"...I understand the situation." That was all Kiba said at first when she arrived and we explained everything. She then turned towards me "Are you sure we should be doing this seeing as Kokabiel will attack sooner or later?"

[What?]

"If he's got spies on us, then its natural a hidden alliance would form between us here to try and stop whatever plan he has to start a new Great War." I answered while giving a nod as well.

"How do you know that is his plan?" Quarta asked curiously.

...They didn't stop and though of Kokabiel's plans? I'm can understand the need to focus on the mission, but they didn't took a moment to think things over. *sigh* How sad.

"What reason could Kokabiel have aside from starting a new Great War? He stole 3 [Excalibur] fragments from the Churches and is somewhere in this area, which is under the control of the little sisters of the [Lucifer] and [Leviathan]? It's obvious he wants to start war again by killing the heiresses and inciting the rage of [Lucifer] and [Leviathan], who would believe it was the Church's doing through the [Excalibur] swords." I took a moment to sigh before adding "He probably wanted the Church to send [Excalibur] users here against him so he would have more to use..."

"...That makes sense." Pendragon-san spoke with a grim expression as the others look shocked "So we played into Kokabiel's hands?"

"Probably... He'll probably send Freed to take your [Excalibur] fragments, seeing as the attacks on Priests here was possible to test out his affinity with [Excalibur Rapidly]."

"Wait? Freed Sallzen is here? And he's using an [Excalibur]?" Shidō spoke shocked.

"Yes... Kōjiro-kun and I fought him a few nights ago." Kiba said while crossing her arms.

Pendragon-san's eyes sharpened "Freed Zelzan. Former [Exorcist] of the Vatican. The genius who became an [Exorcist] at the age of 13. He had lots of big achievements because he kept on eliminating Devils and mystical beasts."

"But he overdid it." Quarta continued with disgust and venom in her voice "He even killed his allies. Freed never had any beliefs towards our God from the start. The only thing he had was fighting instinct and killing intent towards monsters. And an abnormal obsession for battles. It was a matter of time that he'd be charged for heresy."

"...That sounds like him."

"How do you know Freed?"

"That... Is an unpleasant question to answer." I admitted. "I'll give you the short version: He tried to dissect us on several occasions and I desire nothing more than to eliminate scum like him. Seriously, how a shit head like that ever became a priest in the first place?"

"Amen." Shidō said jokingly.

I let out an amused smile before continuing "He was a huge pain in the neck to deal with when he was a normal shitty priest. Him with an [Excalibur] is only so much worse."

"Is that so? Freed used the [Excalibur] he stole to kill our fellow followers. For us to pay the price because the disposal group couldn't take care of him that time..." Quarta said with hatred.

"OK. Good to see he's hated by all." I said with a sigh. It only made sense for a person like that to be hated by a lot of people in the Church.

"What happened to the person in charge of the Holy Sword Project?" Kiba asked the [Exorcist] trio.

"Valper Galilei. The man who is called the [Genocide Archbishop]. He was charged with heresy for that project and now he is one of the people on the Fallen Angels side." Quarta answered.

I turned to Mitt and Ray with a curious expression "What do you know about him?"

Ray shook her head, an apologetic expression on her face "We don't know much about him personally. We only know that he was assigned to work under Kokabiel specifically. I've only heard from Azazel-sama that he is someone all other Fallen Angels shouldn't associate with." Huh. So I guess the [Governor of the Grigori] also didn't like the guy.

I noticed that Kiba's eyes had a new kind of determination in them, having found the identity of the man responsible for the [Holy Sword Project] and the death her and her comrades "...If I go after the rogue Fallen Angels, then can I reach him..." It was good that she wasn't as bad as she was before.

"Anyways." Quarta started, getting back to the original topic "Let's move onto the cooperation strategy."

Quarta took out a pen and used it to write on a memo pad. She gave us her contact details "If something happens, call this number."

"Thanks. Here's mine..." I replied, writing my own number down and handing the pad back to her.

"Oh Irina, you should have my number-"

"We already received Chi-chan's number from Oba-sama." Shidō replied with a smile,

Hyōdō looking surprised "Are you serious!? Okaa-san!? She gave it without my permission!?"

"Then that's it then. We'll repay you for the meal another time, Raiga Kōjiro." Pendragon-san said with a nod as she, Quarta and Shidō got up.

"Thanks for the meal, Chi-chan! Treat me again next time as well! Even if you are a Devil, God will allow it if it's Chi-chan who treats me to a meal! It's okay if it's food!" Shidō thanked Hyōdō, winking as she followed after Pendragon-san and Quarta.

*ding*

You have gained +? relationship with the Artoria Pendragon

*ding*

You have gained +? relationship with the Xenovia Quarta

*ding*

You have gained +? relationship with the Irina Shidō

*ding*

Congratulations! You have formed a small alliance with the 3 Fractions without starting a war and as result, your INT, WIS and MAG increased by 5.

That, my friends, is a win.

I noticed Kiba staring at me with curious eyes "...Kōjiro-kun, why did you do this?" She asked quietly.

I crossed my arms "I promised that I'll help you, didn't I? I'm not someone who turns away from his promises, so expect me to fulfil that promise with all of my strength." I replied with a small smirk.

"...Yumi-senpai. I would get lonely... If senpai disappeared." Tōjō said with a very sad expression on her face "...I will help you... That's why, please don't go."

Kiba looked at Tōjō and then at me, befoe she smiled. Genuinely smiling now "Hahaha. I give up. If Koneko-chan says that to me after Kōjiro-kun reminded me of that promise, then I can't do reckless things. Okay. I will work with you. Thanks to you, I know who my true enemy is. But since we are doing this, we are definitely going to defeat the [Excalibur]. I'll be counting on you to take very good care of me, OK, Taichou?" Kiba said with that beautiful yet teasing smile.

*ding*

You have gained + friendly relationship with the Yumi Kiba

*ding!*

[Quest: Crush Excalibur, has been created!]
It's time to prove that fragments are nothing but weaklings!

[Objective:]
Destroy the [Excalibur] fragments in Kobabiel's group.

Reward: 1200 EXP and gain the affection of Yumi Kiba
Failure: Death

[Optional Objective:]
Kill Kokabiel

Reward: 2100 EXP, an unknown Skill Book and +? reputation with the 3 Factions

About god damn time that I gain an item from a [Quest]. I let out an excited smirk, ready to eliminate some crazy guys "Of course, so [Quest: Crush Excalibur] is ready to go! Let's eliminate Kokabiel, Zelzan and their [Excalibur] swords!" I declared while clutching a fist.

It was an alliance between Hyōdō, Kiba, Saji, Tōjō and I on the Devils' side, Mitt and Ray of the Fallen Angels, and the [Exorcists] from the Church which is on the Angels' side, Pendragon-san, Quarta and Shidō. It felt kind of interesting, since technically the 3 Factions were working together to stop Kokabiel.

I shook my head. There was no point thinking of that right now. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"...Ummm, do I have to do it as well?" Saji asked us, raising his hand "I mean, I'm totally uninvolved in this... And you clearly have more than enough people without me... After all, how are Kiba and [Excalibur] related?"

Kiba then explained about her past. Every last detail involving the [Holy Sword Project]. I felt a surge of anger directed at the man I now knew as Valper Galilei who was responsible for Kiba's suffering. Every detail, including the painful deaths of Kiba and her comrades and her subsequent resurrection as Gremory's [Knight], made me feel a new desire to rip that bastard apart.

I don't know why I felt so strongly about this. I mean, anger was natural, but I just felt so much more than what was natural. I seemed to have a powerful empathy towards my friends... I think I've started to develop it after making some true friends.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I noticed Saji crying... Why is he crying now? "Kiba! It must have been horrible! It must have been painful! Damn it! There isn't any God or hope in this world! Right now I feel so much sympathy for you! Yeah, it's a horrible story! I understand why you hold a grudge against those people from the Church and [Excalibur]! To tell you the truth, I didn't like you before! It was probably because you seemed like the type of Ms. Popular who was a total bitch in secret!"

Well, it's understandable. Some people dislike people who are way more popular than they are, which is kinda of an smaller version of an inferiority complex.

"But it's different now! I apologise for all of my thoughts from before! I will also help! I'm willing to receive the punishment from Kaichou on the off-chance we do get in trouble! But before that we have to destroy [Excalibur]! I will also work hard! You also have to live on! Don't ever betray Rias-senpai who saved you!"

Good... I didn't think my intimidation would've kept Saji in line for long. But now I think I actually kind of like this guy. When he puts his mind to something, he shows helluva lot of passion towards completing his objective. Something similar between the 2 of us "Okay! It's a good time! I want you guys to hear my story! You guys should know about me if we are working together!"

"Eh?"

"My dream... Is to make Kaichou pregnant and marry her! But, you know... Making a girl pregnant and marrying her is hard for an unpopular guy like me. There aren't any girls that I can make pregnant to begin with... But I will 1 day make her pregnant and marry her..."

...I'm pretty sure what you're thinking of is illegal, Saji. I feel kinda pissed that he 'dreams' of impregnating a girl AND THEN marrying her, it's like forcing someone to do something that they hate and I feel even more pissed that his 'dream' is towards someone respectable and intelligent like Sona.

"...Ok." I muttered with deadpanned eyes with a dull voice, having no reason to support his crazy dream.

So the [Excalibur Destroyers] were formed.

- a few days later -

Even after spending days searching, we couldn't find hide nor hair of that Shitty Priest and his [Excalibur]. Saji, Tōjō, Kiba, Hyōdō, Mitt, Ray, and I wandered around town dressed in priest outfits, but we found absolutely nothing even when I used a dozen of ['Hard' Clones] to search and cover more ground...

I had Leone patrolling on her own as she could sneak around easily, using her senses to detect our targets and I have complete fate in her fighting abilities in case she gets into a fight. Plus with our mental connection, she can report to me if she finds our target.

I was in the classroom, sighing to myself and leaning back in my chair. Sona and I still didn't get any messages about reinforcements, which made me wonder what's taking so long for a small group of soldiers to come by and help us... And there's Kiba.

"Something on your mind?" Hyōdō asked from my left.

I turned my head slightly to look at her with lazy eyes "Other than failing on finding anything related with Zelzan and his gang of warmongers, it's Kiba. She is always so distracted. All she wanted to talk about was our plans for finding Zelzan and the [Excalibur] swords. She was still becoming more pleasant like her old self, but she was still hooked on her revenge... I'm not entirely sure whether or not that was an improvement."

"She'll come around... Um..." Hyōdō said before trailing off, making rise an eyebrow towards her in curiosity and confusion. From the way her eyes are darting from me to the ground, she seems to be nervous of something.

"Yes?"

"W-well, Asia, Kiryuu and I plan on g-going for some Karaoke a-and Bowling this Sunday." Hyōdō said while doing a good Hinata impersonation, with the light stuttering and the poking her index fingers at each other "I was wondering i-if you want to come join us..."

...I remember hearing this from Asia at last night's dinner. She seemed very excited of going out to play some blowing and sing at a Karaoke bar "Sure, sounds interesting." I'm not going to say that Asia already told me this, since Hyōdō gathered the courage to ask me out herself.

"Really?" I nodded at Hyōdō's repeated question, who smiled happily afterwards "Alright! Now all that's left is inviting the rest of the [ORC] with us!"

I looked at Hyōdō's smiling face and finding myself smiling as well... I guess that I found a personal purpose that I lacked from the beginning, there are the people who I want to protect. All of my friends.

- a few hours later -

Later that same day, our group gathered in the park. We were dressed in our usual priest and nun outfits. We had walked around, looking for [Excalibur] to no avail. We walked around town in these clothes. We walked mainly in places where there weren't any people. I seriously wanted to get some leads today.

Though I was thinking that, time went by quickly and now it was already evening...

"Fuu. No progress today as well." Saji complained, sounding somewhat disinterested.

"Shut up, Saji." I replied in a commanding tone. "It's only been four days. And if Kokabiel or Freed have not made any moves yet, then it means they're still here. Unless we're given specific reason to think that they may have moved on, we're not calling of our searches. You have any complaints with that and I'll be happy to give you more incenti-"

-!?

I pulled out [Shigure Kintoki] and [Yubashiri] from my [Inventory] before going into my [Shigure Soen Ryu, 11th Form: Akeru Ame] battle stance, which transformed [Shigure Kintoki] into its blade form, and released Leone from her [Illusion] as I sense a very familiar aura...

"Above us!" The others looked up to where I pointed to a nearby rooftop from where a familiar Shitty Priest fell from carrying a long sword.

Kiba drew her own sword just in time to block the strike.

The [Heretic Priest] grinned when he saw me "Well well, if it isn't Kōjiro-kun~! Ooh~! And Ichi-chan, too~! Well isn't this a weird reunion!? How is it? Has your powers increased? Is it all right to kill you guys now?" I sensed even from where he stood that he did indeed possess an [Excalibur].

"Don't you dare speak my boss' name with that filthy mouth of yours!" Leone growled with a dark expression.

"You won't lay a hand on him!" Ray and Mitt summoned up a light spear and used it to block Zelzan's path to me.

"Ah! A shitty pussy and a pair slutty Fallen Angels! Isn't this a surprise~? Can I cut you up, too?"

I stepped in front of the 3 servants who tried to protect me while summoning my [Sacred Gear] "I appreciate the sentiment, you 3, but I don't need protection."

Hyōdō extended her arm "[Boosted Gear]!"

[Dragon Booster!]

A called was heard as the [Sacred Gear] appeared on her left arm, only that it had a few alterations on its appearance. It has another green jewel and a total of 10 golden spikes that covers up more of her arm.

"[Boost!]" Hyōdō declared as her gauntlet mimicked her command, her power doubling in an instant, before she tapped Kiba on the back.

"[Transfer!]" She called out as I sensed her power transferring to Kiba. That's right... She has the support role since it was Yumi's goal to destroy the [Excalibur] Zelzan possessed.

I charged at Zelzan and swinging [Yubashiri] at him. *clin!* He parried my slash-

[...e d...n't...Hel...s...]

Get out of my head!

*clin!* *clin!*

[W...don't...don't hurt...]

Fuck!

I jumped back just in time to dodge a thrust at my torso... The voices in my head and Zelzan's increase of speed and agility thanks to [Excalibur Rapidly] are going to be annoying.

"Stretch my line!"

*swish!*

Something that looked like a skinny black hand left Saji's hand and headed for Freed. On his hand, there was a cute looking deformed lizard face equipped. The line was coming from its mouth.

"Such a pain!"

Zelzan tried to knock it away with his holy-sword, but the lizard's tongue changed its direction and went downwards. It stuck onto Zelzan's right foot, and it started to swirl around his leg. He tried to cut the tongue off with his swords, but it went past as if the tongue didn't have any physical form.

"You can't cut it that easily. Kiba! With this he can't escape! Beat him down!" Saji screamed.

I couldn't help but respect the idea. The main issue Kiba and I had with Freed was his speed and agility. Take away that and all he has is his sword. Since his [Excalibur Rapidly] was thing that gives Zelzan so extreme speed, all Kiba and I had to do was strike faster than Zelzan can block.

"Thank you!" Kiba charged towards at Zelzan with 2 [Demonic Swords] in her hands.

"Che! So it's not only the [Holy Eraser], I see! Having multiple demonic-swords. Are you the possessor of [Sword Birth], perhaps? Wow. You are guilty of having a rare [Sacred Gear], you know!"

*clin!* *break!*

The moment they made contact, Kiba's blades shattered like glass.

"Don't forget about us, bastard!" Mitt and Ray took to the skies and each launched a powerful light spear at Zelzan. The light spears split into 6 and made more of a spray attack at Zelzan who still managed to block each strike, but clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Igniting [Cloud Flames] on [Yubashiri] and [Rain Flames] on [Shigure Kintoki], before manipulating them to cast 2 different spells "[Tranquility Swallows] and [Cloud Hydra]." I declared before 10 swallow made of [Rain Flames] came out from the [Rain Flames] on my swords and flew around me while 8 dragon heads from the [Cloud Flames] on [Yubashiri].

Mentally commanding them to attack Zelzan, the dragon heads extended and tried to bite Zelzan while the swallows crash at him but the bastard cut them up. I made the [Cloud Hydra] heads to multi even more while Zelzan tried to cut them all but 1 of them was able to bite him [FUUUUUUUCCCCK!!!] The madman screamed bloody murder as the other head succeeded as on trapping him.

"Kiba! Now-"

!?

I turned to my left, just in time to see a dark figure charging at in high speed with what appears to be an ebony coloured blade in his/her hands. I was prepared to block the stab with [Shigure Kintoki], but the blade was blocked by a furry and large claw.

{Arigato, Leone.}

{No prob, boss!}

"I won't let you lay a hand on my boss!" She roared as she tried to attack my backstabber, but she was forced to let go of the sword and jump back just in to evade getting pierced by it-

!?

I jumped to the side just in time to avoid some ice spears that was about to turn me into pin cushion before blocking a blade with [Shigure Kintoki] just in time when my attacker appeared before me... My face turned a bit pale when I saw the very familiar face, clothing, hair and eyes colour of my attacker.

...Why the fuck is Esdeath doing here!?

"It seems that you're the strongest person here." The 'S' said with a very dangerous smile on her face, a smile that I didn't want to be directed towards me at all "Then show what you can do, Devil!"

I released Zelzan from my [Cloud Hydra] heads before casually entered my [Hyper Dying Will Mode]... I can't be careless against Esdeath, as a single mistake will end my life for sure against her.

This is going to be a hell of a fight...