lack of assets."
Sona isolated their conversations, her eyes twitching when hearing some of their phrases about her. Instead, she focused on Rias's interaction with the new teacher.
'Too close, rather Rias is a bit too comfortable with him.'
Having basically grown up with Rias and her nudist family, which traumatized her younger self during the many sleepovers they had. Rias, despite being friendly in appearance, rarely, if ever, spoke to any man or male student in school. She and Akeno had a certain dislike for the opposite gender from what she heard — most likely influenced by a certain blonde phoenix.
That only made the scene in front of her that much more ridiculous: Rias chatting with the teacher with a smile on her face that bordered on a coy smirk. Looking over his shoulders, pointing at the contents of the documents while her hair grazed his face.
Everyone was still in the middle of their daze, so caught up admiring Rias and her beauty like blind zombies that they didn't even seem to register what she was actually doing!
"They seem close," Tsubaki said. At least she was one of the few students here with some sense, which made Sona ever so glad that she was her Queen. Then again, it was a good thing no one noticed the familiarity between these two, though the Sitri heiress would have preferred Rias to be more discreet and not show such affection publicly! As expected from a long line of exhibitionists who lacked the smallest droplet of shame!
Even her Servant did not look comfortable with how familiar she was acting with him in public, putting some distance between them by nudging away… only for the redhead to close that distance by acting like she was reaching for a pen on the other side of the table. Sona observed with a twitching eye as her chest nearly pressed against his face, only for the man to create a bigger gap.
And did Rias just pout?
"Well, despite being her new Servant, Rias seems to act quite affectionately compared to what I expected beforehand." It made her curious about what could have brought such a quick development in her attitude toward him. "Tsubaki, make sure to have Toujou-sensei join me for a small chat in the student council room once classes for the day have finished."
Aside from her curiosity over his origin, she wanted to know more about the capabilities of a Servant and use this information to plan her own summoning. Rias may have said that only a single Servant could be called forth, but Sona suspected that was a complete lie due to her wanting to maintain her status as being the only one among them with a Servant.
That greedy little devil!
.
.
.
Knock
Knock
Archer knocked on the wooden door of the Student Council. One of the students he knew was a Devil had informed him that Shitori Sona wanted to speak to him. It was very possible that Rias already mentioned his origin to the girl, so he was not worried about his identity getting discovered.
So without further ado, he had left his glasses on his desk and promptly went over to the student council room and knocked. Not long after that, the doors were opened by a white-haired girl whom he recognized as another second-year in class 2-C.
"Good afternoon, Toujou-sensei. Kaichou is waiting for you."
"Hn," he gave her a small nod before walking inside a room where Sona awaited him, sitting on an expensive chair while playing a round of chess by herself. She stopped and looked at him, sizing him up with an analytical gaze that he found amusing.
"Glad to see you got my message. Should I call you Toujou-sensei or…"
"Archer will do, Lady Sitri. Or would you prefer Sitri-dono seeing as we are in Japan?" he replied, manifesting his armor and holy shroud.
A chill ran up everyone's spine with the shroud alerting their Devil senses. Tsubaki unconsciously went into a battle-ready stance but soon got a hold of herself as she discerned no hostile intentions from the Servant.
Sona's eyes briefly widened before a smirk bloomed on her face, "So you are aware, then I take it there is no point in wasting any time on needless pleasantries and instead getting down to the main topic at hand — also just refer to me as Sona. Before that, are you familiar with the game of chess?"
"Adequate, though I'm certainly not a grandmaster like you." He said while taking a seat on the other side of the table as Sona gestured for him to come over.
"Flatterer, I bet that Rias must have mentioned quite a few… colorful comments about me. There is no need to hide it from me, Archer. I know that girl better than anyone, so do not hold back." With a flick of her fingers, all of the pieces rearranged themselves back into their starting position on the board — Archer ended up with the black pieces. "I prefer to converse with guests over a game of chess. It helps me relax and enjoy our time together."
"An unusual modus operandi, but I'm not one to judge others. I guess why not, though let me warn you that my skill with this game is lackluster… so you might get disappointed in the end." As he said that, Sona made her first move by moving her E-pawn forward two spaces, a textbook opening, while he responded by moving his F-pawn forward by one space. Archer did not lie when he said that chess was not his forte. Still, he understood the rules and played according to what he felt was the best option.
But, the man was not aiming to win for any particular reason. Better to get this matter out of the way and leave as soon as possible so he could return to his Master. There was going to be a lot of work for him in the coming days, he could tell.
"So tell me more about yourself. From what I learned about Servants, are they considered combat familiars, yes? Quite interesting to think about it. I never encountered cases like these once in my studies of past familiar summonings. Of course, aside from the failed experimentations of the dead wizard, which we learned and had Rias perform the ritual to bring you forth."
"Heroic Spirits," Archer said while placing his G-pawn two spaces forward, exposing his King. "That's what we are called, entities who have achieved great deeds in our past life, then became objects of renown or even worship after our deaths. Immortalizing our existence through the imagination, legends, and myths passed down through the generations until our very existence had become an integral part of human history. On a large enough scale and with feats grand enough, we ascend to a higher existence of sorts, similar to what you would think of an elemental spirit or a wraith becoming a fearsome demon or even a god as it draws power from the beliefs of humans."
"Fascinating, also checkmate." She moved her Queen to G-5 and checkmated Archer with a Fool's Mate. She saw no shock in his eyes, just a look of disinterest at the whole game in general. Unsatisfied, she used her magic to put the pieces back into their starting positions.
"See, I told you I'm not that good. A newbie who was beaten in less than a handful of moves."
"Something tells me that you lost intentionally." Sona loved the sensation of winning every game against all of her opponents. But when the latter purposely played a bad game just to lose in less than a handful of moves… suffice it to say that did not sit well with her. She was not sure of it, so she proposed to the man for another round, to which he shrugged and acquiesced. "Going back to the previous matter, how does this system of yours work? I'm sorry if this sounds too personal, but I'm rather curious about the process a hero goes through to have their soul immortalized by their deeds."
Unlike last time, after she moved her pawn to E4. Archer quickly acted by moving the pawn in the same column two spaces forward. Her G-Knight to F3, his pawn to D6, her pawn is the same column two spaces forward to D4, and he placed his C-bishop to G-4, endangering her Knight. Unlike last time, he played with much greater precision and experience, which nearly threw her off a bit.
"It is called the Throne of Heroes. In simpler terms, think of it as an endlessly expanding library or a hard drive with infinite storage holding all the data of every Heroic Spirit's feats, history, legend, myth, and everything else you can think of. But it wouldn't be completely accurate to call us Servants genuine Heroic Spirit, as Servants are merely a small copy of a fragment of the real Heroic Spirit that still resides in the Throne, as these bodies are merely containers that can only hold so much power."
He didn't find the need to hide this kind of information from Sona, given Rias mentioned that her sister was a Satan, so even if he tried to — she would get those answers by herself. But if he came forth with the information from the get go, he could also chose specifically what to share and not have the girl dig too deep.
"I see. Again I'm quite intrigued by this information. You must have been someone quite exalted in the past with how Rias keeps gushing about how powerful you are."
They continued their game, each side keeping a firm defense, waiting for the other side to create a gap in their formation and then strike. His level far surpassed his first attempt, which just confirmed to Sona that the man was not taking her seriously at first. It felt like an insult, in her opinion. A part of her wanted to crush him again and again at the game but held back. This was merely a talk, not a battle.
"Heh, my Master is just blowing things out of proportion. I am not that impressive as a Servant by any means. As an Archer, I just have more of an advantage against opponents from a distance and nothing more. As for my past, unfortunately, I cannot help you on that end, given my Master unknowingly made a minor error in the summoning, and as a result, my memories are quite jumbled."
Sona was beginning to frown. The chess match was becoming more intense than she had imagined. Having lost half of her pawns, she nearly got cornered by his Queen and was forced to sacrifice a bishop.
'Wait!'
Unfortunately, she missed the Rook, which with a single move, could remove her Queen and corner her King. How did she miss that!? But to her surprise, Archer ignored the clear victory presented to him and blundered on purpose by once again exposing his King which she could corner in two simple moves.
"..."
With shaky hands, she moved her piece and checkmated him for a second time, though the girl once again did not feel an ounce of joy with this victory. Unacceptable, disgraceful to have someone intentionally lose against her! Her pride could not let this slide. With another flick of her fingers, the board was reorganized for a third game.
"W-What can you tell me about o-other types of Servants? You mentioned being an Archer, so I guess there should be a sword Servant and a spear Servant." Trying to get a hold of her emotions, Sona continued their conversation to extract as much information as she could.
Archer raised an eyebrow at how she wanted him to play again. The bowman did not put much thought into it and, this time, moved his Knight first, after which she moved her B-pawn by two spaces. "Well, there is Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster…."
One by one, he repeated the same explanation he had given to Rias previously while omitting personal details pertaining to his own strengths and weaknesses — just sharing the very basic. Friend of Rias or not, Sona Sitri was still a stranger in his eyes and a potential opponent down the line, especially if she were to ever summon her own Servant.
"I must admit, the Saber class does sound quite impressive and worthwhile. What are the chances of me summoning one?"
His hands stilled as she said that, both steel-gray eyes sharpening considerably for a split second. "Then you run the chance of becoming an enemy of my Master, and I can't under any circumstances help out a potential enemy without my Master's explicit approval."
The irony of his words, given his past actions, was not lost on him, but it was better to use this as an excuse to end this conversation quickly, for he wanted to go away from this place.
Sona did not grow offended at his words. Rather, her attention was fully focused on the chessboard. Oh, they were still playing the game. He had lost track of it and nearly cornered her again. Archer once again blundered and gave Sona the winning move. He did his best to suppress his smirk while watching her grow increasingly more frustrated… from winning, no less!
"Do not worry about that. I merely wish to know out of curiosity. And also, I know about the requirement to first have the Command Seals appear on the back of the hand first. And as you can see, I have none." She said while showing both her hands. "Also, are there any dangers associated with summoning a Servant?"
He thought about it for a bit. Having a Servant was both a blessing and a curse depending on the class the person summoned. So Archer decided to tell her the truth, "It depends. There are cases of a Servant betraying or even killing their own Master. Exceedingly rare, of course, and often involves unique circumstances, but it can happen."
"Can you elaborate?"
"First of all, without any catalyst — a relic that's strongly tied to the Heroic Spirit in question — you won't have any way of influencing which Servant or class will actually be summoned. They say Servants summoned without a catalyst are deemed to be the most suited for Masters depending on multiple factors, like personality and so on, but that is hardly good news if the Master has a rotten personality — you could think of it as a case of you being your own worst enemy. Alternatively, if you summon a raging Berserker with a high-ranked Mad Enhancement, you'll be in danger of having your Magical Energy sucked dry just trying to maintain the Servant or using up all your Command Seals just to keep them in line. And once your last line of defense is gone, you are the most likely to die first by the Servant's hand. I once fought a Caster who betrayed her first Master and killed him, so this issue does not lie with the Berserker class alone. It can easily boil down to whether or not the Servant is an Evil entity, believes that you are not worthy, or is particularly rebellious with the desire to be set free." He continued to talk about other instances of Berserkers or treacherous Servants going out of control and causing major mayhem.
Sona had gone pale. Just hearing about an entity that stood at the opposite end of order and stability made her sweat profusely. It made her think about her sister.
'If Onee-sama were to be summoned as a Servant…' just thinking about the possibilities and consequences nearly made the girl faint on the spot.
That could never happen for the sake of the world!
Fortunately for her, that fright was short-lived when she was once again pushed to the corner with little chance to win, but then the order side basically quit with a major blunder and gave her a chance to checkmate him, AGAIN!
This jerk was mocking her… Rias must have told him to do so!
"So I guess a catalyst is truly crucial for the process." Sona once again restarted the chess match.
"If you don't want to end up with a 250 cm tall monster who would accidentally kill you and everyone around just because you were not able to control it, then yes. It's all in the hands of lady luck without it. Rias just got lucky she got me instead, though personally, I'd say it's unlucky because she got me."
Sona gave her Queen a side glance, conveying a message the latter understood, and started noting down everything they spoke about just now.
They continued their conversation while playing another round of chess.
Most times, Sona would come close to losing and then win out of nowhere.
Other times she won in less than ten moves.
Archer even forced her to a draw in one instance, but that was when she purposely tried to lose! But he saw through her and blocked that path!
The girl was starting to see red after the twelfth match — this time, he once again lost with a Fool's Mate! Unable to contain herself anymore, she got up by slapping the table hard enough to send the whole board tumbling to the ground.
"FOR THE LOVE OF LUCIFER, FACE ME SERIOUSLY, YOU JERK!!!!"
Never had Sona felt so insulted in her life, and that clearly fake innocent face of his just made it so much more irritating. Somehow he managed to make all of her wins feel like losses instead!
"Ah, would you look at the time? I should leave. My Master is waiting for me. It was good to finally meet you, Sona. I enjoyed our conversation and learned a great deal about chess from you. Hope we can play again in the future." Without giving her time to respond, he vanished from his seat in a shimmer of blue motes, shocking both Sona and Tsubaki.
"Tsubaki…"
"Yes, Kaichou?"
"Bring me every book about myths and legends of ancient heroes that you can find right now. No, we'll just go to to the library!"
"Understood." She knew her King was in a sour mood, so Tsubaki left the clubroom posthaste.
She was going to get back at that jerk in the future, one way or another!
{Break}
-Kuoh Airport-
Early in the evening, the airport of Kuoh was generally quiet. Though not long after, a plane landed, and dozens of people walked out of the exit gate while pulling their luggage. On the other side of the street, sitting at the back of a large limousine, was Akeno, patiently waiting for their special guest to show up.
"I didn't even get to speak to him." It bugged her ever since that day whether or not Archer heard the end of her conversation with Kalawarna. That part of her was supposed to be a secret only her closest friends knew about, and despite growing friendly with the Servant, Akeno still felt uncomfortable with him knowing about her past.
He had seen and fought against Fallen Angels before, especially after meeting Raynare and seeing her manipulate Issei with that fabricated Yuuma persona of hers. His image of them must have been further tainted. She almost lost control of her anger and would have used her lightning to torture the vile woman to death if he hadn't stopped her.
"Tomorrow… tomorrow for sure, I will confront him about this." Her mind just could not rest until she did not know the truth. "Ah, she's here."
Her attention was drawn to a young blonde nun who walked out last of the exit gate. Struggling to pull a single bag, she then proceeded to trip and fall to the ground. Her luggage opened up and spilled its content all over the ground. The poor girl immediately started to apologize to everyone around her and rushed to pick everything up… and tripped again due to panicking so much.
The scene made Akeno giggle, as moved to go help the adorable little nun "She's quite a cute clutz of a blonde, this Asia Argento."
{Break}
"What the fuck happened here?"
Standing in front of a smoking pile of burned wood, concrete, and shattered pieces of glass all over the place, Freed stood there with a hanging jaw while also holding a plastic bag filled with beer cans and some instant ramen.
"That fucking bitch told me to go handle some stupid errands, or she would have pierced my dick with her spear. FUCK! She made me lose out on all the fun! I hope you burn in hell for this like the bitch you are!" The rogue priest shouted with fury towards the heavens, desiring nothing more than to go out and slice up some stinky Devil worshippers. "Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! Now where do I go!?"
An elderly woman hearing the commotion, could not help but come over and check out who was shouting such profanities so early in the morning. Wearing her exercise jersey, which she used for her morning walks, the woman made her way toward the white-haired priest with a displeased face.
"Young man, you should not shout such sinful words so openly in public! And you're even dressed like a priest!? You younglings and your cosplay are starting to get out of hand! And to do this here the day after the church burned down due to a lightning strike, you should be asha—hya!!"
Her words died down her throat as Freed retrieved a gun from his jacket and pointed it straight at her forehead.
"Keep walking, Grandma!" He said with a snarl, not in a mood to get shouted upon by some old hag again. "Or else you'll have a hole through your brain!"
"P-Police! Someone call the police!"
"I'm seriously gonna blast your brains if you don't shut up!!"
"Did somebody say to call the police?" Another elderly man said, walking down the streets and seeing the commotion near the church. "Huh, I didn't know priests came this young these days. Wait, is that beer? Tch tch, must be a cosplayer."
"Oh, for the love of… that's it, I'M BRINGING OUT THE SWORDS AS WELL IF YOU WRINKLED OLD FUCKS DON'T PISS OFF!"
------------------
The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.