Chapter 56 - 3-

As usual, Emiya Shirou found himself patrolling the quiet streets of Kuoh at night. A rainy one at that. He could have projected an umbrella, but that would blow up his cover as a "harmless student than was going home late".

Not much had changed after the incident of the failed marriage a few days ago, at least not for him. Of course, after seeing him talking to the one said to be the strongest devil alive without even batting an eye, they were cautious around him, but it wasn't that far from the situation prior to the incident.

And well, there was Sona's lecture for storming a private ceremony in the underworld and sending several guards to the hospital, but it didn't escalate.

The changes he expected, something in the line of increasing the safety measures around the two heiresses or watching him... those didn't happen. The reason, he didn't know. He could just guess that, well, they didn't expect a stray magician to make an enemy of two of the current Maous.

Their reputation alone might be able to dissuade most of the people from doing something like that, but expecting that to prevent any attempt on their lives was naive. There is always a bigger fish as they say.

As for the stray devils and other freaks arriving at the city, their numbers were decreasing as of late. He thought that maybe, just maybe, all those freaks realized that coming to this isolated country to throw away their lives wasn't the best way of spending their time.

But he was starting to think that there's another reason behind that.

The night was quiet. Too quiet.

If you walk through a forest and don't hear any sound, that means all the animals are hiding, most likely due to a predator being near. If we extrapolate that patron to Kuoh's supernatural side... that could just mean bad news.

That thought brought a frown to Shirou's face. He didn't know if he was the one attracting the problems, or if it was the heiresses or the town itself, but this was starting to hit an absurd level.

Just as he was about to call it a night and head home to get some sleep, a figure came out of an alley in front of him.

"He... help..."

It was a man wearing the standard outfit of a priest. There were only two options here. Either he was a cosplayer or an actual member of the Holy Church. The second option brought a ton of questions and an incoming headache, but it was most likely the correct one.

"You... pleas help... me..."

The priest approached Shirou with desperation written all over his face. Enough desperation to seek help from a random teenager he met at the entrance of a shady alley.

Not that Shirou could do anything for him. The man collapsed on the ground after spending all of his remaining energy to take a couple of steps. His blood, merging with the thin layer of water over the concrete, started to spread quickly.

The cause of death was obvious. The man had a quite big stab wound on his back, most likely a sword. It missed the heart, but still pierced a lung.

"Hoh? What do we have here?"

Shirou's eyes left the corpse and landed on the perpetrator, who just stepped out of the same alley. He seemed to be another member of the Holy Church, but just seeing that twisted smile he could tell this guy had a screw loose.

"A random student out here this late at night? Suspicious to say the least... The way you haven't freaked out seeing this fella here... are you perhaps one of those suckers working for the shitty devils?"

He ignored the madman and instead looked at the sword he was carrying. Its blade, longer than the average and with a gap near the guard, was soaked in blood, but it wasn't an impediment for his reality marble to reproduce it...

"...!" Shirou's eyes widened as an urge to puke assailed him.

That... thing was an offense for all the swordsmiths on this planet. Its structure was full of flaws, caused by the lackluster methods used to reforge it. It was the result of leaving the fragments of the original sword to a bunch of alchemists that just put them together and gave them shape, with their sole focus on conserving a fraction of the original's power.

It lacked any kind of spirit, but unlike Kanshou and Bakuya, it didn't hold a meaning behind its creation either. It was just... an aberration that shouldn't exist.

But what really shocked Shirou was the true name of the sword.

Excalibur Rapidly.

That... had to be a twisted joke.

If Excalibur was shattered in the past, then that meant this world's Excalibur wasn't the Holy Sword forged in the inner sea of the planet that carried mankind's wishes. It was just another holy sword above the average...

And the fragment in front of him... considering it a noble phantasm would be generous on his part. Its holy aura might be really effective against wicked creatures, but it was an effect that could be replicated with some black keys, and was completely overshadowed by Redeemer and Retriever.

But leaving aside the comparisons with the Sword of Promised Victory, how is this world still brimming with life?

Without the sword that protects the planet, there is nothing to stop the White Titan from turning this planet into a sea devoid of life. And even if that thing didn't arrive on this planet, and the true ancestors were never a thing either, there are other threats in outer space.

Shirou was starting to think that this world might not be even a branch of Proper Human History's main tree...

"Heh, it seems you have an eye for quality!" The madman's voice brought Shirou back to reality. He seemed to have mistaken his surprise by admiration for that thing. "I don't blame you. This Excalibur-chan here is really something. The perfect weapon to exterminate shitty devils!"

How such a weapon ended in the hands of this prick was another question for the seemingly endless pile. The guy was rubbing his face against the flat side of the blade as if it were some kitty.

The golden-eyed boy opened his mouth to speak for the first time. "Would you answer if I asked you the reason why you killed this man?"

To his surprise, the madman actually answered the question. "He was an eyesore for the boss, and it is a good occasion to test this babe. And now..." He pointed the sword at Shirou. "I'll have to kill you, too. I cannot leave alive any idiot associated with those fuckers."

"And what if I told you I'm just a stray magician that isn't affiliated with the devils controlling this town?"

"You are still an unwanted witness, my fellow. And what is even doing a magician in this remoted country? Don't tell me? Are you the one that the boss mentioned? The infamous Slayer? You must be him! There isn't any other explanation! Hehehehe! You'll be the perfect target to test my Excalibur Chopper!"

Shirou let out a sight. This man was just plain nuts. It seemed he would have to kill the first person associated with the Holy Church he came across.

Not that he expected to get along with that sect, but making an enemy out of them right off the bat was an entirely different matter. If they had some sort of equivalent of the executors, or the Burial Agency, things would get complicated.

"Here I come!"

"Trace, on..."

Just as the madman rushed at him, Shirou stuffed his left hand in his jacket and projected Kanshou just in time to deflect the blade coming at his neck.

The sparks flew away, illuminating the street more than the lonely streetlight by their side could. And the maniac smile in the fake priest just grew wider, in contrast to Shirou's cold expression.

The madman continued to swing the thing in his hands as if he were just trying out a new toy. There was skill in his attacks, he didn't just swing it randomly. But it wasn't that far from the attack of a mad dog.

His speed though was something else, at least compared to the average level of an executor. It was the especial quirk that sword managed to retain despite its horrendous forging process, and what gave it that name. It enhanced the user's speed and reflexes.

However, it wasn't something Shirou couldn't deal with. The man wasn't that far from Kiba's speed, and his telegraphed attacks weren't helping. Even if he tried to take advantage of his enhanced speed, and attacked from all angles unlike the Gremory knight, Shirou blocked all of his attacks without a problem.

"Huh?"

The madman's vicious smile quickly turned into a frown. He was sure the devil he fought not that long ago would have been completely destroyed by this point. But the boy in front of him wasn't even sweating.

However, if his guess was right, this level was to be expected from the monster that kept destroying any supernatural creature that entered the city. What was truly baffling him was... why in the world his Excalibur didn't break that flimsy sword!?

One of the Holy Church's trump cards couldn't lose against some random sword, right!?

"Tsk, damn it! Why isn't that sword breaking already!?"

If he couldn't hit the boy, he might as well destroy his weapon and kill him while defenseless. But that plan was proving to be as difficult as breaking his guard.

CRACK!

It took more than 20 clashes, but he finally did it. He finally heard the sound of metal being cracked.

"He! You're mine- huh?"

After observing the black sword in Shirou's hand, he noticed that it was in perfect shape. Not even a single dent could be seen in its beautiful form.

His eyes then darted to the sword he was holding, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"WHAT!? You have to be fucking with me! This sword is the strongest!"

The sword in his hand, said to be one of the strongest holy swords, had now a horrible crack all over its blade, with some fragments already falling to the ground.

"No, that sword is far from the strongest." Shirou spoke as if to crush the man's delusion. "If you think that joke of a sword can match a true masterpiece, then keep dreaming."

"Tsk..." The man took a step back to reassess the situation. Unlike what he let others think most of the time, he wasn't a complete maniac for battle with a huge bloodlust.

With the sword in his hand looking like it was going to fall apart, beating that boy, no, that monster was impossible. He seemed to be able to predict all his attacks without even seeing them for crying out loud!

In this situation, there was only one option available for him.

"Heh, you aren't half bad boy. But, this seems to be my clue to take my leave!"

The man pulled something out from one of his pockets and tried to smash it into the ground. However, Shirou reacted quickly. A rapier-like sword with a red guard appeared in his right hand and he threw it at the fake priest.

It missed him completely though, going through the space between the madman's legs, causing him to laugh.

"Hahaha, not even close! Your aim really sucks! Now the, see ya... ... ... Eh?"

Yet another surprise. As much as he tried, putting all his being into it, his arm just wasn't moving at all. Not just his arm, his entire body as well. He couldn't move an inch. The only exceptions were his mouth and eyes.

"What is this!? What did you do to me!?"

"Who said I missed?"

Shirou approached him casually. With the black key stabbing the man's shadow, projected by the streetlight, he wasn't moving any time soon.

Kanshou faded from his hand as he took the object in the fake priest's hands. It looked like a small metallic ball, but his structural grasp revealed its true nature.

"A flashbang, huh? It seems you really were going to turn your tail and run. Didn't the Holy Church instill into you that bullshit about offering your life to God? I'm pretty sure failure meant being labeled as a heretic if your rank isn't high enough."

At the end of his speech, he threw the flashbang into a nearby trashcan, where it activated just to illuminate its interior.

Those were meant to be jabs to see if he lost his cool and revealed some sensible information in the spur of the moment, but the man just looked at him surprised, and then laughed.

"Hahaha! We are on the same page here, my friend! I deserted from that shitty sect a long time ago, and now I work for a more interesting boss."

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that. So what he ended stumbling upon wasn't an internal dispute, but this guy was actually one of those stray exorcists.

"But I must ask. Why such a monster would be in this town blending with those shitty devils? Why don't you join me and the boss? With you, purging them will be a piece of cake!"

That was pretty much flattery, a desperate attempt of talking his way out of this. But it just let Shirou know that this psycho was just an underling and that the real bigshot was scheming something that could mean anything but good to this city.

"So you work for a terrorist band, the fallen angels a presume. Why should I join and bunch of paranoid murders that go around killing humans because they can become potential threats? From my point of view, any of you isn't any better compared to the others."

The fake priest started to panic as this wasn't going anywhere. "Think about it! If you join the boss to restart the war between the three factions, you purge the other two sides more, leaving just the fallen angel faction!"

"You want to restart a war? I guess that explains what are you doing bringing this thing here of all places..."

Shirou took the Excalibur fragment out of his hands and inspected it. With just a couple of test swings, he just confirmed his thoughts. Even if the Excalibur of this sword hadn't been the last phantasm as the one of his original world, it didn't deserve this offense.

Now, what should he do about it? The part of him that retains Muramasa's swordsmith values from that time they were fused was screaming at him that he should finish the job and destroy it. But his rational part told him that he should just return it, as explaining that he didn't steal it would be less troublesome than explaining why he broke it.

"Stealing this thing would set up the Holy Church, and involving the heiresses would bring the devils to this mess... That kind of scheme can just come from a guy that just seeks war just for the bloodbath... Sorry but, I think I'll pass. Now..."

He raised the sword in his hand to behead the fake priest. He had been a good source of information, but leaving him around wouldn't be worth the trouble. He couldn't let him alert this boss that the "Slayer" was going for him, and not even a psychiatrist could heal him.

The madman however didn't react at that. He was more focused staring dumbfounded at the way he wielded the Excalibur without trouble. What's more, the blade of the Excalibur was emitting a faint light, as if to recognize a legitimate owner.

Shirou paid no mind to it and swung the blade before the fake priest started to beg for his life and alerted the neighbors.

CLANG!

However, Shirou had to react quickly at the sudden burst of killing intent behind him and turned around to block a sword aimed at his neck. His eyes widened for a second upon recognizing the owner of that sword, a deep frown appearing in his face afterward as he pushed the devil with his reinforced strength.

"Should I take this as a sign that you guys have finally considered me a threat, Kiba?"

The blonde knight didn't bat an eye at Shirou's expanding hostility. "This must be fate. You managed to fool us all, Emiya. But the fact that you can wield that sword is evidence enough. You were always an undercover agent of the Church! You wouldn't be able to wield it otherwise!"

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that. Judging by the unbelievable amount of hatred he was able to feel the moment Kiba mentioned the thing in his hand, he could assume it was the reason why he jumped to conclusions so suddenly. But even so...

"Tell me, why shouldn't I be able to wield this joke of a sword?"

Before the devil could answer, the laugh of the madman interrupted their conversation.

"Fufufu! That's what I was asking myself, shitty devil!"

The sight of the madman made Kiba grimace. It seemed he had a story with him. "Freed Sellzen..."

"I'm also glad to see you're still kicking around! Have you finally been able to do it with your boyfriend the dragon boy!?"

His taunts made the devil grit his teeth, a sight to behold coming from the charismatic Prince of Kuoh. If it wasn't for the sword in Shirou's hand having all his attention, he would have silenced him already.

Ignoring the fact that his life was hanging from a thin string, the man kept speaking. "Regular humans need external aid to wield Excalibur-chan. An infusion of holy element, just like the old man did with me. So how in the world is this guy able to use it!? The only thing that comes to mind is that he is a natural, but that seems unlikely, too! Someone that despises the Holy Church like that can't have any holy in them!"

His eyes then landed on the devil. "For you, a lowly devil, to know about this... Don't tell me, you wouldn't happen to be one of the kids used for the old man's experiment!?"

Seeing how Kiba's eyebrows twitched, the madman knew he had hit the spot. "You are! Hahahaha! How pitiful! A kid that lost everything is now seeking revenge as a devil! Guess I should send your regards to the old ma-"

Shirou's fist hitting the stomach of the madman silenced him, making his body fall to the ground like a puppet with its strings severed.

"Enough of the history lesson... I'll make more questions later." His eyes then turned to look at Kiba. "Is that it? Just because you hate this thing you were going to kill me? Tell me, how is that going to amend your problems?"

"You know nothing!" Kiba started to shout with a voice filled with hatred and rage. "You don't know how many lives were sacrificed just to find a way exorcists could wield that sword without trouble! All my friends gave their lives so that I could escape! The only way that I can repay them... is dedicating this life to destroy that thing!"

Throwing any semblance of reason out the window, the devil rushed to attack him.

His swing, aimed solely at the holy sword, was swiftly deflected by Shirou. The sword that seemed to be on the verge of falling apart endured the clash only thanks to Shirou applying reinforcement.

Gritting his teeth the devil kept attacking, an uncharacteristic killing intent coming from him. But as a reminiscence of all the bout between the two, he wasn't able to break Shirou's guard. All the improvement he went through during the training camp seemed to be completely buried by a pile of hatred and regrets.

"You see, I agree with you that this abomination shouldn't exist. But dedicating your entire being to a vengeance regarding this thing? I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I can tell you breaking this thing will accomplish nothing. You should do something more productive with this second opportunity you were given."

Shirou tried to talk things out, but it went through one ear and out the other.

"Shut up!"

The intensity behind Kiba's attacks just grew with every word. It was to be expected. Hearing that his reason to keep living was absurd, even if Shirou's words were true, just upset him more. He swung his sword with a technique not that far from the one of the madman lying unconscious in the street.

Seeing that words weren't going to do it, Shirou changed tactics. Beating some sense to him in a literal way would have to do it then.

"Hnn!"

Pouring some magical energy into the sword, it answered with a burst of light that blew apart Kiba's sword and sent him sliding across the street.

It didn't take him much to stand up again though, as Shirou avoided hitting him directly with the holy light.

"Tsk... Holy Eraser couldn't even endure a single hit..."

"I'll give you one last chance." The magus spoke as lowered he the sword. "If you retreat now, I'll let this pass as just you having a bad day. We go back to our respective homes and pretend that this never happened."

"Even if you truly aren't a member of the Church, I won't let you get away as long as you keep protecting that sword."

After saying that, he called upon his sacred gear. It took him more time than usual, and it drained him even more, but the result was a massive demonic sword.

That thing was powerful, at least compared to the other swords he'd seen Kiba pull out, but it seemed out of place in the hands of a knight that specialized in speed. That sword wouldn't look out of place in Heracles' hands.

Once again, his rage and hatred were blinding him.

Shirou let out another sigh as he prepared the sword in his hands. "Your choice then."

The devil threw himself at Shirou, his speed severely reduced due to that sword's weight, but the magus waited for him patiently.

"HAAAAAAAHHH!"

Kiba put all his being into a single swing with that massive sword wrapped in an ominous aura, aiming to destroy that holy sword once and for all.

The magus, on the other hand, swung the holy sword with one hand. A simple swing that didn't look even threatening, however, its speed and power made Kiba widen his eyes even with his mind clouded.

"Wha-"

The holy light filled the street for a moment, followed by the sound of an explosion and steel falling apart.

The devil stumbled through the wet concrete, with some minor burns on his body and the shatters of his great demonic sword scattering all over the place.

"Kuh!"

He tried to get up, but his body failed him. Even if his wounds didn't endanger his life, they still drained his energy rather quickly due to the exposition to the holy light.

The sounds of steps alarmed him. Kiba turned to see the magus stopping right in front of him, and raising the sword in his hand. But far from what he expected, it wasn't to finish him off but to show him the result of the clash.

"Are you satisfied now?"

What was left in his hand was just the holy sword's hilt. The blade was completely shattered just as it was the demonic sword.

He didn't get an answer from the devil. Once the source of the hatred driving him was out of his sight, he quickly lost consciousness.

"Haahh..." Shirou let out another sigh.

So this was the truth behind the Prince of Kuoh. A boy with massive survivor guilt that was eating him away day by day, hidden by a fake smile.

They were similar in a sense. The devil wasn't as messed up as him, but the objective he focused his efforts to soften his guilt was even more self-destructive.

First Koneko and now Kiba. Rias was doing a poor job dealing with her servants' psychological problems.

Shirou inspected the sword in his hand again. Excalibur Rapidly didn't fall apart due to the clash itself. He forced it to self-destruct after drawing its full potential with that single swing. A skill he borrowed from the time he was fused with the demonic swordsmith.

This was far from a solution, however. If the information he got from the sword was correct, there were other six abominations scattered through the world. It had to be Kiba himself who realized himself that living like an empty shell only driven by vengeance was a mistake, and if he needed support from someone, it had to be the people close to him.

But at least, he managed to make him calm down without resorting to a more extreme method. There were more pressing matters to attend than having to explain why he left Kiba on the verge of death.

He turned to look at the fake priest... and another sight left his mouth.

"That sly bastard really has fast feet..."

It seemed he underestimated the fake priest's resilience. The bastard managed to wake up in time to escape when one of the bursts of light erased the shadow projected by the streetlight.

Great, now this boss of his knows about him. Tracking a human without a strong magical scent in the middle of the rain was nearly impossible.

His golden eyes looked around to assess the situation. An unconscious Kiba he had to deliver, most likely to Issei's house as it was the only location he knew and Rias was living there if Issei hasn't been having hallucinations. A corpse he needed to get rid of, and the fragments of the holy sword that he couldn't leave here in the middle of the street. Oh, and doing the laundry as his uniform couldn't absorb more water.

If his calculations weren't off, he was going to sleep three hours at best.

"Tomorrow is going to be a great day..."

"Yawn~"

Just as Shirou predicted, staying awake during school was taking all his willpower. He managed to survive until the first break, but his hands were handling the chopsticks with the same enthusiasm as a walking corpse.

Two options crossed his mind at that moment. Should he go get a coffee or an energy drink, or should he take a quick nap until the bell rings?

The second option was more appealing, even if the possibility of the bell not waking him up at all was quite real. And so, without even stopping to think, his eyes started to close slowly...

"Sensei, you look awful."

Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. Even if much hasn't changed since the incident with Raiser, this was one of the things that actually had changed.

For some reason, Issei and Asia decided to accompany him for lunch with Koneko, effectively forgetting about their other friends. Don't ask him why. He tried to dissuade them, but it was a losing battle.

The bags under his eyes weren't that strange, but seeing how Shirou didn't even bother to say something like: "stop calling me "Sensei", damn it!", the three devils started to worry.

"Weren't you able to sleep last night, Shirou-san?"

"Let's just say... last night patrol got a little bit complicated..." Resigning himself to drink several energy drinks to endure the rest of the day, he decided to humor them.

"What happened? Did you find another powerful stray? Or could it be... do you know something about what happened to Kiba?"

That had been a shock... well, at least more shocking than the sudden visit he had before that.

Since the old school building was under maintenance yesterday, the daily meeting of their club had been held in the Hyoudou residence. His mother then decided that it was a good idea to show them pictures of him as a child, and in the middle of that embarrassing mess, Kiba just stormed out of his house with a really serious expression.

They didn't know what happened to him until a sound in the middle of the night woke him up. His heart skipped a beat after peeking out the window and finding an unconscious Kiba lying in front of his house. His life wasn't in danger, and Asia was able to heal him without trouble, but it was concerning nonetheless.

If Buchou was right, those burns were caused by holy light, and those were really bad news.

"Buchou is worried about who might have left him in that state."

Shirou glanced away. That was one of the things his past self left to him before going to sleep. This was going to be awkward.

"That was me."

"Eh?" The three devils tilted their heads. "It was you as in you left him there... or as in you left him in that state?"

"Both of them actually."

The cold sweat was starting to slide from Issei's face. These happy, peaceful days he got after defeating Raiser seemed to be crumbling away quickly. Yeah, having the need to get the dragon essence of his arm sucked out from time to time so it looked like a regular arm was a reminder that such a thing was no longer possible, but still...

Issei might be dense enough to not realize why Rias moved to his house and insisted to sleep in the same bed with him every night, but he could tell that Shirou had still yet to trust them. The only exception was Issei himself, as both of them got to know each other after those days they spent together.

And it was precisely because of that that Issei hoped Shirou would stop treating them coldly with enough time.

But if Kiba got into a fight with him, that hope might as well be just a dream.

"What happened?" Koneko made the question, as the other two were still having trouble processing that piece of information. And even if he didn't let it show, she was still shaken.

Shirou was sure Kiba came to the school today. Even if he didn't see the Prince of Kuoh, all the gossips about that fake smile of his being nowhere to be seen spread quickly. But it looks like he didn't talk with them at all about the events of last night.

It was a sound decision. If he told them: "Emiya attacked me with an Excalibur, which ended up destroyed in the process", Rias would most likely freak out. Even the misunderstanding was cleared, the fact that there was an Excalibur in the city, shattered on top of that, was still serious trouble.

To think that this world's humans had trouble wielding such trifling swords was really concerning in itself. That explained why they are at the bottom of the food chain. Or perhaps that was the reason the biblical God had the "great" idea of creating the sacred gears.

Now, leaving all that aside, how was he going to break this to them without mentioning the Excalibur so they didn't freak out...

"You see, I was in the middle of one of my usual patrols when I ran into a stray exorcist. You might know him. His name was Freed Sellzen." The collective grimace he got from the devils just confirmed it. "After ruining his sword, I subdued him and proceeded to interrogate him. But then, Kiba attacked me thinking I had switched sides. He didn't seem to be in his right mind, so I was forced to subdue him as well, and the stray exorcist managed to escape in the process."

Even if he had left out the most important detail, that was basically what happened last night.

The frowns in their faces however hinted that they might not buy it entirely. Specially Koneko, who was the one that knew Kiba better.

"Do you think it might be related?" The question Issei made to Asia surprised Shirou however.

"Father Sellzen returning to this city at the same time those sisters paid us a visit... it's too much of a coincidence."

The way Issei gritted his teeth and clenched his fists showed that this visit Asia mentioned wasn't a pleasant memory. In fact, for him to show so much anger it had to be really serious.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well..." Issei decided to tell him their side of the mess. "...we were visited by two members of the Holy Church. One of them turned out to be my childhood friend, so their only reason behind their visit was just checking how I was doing... but then they saw Rias and sensed that Asia and I were devils, and things went south. They didn't start a fight, but they left asking Rias for a meeting to discuss some matters... not before calling Asia a witch and a heretic."

Shirou blinked a couple of times. That was quite the chain of coincidences. Perhaps he wasn't the only magnet for trouble here. He could already figure out the reason why they were here, but that was faster than he expected.

"When is going to take place that meeting?"

"Actually, just after school in our clubroom. Buchou has probably informed Kaichou about it as the sisters wanted them to be there, too. Are you planning to attend as well, Sensei?"

"Quit the "Sensei", damn it!" With the conversation taking this serious turn, all his drowsiness had faded away. "But yes. A matter that concerns this city's safety, then yes, it concerns me as well."

The bell rang not much long after that, and the four returned to their respective classrooms.

Even with a couple of energy drinks on him, the wait seemed to go on forever. But the lessons of the day finally came to an end, and he followed Issei and Asia to the old school building. They met with Saji other members of the Student Council on their way, but more importantly, Kiba joined them, too.

His eyes met Shirou's for a fleeting moment, just before the knight looked away.

The magus couldn't sense any anger or hatred directed at him. It seemed that Kiba had reflected on his actions a bit, but he steel was cautious around him, more so than before the training camp.

The others could feel the tense atmosphere between the two swordsmen but decided to not make any comment on that.

"We're here."

The remaining members of both peerages were already in there, in the same formation, they used when they interrogated Shirou. Rias and Sona sitting on the sofa, with their queens behind them, and the two sisters in question were sitting across the table.

The two "kings" looked at Shirou with some surprise as he wordlessly walked to a corner and leaned his back on the wall. Ignoring their looks, the magus stared at the two members of the Church.

To his surprise, they were two girls of an age similar to all the people in the room. The two were beauties in a mundane way. The cheerful one of them, who wore a smile despite being completely outnumbered, had light brown hair tied in twin tails and purple eyes. Judging by her Asian features, she must be Issei's childhood friend.

Her partner on the other hand wore a stoic expression, with some hostility pouring from her brown eyes. That was more in the lines of what Shirou was expecting from an executor, but Kiba glaring holes on their backs might be to blame here. If her blue hair with a shade of green didn't make her stand out like a sore thumb enough, the monstrous weapon she carried around wrapped in a white shroud did. Her partner was more subtle, as she most likely had her weapon hidden in her garments.

The sisters didn't seem to pay attention to him whatsoever and started the conversation upon seeing everyone was in the room.

"I am Shidou Irina from the Protestant church, and this one here is Xenovia Quarta of the Catholic church!"

The one with blue hair clicked her tongue at her partner's introduction. "There is no need to introduce ourselves to these devils."

Her Japanese wasn't as fluent as her partner's, but it was quite acceptable for a stranger. Not that he expected less of an executor.

"But that's the least we can do if we want them to have put some trust in us!"

Her naive words made Xenovia sigh. "Haaah... I guess we should explain the circumstances before getting to what we want from you... Three of the seven fragments of Excalibur were stolen recently, one from each of the Church's branches, and we determined that the culprit has fleed to this country, this city to be more precise."

Both "kings" pinched their noses bridges. The other members made surprised faces, which showed they already knew about the mess that was this world's Excalibur, and Kiba's killing intent just grew further.

"It seems our territory is a magnet for incidents..."

"Do you have any idea of who the culprit is?" Sona went straight to the point.

"They were stolen by the Grigori." The sole mention of the fallen angels made the Gremory peerage grow tense. Their story with them wasn't a pleasant one to hear.

It made Shirou regret not recovering his memories faster. He could have avoided Asia and Issei's meaningless deaths. But that was in the past, and messing with time wasn't a good idea regardless of the world.

"To be precise, it was one of their current leaders, Kokabiel. A fallen angel that has survived from the great war."

"We've been sending exorcists to this city, but they never returned..."

So what he stumbled upon was just one of those cases. Or that madman was really sneaky, or that exorcist was the only one that actually managed to get to the city.

"Now, we request that you devils don't interfere with this matter between the Church and the Grigori."

Rias eyed the girl with blue hair. "Do you really think we might cooperate with the fallen to destroy the Excaliburs or something in the lines?"

"That's what our superiors believe, yes!"

The temperature of the room descended just by the pissed-off faces the two pure-blood devils made at Irina's affirmation.

"We can swear by our families' names that we would do something so blasphemous as forming an alliance with the fallen angels."

Irina ignored the subtle jab in Sona's words, but Xenovia gritted her teeth before speaking again.

"Hearing that is enough. Starting a fight with the sisters of the Maous would have been troublesome. But we won't ask for cooperation either. An alliance between the Church and the devils would just destroy what little balance is left between the three factions."

"So it's just you two against an ancient powerful fallen angel, how reckless from the church. Did they just send you to die?"

Rias' question took them by surprise, but they answered without losing the pace.

"Even if it's just the two of us, we came here with appropriate equipment."

Just as Xenovia said that she unraveled the shroud around her weapon, a massive black greatsword with ax blades as its guard. The shroud must have been acting as a seal, as its holy presence immediately made the devils feel goose-bumps.

Irina on her side raised her right arm, revealing a small band wrapped around her forearm. At the next instant, that band shone and shapeshifted to a katana exuding the same aura as Xenovia's sword.

"So you've brought Excaliburs to fight Excauliburs, huh?" Sona remarked as she adjusted her glasses, not leaving her discomfort to be seen.

"That's correct. Even if we might not be enough to defeat Kokabiel, if we manage to destroy the stolen Excaliburs, then it will be worth it."

"Heh, so your plan is just to throw a kamikaze attack and hope for the best." Shirou's sudden words responding to Irina's declaration surprised everyone. "If no one is going to do it, then I'll say it. You are not going to accomplish anything with those shinny sticks. You'll just throw away your lives for nothing."

The two exorcists looked at the other human in the room, and now Xenovia's hostility had a new focus.

"I've been meaning to ask, but you are human, right? Why are you here, err...?" Irina tried to be diplomatic seeing how her friend was about to lash at the golden-eyed boy.

"I am Emiya Shirou. As for your question, I'm a local magician that ensures this city's safety. In other words, that matter about holy swords and this Kokabiel guy concerns me as well."

"A magician allied with the devils ensuring someone's safety? What a joke. If you truly cared for those lives, you would have exterminated them. Unlike the witch there, I should exterminate you right here without asking."

Xenovia's blunt words didn't get any reaction from the magus other than a frown. It seemed some things don't change no matter where you go.

"Hmph, I see that the members Holy Church still label as heretics anyone that doesn't think the way you guys want, regardless of the circumstances. So much for the teachings of that petty God. And here I was willing to give you a chance to explain things from your point of view. Guess that will be just a waste of time..."

That hit close to home, with Xenovia tightening the grip on her holy sword and almost swinging it at Shirou. It was actually Irina grabbing her from her shoulders that stopped her.

"Look what you've done, Xenovia-san! We've lost our opportunity to turn him to our side!"

Those words actually made everyone else in the room grow tense, and Shirou snorted. As if he were to put his faith in some God he didn't even know. But he kept that to himself. Antagonizing them further would just make things complicated.

"However, regardless of that, I am willing to help you defeat this Kokabiel guy."

Xenovia's eyes twitched at that. "And what can a magician that cannot even recognize two holy swords of the highest caliber possibly do to help us?"

Shirou buffed, barely repressing a laugher at that. If the Church considered those things one of their trump cards, their situation was really horrible.

"If you don't realize those things are useless against any opponent that's not weak to holy light, then you're off to a bad start. Even if those alchemists managed to retain most of its holy aura, their internal structure is so messed up that they won't last more than a few blows against the real deal. Seriously, you'll be better with just a set of black keys."

Shirou didn't notice how the two exorcists looked at him like he had grown a second head at the mention of the black keys. The devils were already baffled hearing him speak about the Excaliburs as if they were just run-of-the-mill swords

Compared to what laid in his Unlimited Blade Works, yes, they were on the same level of the nameless noble phantasms he fired as arrows.

"But aside from that, you'll need a guide. Even if one of you lived here a long time ago, I know very well all the hot spots in this city regarding the supernatural. And what about a place to stay? Do you have that much covered?"

Judging by the way their faces blushed and their bellies started to make noise, he had hit right in the spot. That just confirmed they were sent here to their deaths like all the other exorcists. Why would they bother to arrange a safe house for someone that was going to die?

This version of the Holy Church was starting to seem even worse than the one in his original world, and that was something.

"I live alone, so I have no problems having you two around if it's just for a couple of days."

"I- I- I would never accept the help of someone that is on the side of devils!" Xenovia rejected his offer, but her determination this time was wavering.

"Who said I am on their side? We have just a non-aggression contract. In terms of reputation, I'm a nobody, so you don't have to worry about restarting a war."

"That... makes sense. The superiors never mentioned a magician living here... In that case, it is decided! We'll be in your care, Emiya-kun!"

"Wait, you're jumping to conclusions too fast, Irina!" The blue-haired exorcist objected to her decision. "This can be a trap! And besides, the only reason we're broke is that you got scammed with that fake painting during in-between flights!"

"Hey, it really struck me as the real thing! And I can tell Emiya-kun here is a good person, regardless of his misplaced beliefs."

How this naive girl managed to climb her way up to her current rank in that pit of snakes is another question that was going to be left unanswered. But it played to Shirou's favor, so he didn't utter a word.

"Tch." Xenovia ended up conceding. Dying meaninglessly because they didn't go fight Kokabiel in top condition wasn't in her plans. Her strict eyes landed on the magus. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. The moment you try something, I'll cut you down."

"Hey, hold on a second." The three humans turned to look at Rias. "We never agreed to this arrangement."

Shirou raised an eyebrow at the devils. "Since when do I need to ask you guys permission to bring someone to my house?"

The question was asked in a neutral tone, but it had an edge that sent chills down their spines.

"If someone discovers that you're sheltering two members of the Church, the punishment for breaking the contract you signed isn't going to be small."

Well, Sona was right. The contract didn't allow him to side with Heaven and the Grigori, but not in a way like a geis contract that would have started to punish him already.

He guessed it was time to break that contract when no one was watching.

"No one should catch wind of this... unless you want to rat me out. Do you really want to let these girls die and have to deal with the mess by yourself? Or are you naive enough to think that this Kokabiel guy doesn't have business with you after coming to this city specifically?"

"Well..."

That made the Sitri heiress ponder about it. It would be ideal if they were able to deal with Kokabiel without them having to intervene... but still...

"And why are you so confident that your help is going to change the outcome?" Rias asked the big question. "Raiser is one thing, but you are going against a fallen angel that survived the Great War between the three factions. I doubt even Issei with his Balance Breaker stands a chance against him."

Said devil flinched at his master's blunt words. Not that he would be able to access it again without turning more parts of his body into draconic parts, but hearing that using that cheat power-up wouldn't cut it...

"Ddraig, is that Kokabiel guy so powerful?" He asked the dragon residing in his arm.

[I don't know what to tell you without having him in front of us. Even if I happened to fight him when I was alive, or any other of my wielders did, I don't remember. However, I can say someone that managed to come out alive from a battlefield shared by God and the Four Original Satans is way out of your league, partner. At least for now.]

"I figured as much... But how about Sensei. Does he stand a chance?" Issei asked sincerely.

Unlike the other people in the room, who couldn't fathom the idea of a human going against such a monster, he thought otherwise. After having been on the receiving end of his fighting style for all those days, he firmly believed that his Sensei was someone you could always rely on to turn the tables no matter how dire the situation was.

And that's what he aspired to be, and the reason he kept calling him Sensei.

He had been searching for a way to turn his mental trigger into an actual spell, but hearing this, training his control with the mana burst appealed more to him.

[That's... an interesting question. That cursed sword would surely make a number on any supernatural creature that is not on the level of a dragon. And the way he refers to those holy swords as third rates suggests he has something even more powerful in his arsenal. But as he taught you, a battle is not just a contest of power.]

"I won't know until I try." Shirou's voice brought Issei back to reality. As expected from his sensei, there wasn't an ounce of hesitation in his voice. "Now, if you'll excuse us..."

Shirou was about to turn around, but he stopped when Kiba approached him. Both stared at each other for a second, with the knight's hostility being tangible.

"Do you have something to say, Kiba-san?"

"Why are you so adamant in helping them?"

"Because ensuring the safety of the people in this city comes first than any disagreement I may have with their beliefs."

"And you prefer their side than ours?"

Well, this came in handy if anything. This was his opportunity to shatter any misgiven belief that he was going to trust them so easily.

"That is a no-brainer, Kiba-san. A bunch of supernatural creatures that I've barely known for a month, or two humans that follow the teachings of some God. Personally, I wouldn't pick either. But if I have to choose one of them, of course, I would pick the humans."

The bomb was dropped, getting a lot of widened eyes. Surprisingly, the Red Dragon Emperor looked at him with an expression filled with sorrow instead of surprise.

"Should we take that as a declaration of hostility?" Sona asked with a voice colder than usual.

"It's just a reminder that I'm a neutral party, not your ally."

"We should get going. Emiya. Where is your house?" The hostility in Xenovia's voice had decreased by a large margin.

"Yeah, I'm starving!"

"It is actually at the other side of the city, so you'll have to bear with it for a little."

The magus walked out of the room followed by the two exorcists, and that didn't help to ease the tension in the atmosphere.

Kiba's hand reached to his sword's hilt as he watched their backs, or more specifically, the two now hidden again holy swords. But he didn't continue to unsheath it.

The only reason he was quicking around was that the magus allowed him. If he tried to attack on impulse, things might not end so well...

When he was already resigning himself, Issei noticed someone pulling his sleeve. When he turned to look, his eyes met the ones of the Gremory rook.

Koneko was wearing her usually stoic face, but Issei could see it clearly. Her determination was burning in them.

"I want to help them. Both senpais."

"Mmmm! So good! God bless you, Emiya-san!"

"I never thought... mmhh... that I would taste... mmhh... such delicacy from a magician... mmhh... of the far East..."

Shirou could just sweatdrop as the two exorcists the quick dinner he wiped up. He intended to start sharing information right away after coming home, but they almost collapsed after not having eaten for two days.

They didn't even bother to check if he poisoned the food, but perhaps they assumed that if he wanted them dead, he would rather side with the devils to finish them during the meeting.

Or they weren't the best the Church had for this mission, or this world's executor couldn't begin to compare to his world's equivalent. Humans trained to be able to match dead apostles in direct combat. He was sure they could perform well even in those conditions.

Even with his body being just a reflection of the body he had in his previous life, Shirou was sure that he could perform at the same level.

"You two are exaggerating."

"No, don't be so humble, Emiya-san! This is the kind of food I would expect if I were to ascend to heaven! Right, Xenovia-san!?"

A blushing Xenovia nodded reluctantly as she continued to stuff food in her mouth.

Perhaps he should reevaluate the days he could let them stay without affecting his funds if they eat like that.

After a few minutes and second rations, they finally finished eating, with their bellies so full that they had trouble moving with all their blood rushing to their stomachs for digestion.

"I guess tonight's patrol is up to me... Anyway, we should start sharing all the information we have if we're going to do this."

"Oh, right! Although, what we let you and the devils know was pretty much all we have..." Irina gave him an apolegetic smile.

The image she had of a shady magician allied with the devils was quickly turning into the exact opposite.

"The only thing we left out is that we suspect Kokabiel is working with the Genocide Archbishop, Valper Galilei. The mastermind behind the Holy Sword Project." There was a noticeable amount of disgust in Xenovia's voice.

"I see... I heard about that. The massacre that left Kiba as its only survivor." So many meaningless deaths just to wield such abominations... it made his blood boil.

"Oh, so that's why that devil glared so hard at our swords. I can't blame him in that case... even if that investigation helped the Church find more holy sword users like me, it wasn't worth all those lives. It will be a plus if we can bring that monster to justice!"

"Good to know we're in the same wavelength. Now, it's my turn to share my findings. Does the name Freed Sellzen ring a bell?"

Once again, the answer he got was a pair of grimaces. This was starting to turn into a trend.

"He was a talented exorcist that was excommunicated due to his mental illness. He didn't seek to fight devils in the name of God, but to satiate his bloodlust. What does he have to do with this?"

"I stumbled into him last night. He just killed who I presume was one of your colleagues... and was wielding Excalibur Rapidly."

The news caused their eyebrows to hide behind their bangs.

"To think Kokabiel got that mad dog to work for him... And Valper must have used a Light Container on him so he could wield a holy sword... If you're here alive, that means you managed to escape."

"No. Quite the contrary. He was the one who managed to escape before I finished him off."

"How can you prove that?" Xenovia asked doubting his words. Irina was more or less the same. In their minds, a magician going against an Excalibur wielder was inconceivable.

What was wrong with this world? Even fellow humans didn't believe in his chances of defeating someone that was a little bit stronger than the average.

Luckly, he had hard evidence. One mind-blowing at that given their belief of those abominations being remotely powerful.

"Look for yourself."

He dropped in the middle of the table an envelope and unwrapped it so they could inspect its contents. They looked like some metal shards, but the holy aura they exuded was unmistakable.

"N-no way, this is..."

"This is what is left of Excalibur Rapidly after I smashed it into splinters."

With the proof now in front of their eyes, they had no choice but to accept his words regardless of how absurd they were.

While Irina was left completely speechless, Xenovia swallowed loud. She knew her trump card, which gave her the confidence to face Kokabiel, could destroy an Excalibur, but that meant this magician had a spell that could match one of the strongest holy swords in existence.

"First, even the sisters of the Maous were wary around you, and now this... Such a remarkable magician shouldn't be able to stay under the radar. Your name should have appeared in the list of remarkable figures living in this city."

"That's a sign I've been doing my job properly. However, your superiors might've mentioned someone called "the Slayer"."

A surprise after another. "Don't tell me... you're the Slayer?"

Shirou nodded at Irina. "Yes, that would be me. Not that I like that title. It makes it look like I've been killing those things just because I felt like it."

"And why exactly did you do that?" Irina's question was made more out of curiosity than anything else. If he hadn't been purging the evil in the name of God, why would he do so?

"To protect the citizens, of course." Shirou answered as if it was the most obvious thing to do. "The devils, although they claim to own this city, are busy doing their stuff during the night, so someone has to do the dirty work."

"And why don't you stop the devils from tempting the humans?" Xenovia asked with an edge. It didn't add up to her that someone so proficient at killing supernatural creatures, didn't confront the devils.

"For once, I don't want to have to fight two of the strongest devils in existence any time soon. And for another, if someone decides to summon a devil of their own accord, then it's their problem. The thing would be different if they were forced or tricked to form the contract, but I don't have anything to do with how they want to expend their money."

"You are aware that those contracts aren't the only thing they do, right?"

"Yeah, they tried to recruit me too when they found out I was a magician. But after I won a bet, they didn't bring the subject again. But enough about me."

After saying that, Shirou stood up and started to pick up the dishes, something that surprised the exorcists. They were expecting him to ask about them in return.

"You guys can take a bath while I clean the dishes. The bathroom is in the hallway connected to the garden. After that, I'll show you the guest rooms so you can choose one and start unpacking."

The two nodded before standing up. Irina however shot a teasing smile at the local magus.

"If you dare peek on us I'll have to punish you, Emiya-san."

Contrary to the reaction she was expecting, the golden-eyed teenager just raised an eyebrow. "That black spandex you guys wear under the shroud doesn't leave much to the imagination, you know."

The exorcist just pouted after her attempt at getting an embarrassed reaction from him failed. That should have worked with any other boy of his age.

After they took a bath, Irina ended up using one of the rooms near Shirou's, while Xenovia chose a guest room at the other side of the residence which was of a more European style.

The Japanese exorcist almost freaked out when she discovered that just unpacking her things her room had more personal things than Shirou's. There was only a simple desk in front of the window, and a closet that contained several futons.

He said his workshop as a magician was the storage house in the garden, but even after going there with Xenovia while he was taking a bath, there wasn't anything that gave them the sensation of a secret base.

And after they went to get some rest for the next day, Shirou went to patrol the city. Bow at hand, he surveyed every corner of the city with his enhanced eyes. The moment he spotted the mad exorcist or a fallen angel, he was going for the kill.

However, he didn't find a single soul. After the bout they had the last night, it seemed they regrouped to rethink their plans...

The next day was Saturday, so they had free rein to plan their course of action for this night.

But, a surprise came in the form of the doorbell ringing not long after the three humans finished their breakfast.

Before he even got to the door, he sensed the wicked presence of one or more devils. They weren't doing a good job with that. And seeing the faces waiting at the other side of the door, it was no wonder.

Issei gave him an apologetic smile, and Koneko was wearing her usually stoic face while dragging a Saji that obviously didn't want to be here. The latter one stopped struggling and stiffened the moment Shirou opened the door

"It's you guys. What brings you here?"

"Well, you see..." Issei scratched the back of his head as he giggled due to the nerves. "We would want to know if we can lend you a hand with the issue of the Excaliburs."

That wasn't out of Shirou's expectations, even if he expected more of a plea so he didn't go to fight the Kokabiel guy. However, he had to confirm something.

"You want to help even if your masters almost went nuts with just me helping them?"

"Yes." Koneko replied with no hesitation.

Seeing her resolution, Shirou couldn't bring himself to reject them. But it was a different matter if the girls accepted their help.

"I see. I don't have any problems with that. However, you'll have to ask the exorcists. Come in. They are in the living."

Both Issei and Koneko's faces lit up, but Saji deflated visibly.

They were guided to the residence's living. It was actually the first time any of them set a foot in the Emiya residence, and they only got the address asking around for a huge traditional mansion.

"Huh?" The two exorcists wearing casual outfits looked surprised at the trio of devils. Xenovia's accusing stare landed on the magus. "What is the meaning of this, Emiya?"

"They say they want to help. The decision is up to you." He said as he took sit beside them.

"I don't want to help! These two just dragged me-" Saji's complaints were silenced when Koneko's elbow sunk into his abdomen.

The two exorcists exchanged looks full of suspicion. "Why would you like to help? Isn't that against your masters' orders?"

"We want to help Yuuto-senpai overcome his trauma with the Excaliburs. You said you don't mind breaking the holy swords, right?" Koneko stated their intentions without beating around the bush.

"I see..." Their eyes drifted to Shirou, who just shrugged. They were resigned to that option from the start as one of the three stolen Excaliburs was already ruined. "So you want to have him break one of the swords so he can bend off some steam?"

The little girl nodded. Her eyes then landed on the owner of the residence. "That... and well... I don't want Shirou-senpai to die..."

It was Shirou's turn to widen his eyes at her words. He honestly wasn't expecting that show of concern from one of the devils, not even her or Issei.

"Do you have so little faith in me, Koneko? I don't have any intention of dying, you know?"

For some reason, that didn't ease Koneko's concerns in the least.

"Well, we definitely could use more firepower... If you manage to keep your identities hidden, we don't have a problem with you dealing with one of the Excaliburs."

Even Irina looked surprised at Xenovia's words.

"Hey, now you're now the one rushing things, Xenovia-san! Having Emiya-san helping us is one thing as we can just write in the report something like "we got some help from the mysterious Slayer", but even if it's Issei-kun, they are still devils!"

"Even with Emiya's help, I don't think our possibilities have increased that much. He might have destroyed one of the Excaliburs already, but we still don't know much about him and his combat capabilities. Having the Red Dragon Emperor on our side will increase our odds of succeeding even further. And I have to agree with him on something. Even if that's what our superiors decided, I don't have the least intention of dying here."

"You're right but..." Irina fell silent before Xenovia's arguments, and that made the blue-haired exorcist gain some points in Shirou's mind.

It seemed she wasn't like all the other fanatics serving that sect.

"Wait, hold up!" Saji's shout got everyone's attention. "What do you mean Emiya already destroyed an Excalibur!?"

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that. "Kiba didn't tell you about what happened that night? That is surprising."

"Well, he wasn't that much talkative after you guys left... At any rate." It was one of the few occasions Issei's eyes acquired a serious glint. "Sensei, even if you aren't on the best terms with Kiba-san... you aren't really going to give us a chance?"

"Huh? Sensei?"

"Emiya-san has been training Issei-kun?"

The magus took a moment before answering, ignoring the comments of his fellow humans. There wasn't really a gentle way to put this into words.

"Hyoudou... the fact that I didn't kill you the moment I caught your wicked essence is already me giving you guys a chance. I've already told you, haven't I? I'm used to killing supernatural creatures on sight."

Those words made the blood of the devils run cold. Not just the ominous implications, but his indifferent tone... It was like if he were just talking about some homework he forgot to do.

"Why do you have such aversion to inhuman beings? You didn't even know what we were back then." Koneko was the one that managed to ask.

"Perhaps I have yet to know other devils aside from you guys and the Phenex prick, but believe me, I have dealt with plenty of creatures with a wicked essence similar to yours."

As he spoke, his tone became colder, and his eyes devoid of life.

"Do you know what it feels to arrive at a town where a vampire had established his nest, just to find that all the citizens were turned into living corpses after the life was sucked out of them just to extend its immortality? Having to kill all that people to put them out of their misery because there was nothing I could do to save them... That is just one of many examples. If it wasn't because I didn't find any report of missing people, I would have gone for the kill, even if covering it up was going to be difficult."

By the end of it, Shirou could just look with middle surprise at their horrified faces. Even if he hated to admit it, that was just his bread and butter. Had he used one of his jobs as a Counter-Guardian instead of an experience in his past life, how would they have reacted?

The reincarnated devils, well, they might be too young to have been exposed to the cruel reality, still clinging to their former morals.

But the exorcists? It was their duty to do the dirty job for the Church. Why were they looking at him with those faces? Even Xenovia looked like she just saw a ghost.

Could it be... they've sent a couple of greenhorns for this mission!? Forget about giving those bastards a chance...

Meanwhile, Issei was in a huge dilemma.

Since he had been reincarnated as a devil, he was beginning to believe that maybe the stereotype image of the devils was just a misunderstanding or a thing of the past. And those were his thoughts towards other supernatural species aside from the fallen angels.

How naive he was. Just experiencing his Sensei's fighting style, he should have guessed it already. Humanity is at the bottom of the food chain, and Shirou is one of the few people that stands up and fights those superior beings. The magus had every right to not trust them even if Issei knew they weren't like that.

"I think this is a good time to ask." Noticing Shirou's eyes landing on him, Issei was brought out of his thoughts. "Hyoudou, do you regret becoming a devil?"

In normal circumstances, Issei would have answered without giving it much of a thought. Now, however, he wasn't sure, and Shirou could tell just seeing his expression.

"It is not like I had much of a choice... I was killed and Buchou appeared there to give me a second chance... But I think that... at least the devils I know, they aren't evil..."

Just the way Shirou narrowed his eyes shacked what little determination he had.

"Do you really think it was just like that?"

"Huh?"

"Perhaps Rias and Sona didn't notice the fallen angels when they arrived, but you said one of them pretended to be your girlfriend to lure you into a secluded place, right? I find it hard to believe they didn't catch wind of it after that. At least she should have left some of her scent over you."

The way Koneko stiffened didn't help in the matter. Issei was starting to find it hard to breathe. Just remembering how "Yuma" played with his feelings was already stressing him out, and now the image of the woman he admired was starting to crumble.

"You are saying... Buchou just watched how I died... just to recruit me?"

"I can't tell it for sure if it was an accident or they just let it happen. But remember, unlike your fellow reincarnated devils, Rias is a pureblood devil. She might not be inherently evil, but regardless of how much she tries to imitate humans, she doesn't have the same common sense as us. Or in other words, her common sense is alien for us humans."

"Bu-but... I haven't felt any change... after I was reincarnated..."

"That might be a flaw in the system, or maybe it was intended to be that way. Just like Kiba kept his grudges after being reincarnated, you retained your sense of morals. That was clear to me after I saw your resolution. However, that won't be forever. You'll be forced to live in the devil society in the future, where humans' sense of morality has no place. You'll have to choose, adapt to the environment, or reject it and become a stray. This is something you'll have to talk out with Rias. Preferably after this mess has been dealt with. However, I can make you an offer. Would you like to be human again?"

"Be human... again?"

That question came crashing down like a steamroller for all the present. The absolute confidence in his words made them start to believe that he could pull it off regardless of how absurd it seemed.

"You say you have a method to undo the transformation caused by the evil pieces?" Xenovia spoke in disbelief. "You jest. The Church has already tried all the possible methods. Not even removing the evil pieces from someone that didn't die before reincarnating worked. They either die or become strays."

At those words, Shirou gave them a confident smile. "I can assure you they haven't tested my method. It is quite simple actually. I just need to rewind his body's time to before it was turned into one of a devil."

"Huh... You... You have a sword... that can do that?" Issei asked with a trembling voice as the others were left speechless.

"Not exactly a sword, but yes, I do have a weapon that can pull it off. However, the price for something like that isn't small. I can only rewind around five or six months safely, so it would only work on you, Asia, and maybe you Saji."

Said devil gulped down at the realization. Even if his recruitment wasn't as Issei's and he chose to serve Sona on his own accord, the notion of being a human again was still eye-catching.

"What would happen if you tried to do it in a devil that has been reincarnated for longer?"

"I would have to spend my own lifespan as my magical energy wouldn't be enough." After answering Xenovia's question, he looked again at Issei. "I'll leave the offer until summer. It's your decision. You're free to tell Asia about this, too."

Koneko was next. "I would offer the same for you Koneko, but I assume you've been reincarnated for years. I would like that you keep this a secret. The same goes for you, Xenovia, Shidou-san."

"And what if I say I will tell the superiors about it?"

"I'll block your memories then, if you survive this mission, that is."

"Hmph, fair enough. As a way of thanking your cooperation, we won't expose anything about you. At least for now."

The room plunged into an awkward silence as the conversation died. The devils, even Koneko, had much to think after this, and the same could be said for the two exorcists. Shirou had already said what he had to say, and lightening the mood in such circumstances wasn't in his skill set.

Just who was Emiya Shirou? That was a question that plagued more people's minds as the days passed.

It was after a whole minute of silence that the sound of a clap brought them all to reality.

"I think you should start calling your friend, Issei-kun. You'll have to fill him in before we start planning, right?"

Irina's cheerfulness was right back on track. She never thought that she would end up cheering up devils, but after hearing Shirou's words, she got a different perspective... at least regarding Issei.

"I said I agreed to this, but the garments were really necessary?" The Gremory knight could just grimace looking at the priest garments they were forced to wear.

In the dead of the night, he, Issei, Koneko, and Saji wandered the quiet streets of Kuoh Town. After calling Kiba to the Emiya Residence, he unexpectedly accepted to be part of the mission.

He wasn't in the best mood though. Receiving the exorcists' permission to destroy the Excaliburs didn't sit well on him, and besides, he wasn't a fool. He could guess that it was Shirou who actually destroyed Excalibur Rapidly on purpose, but even so, seeing one of those accursed swords falling apart didn't make anything to amend the void in him, filled with just flames of revenge.

It was just because it was Issei who asked him that he accepted. Well, that... and the opportunity to kill that wretched bastard that was behind the "Holy sword project".

And about Saji, after hearing Kiba's story, he was more motivated for the mission.

"This is part of the ploy to conceal our identities... or so they said... I don't think it will be of any use without a mask or something like that..."

This was the only inconsistency Issei could find in the plan, and it was just an annoyance. It was quite simple actually.

They were split into two groups, the devils and the exorcist, to avoid hostilities more than anything. Both of them patroled different parts of the city to lure in the madman Freed, and meanwhile, Shirou acted as the coordinator and long-distance support.

The exorcists and even the rest of the devils aside from Issei had some doubts about Shirou being able to even see from miles away, let alone provide cover fire with a bow. But Issei witnessed it that night when the chimera attack him and Asia.

Shirou's skills with a bow were absurd, even more than his swordsmanship. The ability to snipe an enemy from so far away that they wouldn't notice death was coming for them until it was too late. If anything, Issei was confident that they weren't going to have trouble as long as the enemy was in the open.

And just in case things got ugly for some reason, most likely Freed having reinforcements, he would alert the other group about the fight so they can regroup quickly.

Their legs ended up bringing them to a certain park, a place that brought everything but good memories for Issei.

This was the place where he was killed, and the prospect that they were searching for the madman that almost raped Asia was not a good combination. It took him all of his willpower to stop his legs from trembling.

"Do you think that guy would attack us here in the open?" Saji spoke skeptically as they scanned the place.

"Well, there isn't a single soul around and there are a lot of places to hide. I think this is a good place for an ambush."

"Hnn!" After Kiba finished sharing his observations, Koneko suddenly tensed up, her head shooting above. "Yuuto-senpai, watch out!"

"DIVINE PUNISHMENT!"

A blur fell on them from above a streetlight, swinging two swords at the Gremory knight. And judging by the chills their holy aura sent down their spines, those were definitely Excalibur fragments.

One was a plain-looking European sword while the other was a thin rapier with a piece twirling around its blade kind of like a drill.

Thanks to Koneko's warning, Kiba was able to react quickly and draw his sword to block the attack. However, due to the exposition to the holy aura, the stray exorcist was actually overwhelming the devil in sheer strength.

"Boosted Gear!"

[Boost!]

The struggle between the two swordsmen didn't last long though. Sellzen had to bring one of his swords to block Issei's gauntlet, and even if he pulled it off, the punch sent him flying like a rag doll.

"Tsk." The exorcist clicked his tongue as he landed a few meters away. "I thought this would make a good warm-up before we destroy the "Slayer" bastard, but it seems you're no longer that useless, Iseei-kun~ Perhaps you can entertain me as I get used to these cuties!"

Just like a month ago, the twisted smile on the madman's face gave them goose-bumps. If it wasn't because the idiot just announced his presence in the middle of his surprise attack, they would've been off to a really bad start.

"So you are the creep that caused so much trouble, huh?" Saji spoke as he summoned his sacred gear, a small black gauntlet with a shape resembling a lizard with purple eyes. "If you think you're getting out alive of this one, you're wrong, buddy!"

"And you think I came to fight that monster all by myself, you moronic devil!?"

"Tsk, your ability to get distracted by trifling things is surprising, Freed Sellzen."

As an unidentified voice cut in the conversation, three figures emerged from the shadows surrounding the madman.

The three were clad in trench coats like the ones used by cliche undercover detectives. Oe was a bulky man whose eyes looked at the devils with such intensity that betrayed the annoyance in his fellow's tone. The other was a quite beautiful-looking blonde woman despite her stoic face and her cold blue eyes.

And the one who spoke was an albino man with an average constitution of a 20-year-old man. The way he was looking at the devils wasn't different from the look a person would give to a pile of trash.

"Fallen angels..." Koneko spoke as she caught their scent. Not that their presences put all four tense before they even knew what they were.

"Our target is the "Slayer". We don't have any business with the local devils. At least for now."

"Hoh, but we do have business with you." Kiba spoke with the same amount of poison the albino fallen had in his look. "You are my ticket to get to that bastard Galilei."

"I agree with the shitty devil! Don't be a pushover, man. A little warm-up won't harm you. Or is it that you've shit your pants in presence of the so-called Red Dragon Emperor!?"

The fallen started to exude killing intention at Sellzen's taunt, but the madman didn't even flinch.

"He's right, Kushiel." The bulky fallen spoke with excitement. "It won't take us much to take them out, and it would make things easier for the boss when he decides to start his plan."

"Annoying. But I'll comply if necessary."

With his two fellows agreeing with the madman, the now identified Dumah let out an exasperated sigh.

"Very well. Kill them. You have less than three minutes." The fallen crossed his arms. It was obvious he didn't have the least intention of getting his hands dirty with "minor preys".

"Heh, bring it on!"

[Boost!]

The devils threw away the garments, revealing their usual school uniform beneath them. It was pointless having them on since the enemies were well aware of the identities.

"That's the spirit, kid! I'll keep your skull as a trophy after having slain a dragon!"

The bulky fallen summoned a massive spear made out of light and spread his two pairs of raven wings before rushing at the group of devils. He was targeting Issei specifically, the one he felt could offer a better challenge.

The Red Dragon Emperor prepared to me him with his draconic hand. Even he could feel that those fallen angels weren't third-rate like Raynare and her underlings, so he wasn't taking any chance. In fact, he had been boosting while the fallen angels and the madman chatted, so he already had four boosts on him.

And it was precisely due to his serious reaction that the fallen was completely focused on breaking his guard... and never saw the twisted blade soaring through the night sky...

"Hu-"

He never got to process what killed him. The black key turned into an arrow pierced his forefront cleanly and destroyed his brain. And if that wasn't enough, the strength of the "arrow", combined with the fallen's speed, made his neck bend past its limits, causing a sick snap.

The park plunged into dead silence as the lifeless body fell to the ground. Even the devils, knowing that the archer was on their side, paled visibly.

"Marut!"

The cold mask of the female fallen broke, but she didn't have time to mourn the sudden death of her fellow.

She immediately conjured a pair of light spears in her hands to try and block the incoming projectiles, but it was to no avail. The first one already repelled her spears, shattering them like if they were made out of glass. She actually managed to avoid having her head pierced, but that was it.

"Gah!"

Blood splattered across the park once again as the female fallen flew like a rag doll with several twisted arrows stabbing her chest.

"Puriel!"

The pragmatic leader of the three fallen angels suddenly found himself alone. His blue eyes darted to the madman by his side, but his fate had been the same as his companions. The stray exorcist's bloodied body laid on the ground, the two Excaliburs completely shattered nearby.

Kushiel could only widen his eyes in horrid realization as more of those "arrows" fell upon him like a rain of miniature comets.

When Lord Kokabiel told them to act as a diversion alongside the mad dog, he wasn't expecting... this.

A one-sided massacre.

He wasn't enough old like his Lord to have been able to participate in the great war between the three factions, but even so, he still had centuries of experience. However, he wasn't prepared for this.

Perhaps, the title of the "Slayer" wasn't just people exaggerating things.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

He put all his aura into a barrier. A desperate attempt to cling to life as long as possible. He did never need to win to accomplish his Lord's orders, but staying alive more than a few seconds now seemed so impossible.

The magic arrows battered against the barrier, shattering it several times. But given his massive reserves of aura, Kushiel kept reforming it again and again.

He became just a target, with his life hanging by a thin string.

"Mo- monster..." It was a miracle Saji didn't collapse with his legs trembling so much. His face was so pale that he looked like a ghost.

"Issei-kun... when he said he was going to provide fire cover... I didn't know he was referring to actually slaughtering them... We were just used as a decoy to lure them out..."

"Well, that way anyone gets hurt, right?"

Issei's attempt did little to ease Kiba's frustrations. Again, seeing the Excaliburs beings destroyed like glassworks didn't reduce his hatred in the least.

However, it seemed things weren't going to end just like that.

"Yuuto-senpai!"

Suddenly, Koneko kicked the back of Kiba's leg. The pain brought the knight to his knees, and that actually saved his life as a sword cleaved through the place where his neck had been just an instant before.

As a follow-up, the drill-like blade shot to pierce Kiba's heart, but the devil pulled himself together in time to deflect the attack.

"Freed!? Bu-but you were dead-"

Issei's mouth was left hanging after seeing that the madman's "dead body" was no longer beside the remaining fallen angel, nor were the broken forms of the holy swords. There wasn't even a drop of blood there. It was like... it never happened.

"Do you like it, shitty devils!? This is the combination of these cuties' powers! Excalibur Nightmare and Excalibur Transparency!"

"So it was an illusion, huh? Heh, that just means a haven't lost my opportunity to take revenge!"

"Wait Kiba-"

The blonde devil rushed at the madman without hearing Issei, and just as he expected, the knight's sword passed through Freed's body as if it was made of thin air.

"Looks like behind that pretty face there isn't a single neuron left!"

Kiba's eyes widened as he heard the madman's voice behind him. The devil quickly turner around to block the incoming attack but...

"Huh!?"

"Wrong! Try again!"

The attack Kiba blocked was also an illusion, and the real one attacked from another angle. He didn't have time to block it. He had put everything he had to block the first surprise attack, even ruining his stance in the process.

But fortunately for him, he wasn't alone. The drill-like sword that came to smash his brain was blocked by Koneko's kickboxing loves. Even if she didn't touch the blade directly, she had to pull back the fist immediately with huge pain, but it gave Kiba enough room to get out of the way.

"Yuuto-senpai, you need to stay calm and stop being reckless!"

Her junior's words finally got to the knight, and he pushed back his raging emotions behind a mask of cold rationality.

"Even if those swords are third-rate in terms of quality, their quirks are quite a pain in the neck."

"So the little devil can perceive me, huh? Now that I remember, you had a good sense of smell, right? Hehe! That's something I can fix quickly with Excalibur Transparency, fool!"

The man disappeared from their sight once again, but this time, Koneko widened her eyes in horror.

"His scent... it disappeared!"

And the problems didn't stop there. Several "Freeds" appeared surrounding them, their maniac laughs filling the place.

"Everyone, keep close to each other!"

The attacks came from unexpected angles. There was a possibility that Freed was hidden among all the illusions, but they could neither discard the possibility that he was invisible and all the clones were decoys. And with the madman cleverly switching between the two strategies, they found themselves cornered.

And at the same time, that helped him to avoid being sniped by Shirou. The possibility that he could shoot him while keeping the fallen at bay was still there, so he wasn't taking any chance.

"Damn it! We can't even land a hit, and the moment he hits us we're screwed!"

Issei was firing some beams with the technique he named dragon shot. It was in essence the same beam he used in his last spar with Shirou but on a way smaller scale. But it was to no avail as he could get the real one.

"Tsk! Absorption Line!"

What looked like a metal whip came out from Saji's sacred gear, and he swung it around them, swiping all the clones in front of him. But then again, it bore no fruits as the illusions were replenished shortly after.

"It's useless! I'd say you should just give up, but seeing the desperation and hopelessness in your faces is really delightful!"

"This bastard..."

It was just a matter of time one of them ended up receiving a serious injury and their formation collapsed.

However, time was also on their side.

"It seems you could get a hand, Issei-kun!"

Just as they heard Irina's voice, several metal spikes struck the battlefield around the four devils, whipping out all the illusions.

"Kuh!" The real Freed jumped out of the area of attack, but he wasn't unscathed. It seemed one of the spikes graced his side, leaving a trail of blood.

The exorcist clad in the black spandex landed beside them, with all the metal spikes having retracted and taking the form of a katana. That was Excalibur Mimic's quirk, the capability to take any form visualized by its wielder.

"Irina!? Wait, that means-"

BOOM!

All their heads turned to look in the direction of the explosion. It seemed that Xenovia managed to slip through the fallen's guard the moment Shirou destroyed his barrier and landed a solid blow with her Excalibur Destruction.

The fallen however managed to stand up again after rolling through the hot concrete. He was a mess, but with his six wings in full view, he still stood strong.

"Exorcists working alongside devils... What a twisted joke to witness..."

The fallen summoned a pair of swords made out of light and prepared to meet Xenovia, who was walking out of the crater caused by her attack.

"Irina, we'll take the fallen so Archer can support the devils!" The exorcist ordered her companion, using a code name to refer to Shirou at his request.

"Okay!"

Even if their opponent was an elite, Shirou had made a number on him without revealing a single noble phantasm, so they shouldn't have any problem taking him out.

The situation with the devils didn't change that much even with some occasional "arrows" that prevented Freed from landing fatal blows. The madman was slippery if anything.

"Tsk! Think Issei... there has to be a way... Kiba seems to know the general direction in which that bastard's attack is going to come... Sensei is able to avoid attacks he can't see and even reacts to them before they even get near... I doubt those are just a matter of combat experience... Huh?"

Just at that moment, his cell vibrated in his pocket. He was about to ignore it, but something told him that it was important.

He quickly pulled out the phone and looked at the screen. Of all the things he was expecting, Rias asking where was he at this hour being at the top, the cover of going to watch porn at his friends' house could just get him so far, a message from Shirou was surely not one.

"If the five senses don't work, discard them and use your sixth sense."

That... that didn't help at all! Why did his Sensei always put things in a complicated way so he had to figure it out even in situations like this!?

What was he referring to with "sixth sense" anyway!? That thing even existed outside Buddhist myths!?

[Partner, he must be referring to your mind's eye. In other words, you need to empty your mind.] Ddraig spoke with some disappointment in his tone.

"Oh, that's it?"

Issei immediately did that. There was no time to waste.

After his training with Shirou, emptying his mind was quite easy for him, even when it came to pervert thoughts... at least in the middle of a battle in that case. Getting distracted usually meant a broken bone.

With his mind already emptied, he was finally able to feel something. A really disgusting sensation that irked him to no end. And it was getting stronger quickly!

"There!"

Issei's draconic arm moved swiftly to catch what was approaching him. When he opened his eyes, his heart skipped a beat upon seeing the rapier-like Excalibur just inches away from his heart.

"What the!"

The madman tried to retreat, but Issei didn't let him, holding the Excalibur with all his might.

"Hehe! I've finally found out about your weakness! You let out so much killing intent that even I can sense it with some concentration!"