"Party pooper." Freed said with a glare.
"I will gladly be one when your party is about killing people." Shirou looked calm but Freed could tell he was upset as well.
"Is this still about that blonde chick? Get over it already man… I was her first but she is still around." The white haired man taunted with a smile to push Shirou to attack.
The magus didn't fall for the bait and slowly mana began to cover Muramasa. "You must be really desperate to force a woman like that."
"Bah, I just hate blondes." Freed started with a glare. "Starting to hate redheads too. I-"
"Hatred from someone like you is a compliment." Shirou spoke quickly to interrupt Freed and frustrate him and while it worked the Mad Exorcist kept his cool as well.
"Keh. Are you sure you can waste your time like this, young man?" Valper asked with a grandfatherly smile. "You may not have realized it yet but your time is running out. In twenty minutes the magic circle connected to Excalibur will start a chain reaction that will destroy your precious town." He then chuckled. "Not that you can do much to stop it."
"Valper Galilei, I presume." Without taking his eyes off Freed, Shirou spoke with scorn while the old man just smiled. "You not only used the ley line to fuse the Fragments but also kept them connected to make it easier for them to affect the area."
"Quite ingenious, don't you think? Since reforging the original sword was impossible, using alchemy and a proper magic circle was the way to move forward. If only those fools could see it now, Excalibur has revived and will soon be complete." His eyes landed in the sword at Irina's side, greed without measure shining behind them. "Of course a huge quantity of mana was necessary to compensate for the missing Fragments but the ritual went on perfectly and as a bonus we now control this area completely."
If Shirou wasn't sure he hated the Archbishop of Genocide before he was certain now. Not only his actions were beyond unforgivable but Valper's words disgusted the magus without end to the point he wanted to stab the old man.
Also that the old man loved the sound of his own voice didn't help matters. "Connecting it with the ley line may have a side effect right now but it was said that Excalibur powered Camelot itself. It isn't a stretch to believe that once the sword is completed a length ritual will be unnecessary for it to dominate a terrain." Valper felt his mouth water with the possibilities that a complete Excalibur could open to him. "Yes, this was the ideal way of reviving Excalibur and the best thing I ever did in my life, a true work of art. Even missing parts of its power it can already properly execute all of its functions. Unsurprisingly since Mimic also helped in its rebirth, almost as if Excalibur itself wanted to be reforged this way."
Those actually made Shirou chuckle. "You put a punch of different pieces together and stick them with glue and call that a 'good job'. Talk about an amateur."
Out of the reverie of his success, a shocked Valper glared at Shirou. "What did you say?"
"You heard me, that sword is a shod job at best, an abomination at worst." The smile on the redhead irritated the excommunicated priest but he wasn't done. "Calling it a 'work of art' is not only an exaggeration but the worst lie I ever heard in my life."
"Who do you think you are, brat? Who are you to criticize my work? I, who succeeded where those fools from the Church failed despite having the means for years, all because they refused to make the proper sacrifices-"
"The fact that you needed to make sacrifices in the first place shows how much of a poor smith you are, especially since the sacrifices are not your own." Shirou cut Valper off so fast that the old man looked shocked. "You speak about sacrifices but in reality you sacrificed nothing of your own and just took a shortcut for the path of less resistance by instead of risking yourself risking a whole town in your place."
"It was the only way! A sacrifice was required!" Valper looked ready to explode before clearing his throat and glare at Shirou. "My research was flawless, every possible avenue for the revival of Excalibur was thoroughly explored and by starting with the accumulation of Light and its use." He turned to look at Irina. "In the end that only worked to bring about Holy Sword users but neither truly came close to the real thing," he turned to Xenovia, "a failure in every sense for not even the Light of hundreds of billions of humans would be enough to reforge Excalibur. Not that there were ever enough people with it in the first place."
The old man looked at his hands with pride and some mania before raising them to the skies. Everyone except Shirou and Freed saw the expression on Valper's face and Kiba wished he could kill the man with a look.
"Excalibur was a sword empowered by God so a similar power was needed! Only the strongest ley lines could do it but only under my control and my guidance! No one else could do it! ONLY I WHO REACHED THE REALM OF GOD!"
Silence descended on the area besides whispers inside Blood Fort Andromeda where Rias and Asia worked to calm Kiba down. Besides the barrier Xenovia and Irina glared at Valper for his blasphemy.
"Tsk." Shirou tried to hold himself back but he almost cracked. 'I need to be careful. Freed almost jumped at me there.'
But that small snicker was enough for Valper. "Did you just laugh at me? The man who reached the realm of God?!"
Since he asked, Shirou was happy to reply. "You really think too much about yourself for someone who barely got the job done."
"You…" Valper's tone carried a hatred he didn't know he had. Not even when he was excommunicated and his research stolen did the man feel so much of that emotion in his being. "A little brat barely out of his diapers. What do you know about my research or Excalibur?"
"A little bit of this, a little bit of that." Shirou replied with a chuckle before his face turned serious. "What I know for sure is that your work is a failure because you don't understand Excalibur."
"I don't understand Excalibur? I?" Valper questioned in disbelief, anger mostly forgotten. "Just a child pretending to be an adult."
"Better than an old man who thinks he got close to God only to butcher the work." Shirou wanted his next words to hurt. "After all, it wasn't like God needed a ley line or a half baked ritual to make the sword in the first place."
"'Half baked'-"
"That is all this is. A half baked spell that puts a whole town at risk just because of the ambitions of a lazy old man."
"Lazy-!"
"Because instead of doing the work and trying to find a proper solution he had gone straight to killing children and risking the lives of anyone else but himself." Shirou was loving the fury on Valper's face as every insult was as sharp as his sword. "Only to end with a half cooked product that doesn't even come close to the original."
"Shut up! My Excalibur is as great as the original! No! Greater for it will keep growing in power! Especially when we add the last two Excaliburs!" Valper was starting to lose himself in anger. "Freed! Kill this vermin!"
But Freed remained calm and controlled, something that impressed Shirou about someone who was supposedly a Mad Exorcist. He decided to keep up the pressure. "I bet that was the only way you actually found to make the spell work, by sticking it into the ley line like the wrong kind of bolt."
"It was a necessity! The only way for the spell to work!" Valper unleashed his anger and frustration out. "Holy Energy isn't like pure mana but mana was the only energy I had! This was the only way! A way for me to reach God!"
"The moment that you considered a method like that, you had already failed." Shirou said dismissively like if Valper was an insect bothering his sight. "Want to know what I think? I think you figured out there was no way for someone like you to truly fix the sword legitimately and took the easiest solution possible to pretend that you fixed it."
"Excalibur is fixed!"
"A lump of malformed metal can't be Excalibur." Shirou chuckled with amusement at how offended the Archbishop of Genocide looked. He moved his head towards Kokabiel and he was sure Freed moved a little in his direction. "Then Kokabiel came and your little ritual fell perfectly with his scheme; a destructive ritual to revive a sword that never would be even half as good as the original. Not a threat either since he didn't mind giving it away. I bet without the connection to the ley line it will be impossible for it to ever make a Sanctuary again once this one ends."
'Right on the mark!' Kokabiel knew no one was looking at him but made sure his face was stoic and not showing his excitement.
Valper was getting more and more furious. "Hey, Xenovia, is he right?" And it got worse when Irina asked the question.
"How am I supposed to know?" The bluehead Exorcist asked back.
"You are the one who owns a Holy Sword?" Ise offered with a shrug.
"QUESTIONED BY CHILDREN! HOW ANY OF YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE MY WORK!" Valper finally lost his patience. "FREED! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" The white haired man doesn't move from his posture but what everyone except Valper could see was that he had a smile on his face.
'Valper is truly a fool.' Kokabiel thought with amusement as he watched the old man rage. 'Both are trying to provoke the other into committing first or making a mistake and Freed isn't going to listen to Valper in this case.'
Freed may be known as the Mad Exorcist but his instincts as a warrior were sharp and thanks to his previous skirmish with Shirou he knew that the redhead was dangerous. The extra time also helped Freed get acquiesced with the Fused Sword power as he felt the Holy Aura in every pore of his body.
That was why Shirou wasn't attacking just yet, he could tell that Freed was ready for anything and needed a distraction to try and finish the fight before the Mad Exorcist grew too used to the power.
If the Fused Sword didn't have Mimic then Shirou was sure he could have attacked already but with it then he knew that until he covered all the distance between then he was the one open.
'I could also try and destroy it. A shot from Caladbolg could get the job done easily.' But the smell of the Sanctuary's mana gave him pause. 'The problem is that if I just break it then the mana flowing to the sword is going to need to go somewhere. The best option I have is to get the sword and undo the magic circle… somehow.'
"KILL HIM! ARE YOU HEARING ME FREED! I GAVE YOU EXCALIBUR AND I DEMAND YOU TO KILL HIM!"
"Of course I can hear ya! I'm not deaf!" Freed promptly shouted back, his own patience also on its limit. "Now shut up and let me do my thing!" Despite that he didn't move but he noticed that Shirou had advanced a single step in his direction. "Shit."
That was the stalemate between the two swordsmen, both knowing that their weapons were too dangerous to allow any unnecessary moves. They waited for an opening, a chance to kill their opponent.
For both of them the silence that followed felt like an eternity in just a couple of seconds but Shirou remained calm and Freed kept working on figuring Excalibur's aura out. They knew that Shirou was most likely the one who needed to make the first move, time was running out and Fuyuki had only twenty minutes before catastrophe befell the city.
While watching two warriors studying each other was an art in and of itself Kokabiel wanted more from this confrontation. The fallen angel was enjoying the show and while he needed the town destroyed he also wanted to see a fight, a proper fight to mark the end of an Age and the beginning of a war.
'It would be boring if the war started because time ran out.' Kokabiel made his decision to intervene. "How do you two know each other again?" He turned to Shirou. "Freed seems to have an unhealthy deal of hatred for you."
"Because he keeps cockblocking me from getting chicks!" Freed complained. "Fucking Red and his fucking arriving at the last second."
"You were the one that wanted to make Luvia suffer." Shirou spoke with murder but Kokabiel was focused in something else.
"Wait a moment; Freed, it cannot be that you don't know the name of your opponent." The fallen angel glared at his subordinate. "Do you?"
Despite having the Fused Fragments, the Sanctuary and feeling more powerful than ever before, Freed still felt a great dose of fear. "Ehh… Red?"
"No, my name is not 'Red'." Shirou wanted to try and play Kokabiel against his men but with Sanctuary active the magus knew it was useless.
"Then that needs to be corrected. Immediately." Kokabiel ordered but neither moved.
"Do you expect me to shake hands with him or something?" Shirou asked as seriously as he could.
After scoffing, Kokabiel replied. "Of course not. There is too much bad blood between you two already and even a blind man can see it." He still wanted something to give more value to the occasion. "Your names will suffice. After all, actors on the show should know each other for the sake of the production. Introduce yourselves."
"This bastard… he really sees all of this as a game." Rias spoke between gritted teeth.
"Not a game, a play." Sona corrected. "Kokabiel wants to continue the Great War but he wants it to end not only with the Grigori's victory but also that it can be told as a heroic tale with us as the protagonists."
Ryuudou Issei felt sick after hearing the explanation. "That is… disgusting. He doesn't even care how many will die."
"If his plan works then most likely everyone else but the fallen angels will suffer devastating losses." Rias hated that Shirou was outside fighting alone but while Blessing was influencing the terrain there was nothing they could do.
"So we are just props?" Momo asked, devoid of hope and both Kings didn't know how to respond without making things worse.
"We are 'actors'." Irina commented. She was using EM to heal herself but it was slow as she had little practice with mana. "All because a megalomaniac wants his war to finish his way."
Rias found it an apt metaphor. "We can only count on Shiro to win this."
"But time is running out." Xenovia admitted as her eyes were glued on the 'fight' as she waited for a chance to strike. 'Emiya is patient but Freed isn't going to give an opening. He needs to make one.'
Even though Kokabiel wanted a show it was clear that Freed didn't want to indulge him, the Exorcist too focused on Shirou and the Fused Sword. The redhead could see that while the Mad Exorcist had the advantage of waiting and could play defensive he clearly didn't have the discipline for it.
Shirou saw an opportunity there, a chance to have Freed drop his guard even if just for a moment. "Him first." All he had to do was make sure things swing in his favor.
"You know my name already!" Freed complained again. He just wanted Shirou dead but the magus was being too careful for his tastes.
"Freed, play nice and introduce yourself." Kokabiel was just happy that Shirou was willing to play the part. "You both are about to partake in the last fight of an Age. It is only polite if you two know each other or the story will lose its meaning."
"Tch." Freed was aware that without Sanctuary, Kokabiel could burn him alive faster than he could beg for mercy. He would live while the ley line held but that wouldn't be for long. "Fine. I'm Freed Sellzan-sama and you better be ready to die."
"You really wanted to do more there, didn't you?" Shirou asked with a small smile that had Kokabiel laughing.
Freed wasn't going to fall for the bait. "So what?" He then offered Shirou a savage grin. "Can't do that with someone looking ready to turn me into minced meat, can I?"
"No, go ahead. I promise to wait for your performance."
"Ha! That is a lie and a half right there." Freed almost really laughed and broke his guard. Almost. "Not with that much bloodlust in your eyes. Still mad about the blonde?"
"Absolutely livid." Shirou admitted but didn't advance. He was losing his chance to catch Freed off guard and will need to start attacking soon if something doesn't change.
Kokabiel controlled his laugh and interrupted again. "Then introduce yourself, Magician of Gremory." He spoke with the same tone he used on the phone call.
"Emiya Shirou." He began to prepare for his charge despite not finding any openings.
But then Freed surprised him. "Emiya? Anything to do with the Magus Killer?"
Admiration, that was the first time Shirou heard it in Freed's tone. That was his last chance. "Emiya Kiritsugu is my father."
Surprise, disbelief and shock flew by the man's face. "What?!" But Freed believed him and the lapse on his defenses was real.
There was no time to think for Shirou, he just leaped at his target with all the mana and Touki he could muster. Muramasa was still pointing at the Mad Exorcist's heart and Shirou was sure he was moving too fast for any human to react, enhanced or not.
Gold met steel as the redhead found himself in a struggle against Freed, his attack having failed. "For real? You aren't pulling my leg, are you?"
"I am not." Shirou pushed with his sword to try and cut Freed's side but Holy Aura covered the older man and he forced the magus back. Recovering his footing, Shirou strikes again, fully committing to the offensive.
Multiple stabs flew at Freed's chest but he moved just as fast as Shirou and blocked them all. Worse for the redhead, the Mad Exorcist was faster than he expected and he felt Muramasa shake in an uncomfortable way.
After a couple more strikes Shirou aimed for a swing on Freed's left and the white haired man moved to defend. However instead of parrying the blow away they ended up locked into another struggle as Freed kept up with his rhythm.
"Are you sure you are the Magus Killer's son? You fight nothing like him." The Aura finally diminished and Freed jumped back as Shirou became the stronger of the two.
Before the redhead could pursue the golden sword grew in size and he had to block another hit. Distance meant nothing for Freed who had Mimic's power to fall back on and the sword shrunk just enough to disengage from Muramasa and aim for Shirou's leg.
It was fast but not as fast when the aura was around and Shirou managed to block the strike and keep the blade down as he charged with Muramasa. He wasn't surprised when the Fused Sword shrunk again just in time to block a strike at Freed's neck. Then the golden aura returned way faster than he expected.
Backed by the sword's power, Freed counter attacked three times before pushing Muramasa down. 'He is faster than when he was fighting Xenovia.' The information he got from the sword didn't match but Shirou kept up with the Mad Exorcist, adapting to his new power.
"Really, nothing like him at all." Freed commented as he kept the swords against each other and forced Shirou to take a step back. "But your style of clothing matches his a little."
That comment was unexpected. "You know my father?" Shirou thought that if Kiritsugu ever met Freed the stray priest would be five feet underground in less than a minute.
"Oh no. That would be an honor… Even if one of us wouldn't leave the place alive." Despite holding Shirou back, Freed seemed nonchalant more than anything. "I'm his biggest fan!"
At the last word more aura poured from the Fused Fragments and Muramasa broke in an explosion of metal.
None of the fighters let the destruction of the blade distract them as Freed moved to cut Shirou's torso and the redhead jumped back. "Hey! Maybe he will come to kill me after I kill you!" Freed chased to thrust into Shirou's chest but Emiya dodged to the side and made another sword to block the follow up strike. It wasn't a Noble Phantasm and broke upon contact. "Maybe I can get an autograph before that fight!"
Using what was left of Muramasa's handle, Shirou began to create a new blade as he dodged another blow that still brushed his arm for a small cut. 'The aura is lasting longer.' He thought while ducking into another swipe to stab Freed with what was left of his katana but the Mad Exorcist moved back and tried to cut his head. Fortunately for Shirou he was ready. "Wyvern Muramasa."
A pure white katana stopped the golden sword and Freed frowned as the golden aura disappeared. "Not like him at all."
"I am adopted." Shirou joked as he pushed back against Freed again and aimed for the white haired man's legs before the stray Exorcist got away. "Trace on."
A few swords showed up above Freed. "This again?" And the man banished them all away easily with his own before his hand moved to his back to pull out a gun and open fire. Shirou brought his sword back and blocked them all with Muramasa before trying to counter, only for another shot to almost land in his eye. "Nice." Nevertheless Freed was impressed.
He kept shooting and Shirou kept blocking and cutting the bullets until Freed ran out of ammo and threw the gun at the magus only for it to be cut in half. It was a distraction, another second that Shirou couldn't use. Enough time for the aura to come back and the Fused Fragments extend to hit Muramasa and push the magus even further back.
For a second Shirou thought that the Noble Phantasm would break again but it held on even as the Fused Sword began to bend like a whip. Another strike came for his head but when the magus blocked it he felt himself pushed forward as the blade moved to stab his back in an impossible maneuver for any other sword.
However, while the shroud failed to protect him the same couldn't be said by his armor as Shirou took a step forward because of the impact but it didn't touch his skin. Instead of being wounded, Shirou used the change of momentum to charge at Freed again.
'I can't give him time to figure out anything else about that thing.' Shirou recognized that the safe approach was a mistake. Freed was too talented and was figuring out the ins and outs of his sword faster than the redhead could keep up.
So he changed from 'trying to find an opening' to 'force an opening and finish the fast as quickly as possible'.
But he couldn't reach Freed who was keeping his distance and using his malleable sword to make a wave of metal to push him back before using it like Irina and have the tip grow and shrink to keep the magus at bay.
Shirou blocked every attack that came his way while noting that the aura was still going even after a full minute. Skipping to the side before charging again he counted on Freed aiming for his upper body and used Muramasa to protect his head as he knew his armor could survive a couple of hits.
He didn't expect to lose his balance and be thrown back one a fast stab hit his chest but recovered quickly. Ignoring the pain he kept moving as the aura finally left Freed, using Touki to accelerate even more and reaching the Mad Exorcist. This time the older man failed to react to the sudden change of Shirou's speed and Muramasa took a bite on his shoulder.
It was a superficial wound and they both knew it as the Fused Sword pushed the magus back again. This time however Shirou was more prepared as knives were already Traced on his left hand. He threw them and Freed moved to cut them mid air only for them to suddenly catch fire and blow up at touching his sword.
"Argh!" Freed's whole body caught fire and the man began to swing his sword around in fury. "You bastard!" Shirou said nothing as the man kept burning as a funeral pyre, the flames growing more intense as the fire fed from his body and clothes. "I will- I will-"
It looked like Freed was about to give in.
"Just kidding~" Faster than Shirou could react, the golden sword grew and stabbed him in the midriff.
His armor was barely enough to hold the blow off but Shirou still flew back as he felt blood from the small wound. "Shit." He looked back at the flames just in time to block another blow as he noticed it had no smell. "An illusion."
"Nightmare~ Hahahaha!" The fire disappeared and Freed looked no worse for wear with the Holy Aura covering his body. "Nice trick with the fire but you need a stronger one!"
Several blows were thrown in Shirou's direction but he paired all of them, paying more attention to the tip of the golden sword. Then things got more complicated when he saw two weapons and found no choice but to roll to the side as one sword made a hole on the ground while the other did nothing.
Another illusion that showed to all that Freed was getting better at using the Fused Sword but he gave no time for Shirou to process it. He just charged again against the magus and Muramasa once again deflected a distant blow as the sword grew in length to attack the redhead consecutively.
With the fight properly going Freed didn't want it to stop, his bloodlust was in full display as the golden aura kept going for longer than before. There was no way for Shirou to properly time it anymore as it wasn't about the weapon itself but Freed's maestry and the man was growing more used to it by the second.
Then he vanished and Shirou immediately knew why. "Transparency." Getting up, the magus began to look around for any trace of the Mad Exorcist and found none.
"Where did he go?" Saji asked in a panic and Xenovia grit her teeth hard.
So hard that Irina managed to reply before her, looking quite upset. "He is using Excalibur Transparency power to stay invisible."
"You guys had one of those?" Ise was panicking a little.
Rias didn't blame him. "Usually it would be one of the weakest but now…" Combined with the other Fragments and with far more power than before, Transparency grew from a minor threat to a huge one. "You need to help him."
Xenovia agreed but didn't move. "Freed may be coming in this direction." Durandal stood ready and, much like Shirou, she was looking for any signs that the man was coming her way.
Rias wanted to complain more but Sona stopped her. "She is right, Rias." She was managing to keep her calm as she tended to Tsubaki. "At this point we can just…"
"I know…" Neither pureblood liked their present situation.
Reinforcing his ears Shirou tried to listen to any signs of Freed but besides a few gusts of wind he couldn't get anything. Not even his nose could detect the man as the whole air was saturated with the Fused Fragments' mana because of Sanctuary. Then he suddenly turned back to take a swing as he was sure Freed was there.
"I am here~" Only for Freed's voice to come from the other side but instead of turning Shirou leaped away and saw something stab the ground where he was. "At least you seem competent enough to be the Magus Killer's son."
"You said you were a fan, right?" Shirou tried to keep the Mad Exorcist talking to give him his location. "Why? He usually kills people like you." Mana flowed into Muramasa as Shirou began to work on changing it.
"I know but I can't help it." The voice was on another side allready and Shirou noticed that there was no attempt to extend the sword since Freed turned invisible. "It was during my days in the Church, I walked into a scene that your father worked on and I have to say; that man is an artist." He whistled to show his appreciation. "Thirty and five people dead as they could be, no windows or entrances besides a single door in an underground bunker. There was a lot of blood and bullets but signs pointed that no one had even time to react so every shot was only from the Magus Killer himself. Do you know what that means?"
Shirou knew what he meant but he hated how the man laughed, enjoying telling the story he was so fond of.
"It means your old man walked in, killed everyone before they could barely register he was there and then walked out. All without a scratch. And that place was not even that riddled with bullets, just enough to take everybody down." The Mad Exorcist giggled as he voice kept moving around. "Just enough to neutralize the more annoying ones and take them all at his convenience. There was only one entrance and the hallway had cameras, cameras that never caught him getting in. How did he do that?"
By the excitement in Freed's tone he was really a fan of Kiritsugu's work. It was like the man wasn't talking about a murder scene but instead about a canvas painted by a master.
"He probably was already there waiting and created an emergency to force everybody in the bunker." There was a shift on the ground in the area Shirou was looking at, like someone had made a sudden stop from pacing and left a footprint on the earth.
"What?" The voice sounded fearful.
"Yeah, kinda his MO really; attract the target to a previously prepared or known location or be waiting where they will show up for a reason or another." Shirou shrugged his shoulders but most of his focus was on the sword in his hand. Muramasa was now light green. "Considering the setting I would say he made preparations for a distraction on one side and sat down and waited on the bunker on the opposite one. If everyone went inside in a hurry then they would barely notice he was there."
For a second Freed didn't say anything. "Did you- did you just ruin that for me?" Above them, Kokabiel began to laugh out loud." You son of a bitch!"
Shirou was sure Freed was attacking when he shouted. "Wind Muramasa!"
The invisible man reacted by stopping his rush and raising his sword defensively. By the name of the sword he expected a mighty gust of wind.
It was a strong one but nothing really impressive since that was Shirou's first time creating a Muramasa of that element. He barely felt it messing with his coat and his glare returned, not that anyone could see it, to Shirou as he charged again.
Freed was going for an overhead strike to cut Shirou's head off but found himself surprised at Muramasa which was aiming for his chest. He still had Rapidly's base speed and managed to avoid the blow but not without the sword cutting his chest a little.
"Got you!" Shirou announced as he turned his sword in the direction he saw Freed was moving to, much to the white haired man's surprise as the Fused Fragments clashed with Muramasa again.
Now that he was certain of Freed's location Shirou restarted his offensive as more wind was kicked around them. Five fast slashes were thrown in Freed's general direction as Shirou still couldn't see the man but he needed to keep pressing. He threw two stabs, one that was blocked by the golden sword as he heard the sound of metal colliding and another which took some more blood as Muramasa's tip grew red.
Freed was still invisible and the only way Shirou could stay alive was throwing his defense away completely to not give the Mad Exorcist a chance of counter attack. Even if he did, Shirou trusted his armor to keep him alive, an advantage that Freed didn't have as he was forced more and more on the defensive.
What really gave Shirou a huge advantage was that Freed was confused by how the redhead was finding him. Suspecting some kind of foul play he retreated as fast as he could, hoping it was something to do with the area and not the man himself.
Shirou surprised him and everyone watching by following right behind as his sword clashed with the Fused Fragments again. Not knowing where he was aiming, Shirou began to swing in that general direction again and again, as fast as he could. His eyes were not paying attention to Freed but the area around them.
Took a few seconds for Freed to figure that Shirou wasn't really looking at him. "Motherfucker!" He cursed as Transparency ability fell and he became visible again. Golden aura covered him as he took a swing at Shirou's eyes. "Die!"
But Shirou ignored the sword as dust passed right through it and instead he took a swing to the side and felt Muramasa hit something.
Transparency truly fell as Freed was revealed with a wound to his side as Muramasa was deep on the man's body, just shy of cutting his spine. The illusion disappeared and a real golden aura surrounded the man as he took his own swing at Shirou's head.
Ducking under the attack, Shirou tried to keep pushing but then Freed proved himself worthy of his moniker of Mad Exorcist as he jumped back with the sword still on his gut. The man let the weapon out from the same way it had gone inside but the damage was already done, several of his organs were cut apart and his body looked to barely be holding itself.
Had Muramasa been in its normal state or even made of bone then he would have fully cleaved the man in half. The attack would even be fatal if Shirou had used any other element he was more used to. However, that was his first time using a wind element version of the katana and he failed to compensate for the new edge during its creation.
That didn't stop Shirou from charging again to finish the fight. "Freed, use Blessing's power! Don't let him get one over you!"
"I know that old man!" Freed replied with fury as the golden sword grew towards Shirou but he just dodged to the side, knowing that with a wound like that his opponent wouldn't be able to react.
He underestimated Freed's imagination as the sword bent itself on his way and grew taller like a wall.
Before he could collide with the sudden obstacle, Shirou used Muramasa's wind to slow down before stopping himself with his foot as the wall moved and transformed again. He saw how it turned back into a sword and did a backflip to avoid it from cutting his legs.
All the while golden aura surrounded Freed and unlike before he looked calm as the Holy Energy entered his wound. In a second the blood began to slow down, organs reformed and flesh grew back as he was fully restored by the sword's power.
In the time that took for Shirou to land from his dodge, Freed was once again unharmed and began to giggle as he touched the area of the cut once was. The wound was gone and now there was just dry blood on his clothes and unblemished skin.
"Like a baby's~ Hahahaha!"
"See?! Do you see my genius, you worm?!" By the way Valper was laughing it was like he was the one who was healed from a fatal wound by a magic sword. "High speed regeneration, an ability that Humanity shouldn't have. But now that Excalibur is reborn through my genius we can have access to it, all thanks to my research! Excalibur, the perfect sword!" He laughed more and raised his arms above his head. "It is all thanks to my research! With it Excalibur became greater than it ever was! No longer Avalon is needed to heal the user of the sword, Excalibur can keep them alive on its own-"
'Can't this guy shut up?' Shirou gritted his teeth and focused on tuning Valper out as he tried to piece the facts together. 'That was… actually the most natural thing that sword ever did since it was remade.' Which admittedly confused the magus.
Others in the area formed their own conclusions. "He is using the ley line and the sword as a filter." Rias commented between gritted teeth. "That is the only explanation."
"Couldn't Excalibur Blessing naturally heal wounds?" Kiba asked with a frown but Irina shook her head.
"It wasn't strong enough to do it and lacked focus. Add that too much Holy Energy was considered toxic in the first place." She glanced at Asia shily before looking at EM. "That is why Twilight Healing was always so prized."
"That is not just some Holy Energy." Medusa commented as none could feel the powers in the area as she could. "There is something wrong with it. Something out of place… Like food that wasn't well preserved or something."
"Rooten?" Ruruko offered and the goddess nodded.
Ise shook his head. "Freed doesn't look like he is going to be sick any time soon."
"But she is right." Xenovia commented, Durandal was still ready as eyes never left Shirou and Freed. "Compared to all other Holy Swords there is something right and wrong with that… thing Valper is calling Excalibur."
She hated that she couldn't piece together what but when comparing with Durandal, Xenovia was sure that whatever Valper had done couldn't be good.
But it was Sona who delivered the worst news. "It doesn't matter what you guys are feeling, the fact is that he is using Fuyuki's ley line to heal himself, do you understand what that means?" Most did, some didn't "While not something impossible as both Rias and I are usually slightly connected to the ley line, because of the ritual Freed's connection is running much deeper which is giving him access to all the mana of the city. Usually those without training or proper preparations end up turning into monsters or blobs of flesh because of the power intake."
Rias remembered the only devil she saw that suffered from that condition; the Hamelin's Flutist. "Only those really prepared or with Senjutsu training, in a proper location to both, should have access to this type of power."
"As a human, Freed should be blowing up because of how much mana he is taking in, especially a quantity that can just heal an otherwise fatal wound in seconds." Sona was sure the Mad Exorcist wasn't taking in the power directly, the sword was and it was the only thing keeping him going. Didn't change the whole equation considering how much power the weapon was helping its owner and sustaining the Sanctuary. "That means that he can practically heal forever with the mana he has at his disposition and if Excalibur makes that free of consequence-"
"Shiro will win." Rias didn't allow Sona to say otherwise and the short haired pureblood just nodded in agreement even if her eyes were full of doubt. The redhead ignored her friend, eyes focused on her lover as he began to move. "It doesn't matter that Freed has all the mana of Fuyuki itself, Shiro will win."
Back on the battlefield Shirou didn't wait for Freed to focus back on him. 'He isn't an abomination so his brain is still in his head. Since he can heal I need to cut it off… or his hand.' Obviously it was the sword that was healing Freed so if Shirou could separate him from it then victory would be his.
Only that Freed's grip on his sword was tighter than ever and he was paying enough attention to Shirou to see when the redhead began to move again. The white haired man was far more confident than before and moved to meet him directly as Shirou traced three of his knives and threw them at Freed.
Not that the man reacted, he let the knives hit his shoulder and chest without putting a defense. More blood began to seep out on his clothes but the golden aura covered him again and the knives were crushed into just mana before Shirou's eyes.
The redhead saw Freed's excitement and suddenly skipped to the side as the Fused Fragments moved to cut him in half.
Seeing an opening Shirou moved to cut Freed's neck but the older man didn't care, he moved his neck just enough for Muramasa to cut his Adam's apple but the edge was on the wrong side and the magus was open when the Fused Excalibur hit his abdomen.
"Die!" Freed laughed more as the golden sword extended and Shirou was pushed back as the blade tried and little by little began to pierce the black armor mid air.
The redhead didn't try to stop his momentum immediately, that would have made things worse and easier for the sword to skew him alive. Instead he allowed himself to fly a couple of meters before kicking the ground with a single foot and separated himself from the sword with a spin.
Sliding a couple of feet because of how fast the sword pushed him, the redhead needed a moment to balance himself. Structural Analysis told Shirou that his armor was slightly damaged but was already fixing itself as well, a safety layer he was grateful to have as he would already be dead without it.
Unfortunately for Shirou he had little time to recover as he ducked when the Fused Excalibur made a pass to hit him again before completely returning to an amused Freed who had a hand on his neck for an instant before taking it out to show more of the sword's aura going into it.
Already Freed's neck had healed, barely any blood left him and the Mad Exorcist looked thrilled. "I am immortal, motherfucker!" The sword extended again in Shirou's direction but the redhead was prepared and jumped to the side to let it pass safely.
'Faster than Irina's but the speed doesn't change.' Shirou was already learning the limits of the sword as he realized how to dodge the blade, not needing to parry it anymore.
He dodged six more times as he made his bow on his left hand and as he landed after the last dodge he positioned himself from a crouch as Wind Muramasa was altered into an arrow and let loose, aiming for Freed's head.
Already the effects of the sword showed themselves as there was no wind resistance, Shirou's shot becoming twice as fast than the usual. Freed still noticed the shot and moved his sword to take a swing at the arrow mid air, trying to do a similar feat Shirou did with the bullets.
However Wind Muramasa wasn't a simple bullet, it was a Noble Phantasm that Shirou overcharged with mana and when it hit the sword it exploded.
'Destroying that sword is a bad idea but I doubt that it will break that easily.' Through Shirou as he prepared another sword.
Already the golden sword was extending out of the smoke in his direction and Shirou dodged it again as he shot his next arrow. This time Freed, who was covered with aura and whose clothes were slightly burnt because of the explosion, didn't challenge it. He began to run to the left and rolled when the sword blew up behind him but the golden sword wasn't bothered by the moves of its owner.
The Mad Exorcist wasn't even allowing the aura to go away anymore as it kept going constantly without diminishing. In his mind he needed not to fear exhaustion or consequence as his weapon could heal him from anything.
Flawlessly the sword kept pursuing Shirou, this time not even retreating and chasing after him while the magus shot more arrows in Freed's direction. He shot three more times but Freed was having an easier time to dodge as the arrows had a bigger distance to cover while his sword kept aiming for Shirou's head.
It was a bizarre thing for all watching as it looked like Shirou was being chased by a flying gold snake. It was making all kinds of maneuvers to keep up with him but the redhead didn't turn back or give it any more attention. He focused on running from the sword he knew it was after him and in shooting Freed who also kept dodging any of the redhead's shots.
'Freed's Exorcist training really is helping him out there.' Kokabiel mused as he held Akeno with one hand. While she wasn't as comfortable as she would be if he used his two hands, he was feeling uncomfortable after holding her for some time. 'He knows that most who regenerate weakness is the head so he is protecting his perfectly.'
And every shot Shirou was making was fatal, the swords not only were extremely sharp but also exploded either by impact or command, the fallen angel wasn't sure which.
But Kokabiel noted they were mostly all the same sword, the same Noble Phantasm. "A sword like that…" He watched as Shirou made another one and shot it in a hurry. He was sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. "He is creating Noble Phantasms out of his own mana?"
While Kokabiel tried to piece together what Shirou was, two minutes had passed since the ranged fight began and it was only a matter of time before one of them made a mistake.
Because of their weapons Freed had the advantage; his sword barely needed any input and it was constantly pursuing Shirou whose rate of fire couldn't compete with a relentless hunter.
There was also the terrain which was damaged because of the constant fights. It was now too uneven and full of holes that Shirou also had to maneuver while dodging the gold sword. He did his best and paid attention to his surroundings but because he couldn't stop attacking and make things easier for Freed he ended up taking a misstep into a small hole.
Barely having time to think, Shirou stopped tracing another sword to use his free hand to push himself to the side and avoid the Fused Fragments. He couldn't let the stumble slow him down but it was inevitable as he couldn't just keep the rhythm going with just a hand.
He couldn't fly and because of that the golden sword pierced his left arm right through the biceps as Shirou at least managed to save his head.
Rolling around, Shirou pulled the sword off his arm but couldn't hold his bow anymore. He ignored the shouts of his friends or Xenovia who raced in his direction as he had a huge problem as the Fused Fragments bent and turned again, aiming for his head.
There was no time to blink, no time to think. Shirou had to move fast, he needed a sword that could survive the golden weapon but knew Muramasa wouldn't do it.
In desperation he still called for a sword, any sword, barely forming an image on his mind. It would be a Muramasa again but there was the basic one, a weapon that while exceptional already broke under his enemy.
Then the image changed, not out of his own volition as suddenly Shirou's mind focused not on a sword but an animal; a pegasus.
There was no conscious thought process or anything similar, the image appeared, his circuits reacted and the process of Tracing began. Instinctively Shirou took a swing with a new sword that began to form and it successfully bashed away the Fused Fragments without breaking.
Shirou was still in danger as Freed was free to focus on him more, Mimic's power making the sword curve easily and extend itself more to take Shirou's neck.
But this time something was different as the sword on Shirou's hand began to react with his armor and a white glow began to emanate from him. 'I feel so light.'
Shirou felt the exhaustion of the day leave him as his body grew energized. He looked at the tip of the Fused Fragments and for the first time he felt he had time to study it.
To really react to it.
In a moment he was still crouched on the ground but in the next he had stood up and dodged the attack completely, much to everyone's shock as he moved much faster than before.
Still not understanding what was happening the magus easily dodged to the side as the sword tried to pierce him again, the light around him becoming a full fledged aura of power.
Then the white aura emanating from his armor began to take a shape as Shirou held Bakuya firmly in his hand. Freed even retreated his sword and watched in shock as a creature appeared to emerge from what it felt was a white fire covering his opponent.
"Another Noble Phantasm?!" Kokabiel was in shock, wonder and disbelief.
Many were in similar states, trying to decipher where the power and creature from it came from. With the exception of one.
The small goddess smile was gentle and proud. "You are still here, helping your hero when he needs it most."
For the aura emanating from Shirou was a proud pegasus displaying its fiery wings in all its glory. Beautiful and powerful, it shone like a beacon of light and hope before disappearing back into Shirou who seemed to be surrounded by its power even if the aura was gone.
Despite not seeing the aura himself, Shirou felt the changes within him, taking notice how his body felt much better than before and as the damages to his shroud and armor fixed themselves there was a reassurance that something, someone, was backing him up.
'This feeling…' He relished in it as it seemed to pulse with the beat of his heart.
Trying to make sense of what was happening, Shirou looked at the sword in his hand and admired the Noble Phantasm for a single second, still not understanding what was going on as it had no power to do what was doing.
But when the image of the pegasus returned to the forefront of his mind and he knew it was responsable in some way. "Heh, thanks for the rescue." He felt his armor pulse and realized that never before had he traced Bakuya with it. Touching the gem in its center, it seemed to pulse with the beat of his heart. "Looks like I still have a lot to learn about this. But now is not the time."
And Freed seemed to agree as the Fused Fragments grew in his direction again, tip aimed at his eye.
Before Shirou would have to rush to dodge but this time the golden sword was slower than before and he felt there was plenty of time for him to move. It didn't even take much, a single side step and the sword passed harmlessly by him.
He looked at Freed and saw the white haired man reacting at how Shirou moved and the redhead realized 'Ah, he didn't get slower, I got faster.' A smile made its way to the magus' lips and he leaped at Freed once again.
Immediately the Mad Exorcist commanded his weapon back in time to block the attack but this time Shirou was just a hair away from gutting him like a fish. Bakuya was stopped by the golden sword and Shirou took the offensive by pushing them to the side in a position to cut Freed's head off.
The white haired man jumped away as the hit landed on his shoulder, the Mad Exorcist looked surprised as he raised his weapon to defend himself on Bakuya's return, still aiming for his neck.
Sparks flew as Freed had to hold his sword firmly, struggling to keep it between Bakuya and himself. He tried to push back to get some space but Shirou's sword was already going for him again and the Mad Exorcist was forced to block.
Again, again, again and again Freed tried to disengage only for Shirou to still be attacking. 'Fast! Fast! Fast!' He began to step back, to retreat as fast as he could only to be pursued as Emiya wasn't giving him any breaks. 'So fast!'
Despite having the golden aura Freed couldn't get away as Shirou kept attacking but he didn't give up and kept retreating, always with Bakuya just a step away from taking his life.
Both began to move in a circle as the cat and mouse game kept going before the eyes of their audience, most barely keeping up with the fight. "Can any of you see anything?" Ise asked in disbelief only for his namesake to shake his head.
"That is just… too fast."
Tomoe, Sona's Knight, forced her sight. "I can barely keep up. Hey, Kiba-" She turned to Kiba but found that the blond was completely entranced in the fight.
"Shiro is winning." Rias commented with a smile.
No devil could understand what was happening until the fight slowed down when Shirou deflected the Fused Fragments to the side and punched Freed on the face. Both became blurs again but it lasted only a few seconds before Shirou delivered a knee to Freed's stomach, golden sword successfully pushing the white one away for a moment.
The moment didn't hold for long as Shirou had the advantage and moved it over to cut Freed's face only for the white haired man to panic and jump back. Changing his tactics the Mad Exorcist made his sword grow slightly, just enough to save himself Shirou as he moved for a stab. It saved Freed's life and allowed him to escape but only barely as he ran away in fear.
Shirou didn't waste time and began to pursue Freed who was trying to get as much distance as possible before turning around and commanding his sword to extend. That didn't phase the magus and he took a small step to the left before continuing to run towards his opponent.
The whole process between seconds and the Fused Fragments was already returning to its master at full speed. At that point Freed was beginning to realize that Mimic's power was slower than himself and tried to meet Shirou in the middle to cut the redhead down with his longer sword.
Both blades met and despite Shirou only using one hand while Freed was using both of his the redhead easily bashed the Fused Fragments up for an opening. With the sword out of its way for milliseconds Bakuya managed to connect on Freed's body close to his heart. Then Shirou pushed it up, not intending to risk if Freed could survive just having his heart stabbed.
His caution was proven correct as showed himself worthy of his moniker again by throwing his body to the side with the blade still inside him so it could exit by his shoulder. More blood and screams escaped the man and this time Shirou couldn't capitalize it as Bakuya was needed to defend against the descending golden sword.
It fell like a hammer but Bakuya didn't break and Shirou didn't retreat either, he could see the pain and rage on Freed's face and jumped inside his guard with every intention of thrusting Bakuya down the man's throat.
Only for Freed to suddenly become invisible and while Shirou felt his sword sliding from the golden one's body he missed his slash as the white haired man escaped.
Quickly the redhead assumed a defensive stance and looked for signs of his opponent. 'He may be getting better at using that thing but he just can't use all the Fragments' power at once. I am sure of it.' Shirou tried to detect Freed by smell again but with Sanctuary he couldn't feel the mana and his senses weren't good enough to separate his blood's smell from his opponent. 'Transparency but no Mimic, Rapidly with Mimic but it had slowed down when he added Nightmare. It has limits.'
Shirou smirked at the conclusion but it quickly disappeared as he failed to find Freed. The knowledge he had that the Mad Exorcist couldn't use all the powers was worthless if he could use it wisely.
Turning around after hearing something, Shirou paid attention to any blood spots on the ground. Even if Freed could heal he needed time and blood would be pouring during that time.
He found a small trail and leaped in that direction, Bakuya descending and opening another crater on Kuoh's grounds as he failed to find his target. Taking advantage of the dust around him, Shirou looked around for any disturbances close to himself while also checking on his friends.
After seeing the devils still safe behind the boundary field he also saw that Xenovia was a few steps closer to the fight, Durandal still ready on her hands. Her posture was far more aggressive than before and the meaning was clear; she is waiting for that opening.
Shirou will do his best to give her one. "You know I am starting to hate invisibility." He stood in the middle of the field looking far more relaxed even as his eyes kept going around. There was no reply. "What is wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Once again Freed said nothing and Shirou took another swing with Bakuya to kick up more dust. "You are way less chatty than before." He offered the most arrogant smirk that he could. "Are you afraid?"
Reinforcement allowed his ears to pick up a shift on the earth to his left and Shirou slowly turned to that side. He made some calculations in his head about where the noise had come from and realized that he couldn't kick enough dust to reach that area with just Bakuya.
Finding another solution, Shirou forced his vision to around that area where he saw footprints, recent ones that confirmed Freed either was there or at least had been.
'Transparency is too much of a problem. If every time I have him on the ropes he can just turn invisible then...'
Examining Bakuya from the corner of his eye, Shirou made a decision and charged it with mana. The pegasus was telling him there was more that the sword can do, its red eyes indicated that it was waiting for him to do something.
However Shirou didn't know what neither believed he had the time to figure it out, he was on a timer and he needed to finish Freed off.
So when he felt Bakuya at the point of breaking Shirou pulled his arm back and threw it at Freed's estimated location with all his strength. The aura around Bakuya made the sword twice as tall as it should be and it flew faster than anything Shirou had thrown anything on his life.
But he also felt extremely tired as the protection Bakuya was offering before had abandoned him the moment the sword left his hand. Suddenly the exhaustion of the day was back, his arm was in pain even if the wound was still closed and there was the addition that his circuits felt incredibly hot.
Shirou looked exhausted and that was what he wanted Freed to see. "Got you!" The Mad Exorcist jumped over Bakuya and it exploded right behind him.
The Noble Phantasm's explosion hurt Freed and even if his back was hurting he didn't let that stop him and instead used the explosion to run straight to Shirou. As he was faster than his sword and he was tired of the redhead's tricks, the older man planned to cut Shirou in half with his golden sword.
Only that Shirou was already making another Bakuya, hoping that the power the pegasus gave him wasn't a one time thing.
And it wasn't as Shirou felt rejuvenated and he charged back at a panicking Freed who realized he fell into a trap. There was no time for him to react, Bakuya cut the man from shoulder to waist.
That felt wrong for Shirou who realized that the cut was too clean, Bakuya was powerful but Freed was surrounded by Holy Aura. He expected some resistance and to find none sounded the alarms on his head.
Not thinking, just moving, Shirou rolled to the side as Freed showed up from nowhere with a smile and no wounds. He wasn't only fully healed but the man clearly wasn't in the area where Bakuya exploded.
"Going somewhere?" Freed had the advantage once more as Shirou was crouched again and he was right on the redhead's face. He moved for an overhead strike and Shirou moved to defend with Bakuya again only for it to pass through.
Again there was no thought, just reaction as Shirou jumped back as another Freed's sword slammed where he was, the man laughing out loud. "Who is afraid now?"
"Oh, oh. I know. It's him." The previous Freed pointed at Shirou with his sword and the two moved to become one before they separated, a third one with them.
As one they spoke """Weren't you a little more chatty? Hahahaha!"""
"Nightmare." Shirou prepared himself for the onslaught to come. 'Only one is real.'
The problem was that he didn't know which one when the trio of Freed's was the real and with them charging together at the exact same pace he had to figure that out fast.
Their movements were perfectly mirrored as all their versions of the Fused Excalibur moved together to stab Shirou but the redhead didn't retreat, instead he charged slightly to the right with Bakuya aiming for the other sword.
As the faster one in the battle Shirou cut the distance between him and right Freed easily, his moves already planned out in case that was the correct one and in case it was just an illusion but the redhead needed to leverage his speed to win.
All movements were equal until Freed noticed that Shirou was coming, the target moved for a stab while the others took swings in Shirou's general direction.
None of that told Shirou who was the original Freed but he knew he got the wrong one on his first try when the blades passed through each other. The millisecond that he failed into making contact the redhead threw a kick to the second closest white haired man's side to throw him away, if he was the real one then that would be enough to disrupt the attack.
The combat was so fast that Shirou had no opportunity to curse his lack of luck as the kick hit nothing and his leg was exposed to the third one's strike. He had already taken into account that possibility and his mana was already focused on his feet, tracing a huge anvil that Shirou used to kick his leg away to safety as Freed's sword hit the huge piece of metal.
He felt Bakuya was protesting the use of other weapons even if an anvil shouldn't count as such as it was just a support. Shirou ignored the lapse of power he had as it came back the moment his feet left the anvil.
Evading the strike successfully, Shirou used the power of the pegasus once again as Bakuya was the only weapon he needed when he saw Freed turn his blade for an upper swing in at his face.
Bakuya turned around on Shirou's fingers, its blade now protecting the arm as he descended the legendary weapon to stop Freed's strike and he prepared for the clash of metal that never came as he found himself open and falling to the earth, back exposed as the last Freed echoed behind him to reveal the real Mad Exorcist in perfect position to cut off his head.
None of the three Freeds were real, the whole thing was a distraction from the beginning and this time Shirou had no escape.
"Durandal!" Fortunately he had someone to save him as a huge wave of energy hit the Mad Exorcist from the side and pushed him away. The man screamed as his skin was cut and burned but Xenovia didn't care and pushed more energy out to erase Freed's existence.
Golden aura pushed back and soon a badly burned Freed was running away from the fight, Shirou got ready to chase again but felt something was wrong. The use of the anvil cost him more than expected as the pegasus' power seemed to fluctuate again now he was out of danger. The legendary mount gave the impression the sword and itself were upset and that made his body sluggish.
"Are you alright?" Xenovia noticed that her ally looked weaker and slower for the moment and positioned herself to protect him both.
"Just have a stubborn horse." Her look of confusion made him chuckle. "Thanks for the save but you should have killed him." Shirou recognized with a nod and while he was grateful his life wasn't as important in his opinion.
Xenovia chuckled in amusement before replying. "I don't want the Heiress of Gremory, a Clan known for their 'love' to hunt me down for the rest of my life, thank you very much." She was confident that they could defeat Freed anyway so saving her ally sounded like the right call. "We still have time-"
"Bravo! Bravo!" Kokabiel's voice interrupted the Exorcist as the man gained everyone's attention again. Everybody quickly noticed that Akeno was nowhere to be seen and started to look around. "What a magnificent rescue! My hat is off to you Xenovia Quarta, you managed to time the attack just right! Was that planned?"
Both traded glances before glaring back at the fallen angel. "Where is Akeno?"
"Oh, over there." Kokabiel pointed to the university in the distance. "I was getting tired of holding her so I took her to that rooftop to keep her away from the Sanctuary." He also placed a minor spell to keep her asleep for a few hours but that wasn't relevant. "Now, I answered your question, answer mine; was that planned?"
It wasn't, Xenovia saw an opening and took it but didn't care to tell him that. Kokabiel could do nothing with Sanctuary active and they both knew it. When she looked at Freed and saw that he was mostly healed, she knew they lost their window to finish the fight.
"Come on… Tell me." The fallen angel insisted and while Shirou was busy focusing between trying to find Akeno from a bad angle and watching Freed, his attention was mostly in Xenovia. "I mean, you two met today and had, what? A few minutes to plan without signals or words…"
Kokabiel insisted with a playful air that had Xenovia losing her patience. "Do you really think your plan is going to work?" With an ally at her side and the Cadre unable to attack her, the Exorcist felt much more confident in talking back.
"Why yes, of course I do." Kokabiel remained playful which just annoyed Xenovia more.
"You can't actually believe that God will allow the war to restart with false pretenses! That is as insane as it is stupid!" Without the threat of death Xenovia spoke her mind without a filter. She wasn't even afraid of insulting Kokabiel who kept looking at her with a smile. "There is no possible way it will work because God will see your little trap," his smile grew wilder, "and won't allow things to escalate once again. Even if He has to descend from Heaven," his shoulder began to shake as Xenovia kept talking, "I'm sure that God won't allow your plan to work- Why are you laughing?!" She glared harder when Kokabiel closed his mouth with his hand.
"Pft-fufufufu, sorry. It is just so funny that you think Father is around to do anything." Kokabiel replied with gusto which only made Xenovia more frustrated. "Oh don't be like that. It isn't like He has been around for the last few hundred years. Why else do you think He doesn't show Himself to His followers anymore?"
"Obviously he is busy in Heaven-"
"Please don't tell me you actually believe that drivel." Kokaibel cut Xenovia immediately with a shake of his head. "There are dozens of gods that still pop up to fool around with humans. Father wasn't any different when He was still around." He began to fly around like he was pacing, talking to the Exorcist as he would a small child. "It was his favorite thing to do, to show up like a tree on fire or maybe a flower or apparition just to have a conversation with someone or another."
"Xenovia, don't listen to him." Shirou didn't like where this was going and feared that Freed would attack while the Exorcist was distracted. He shouldn't be bothered as the older man was watching all in glee. 'He wants to see her suffer.'
Unfortunately with Kokabiel being the one talking there was little Shirou could do at the moment. "Of course I won't believe him. He is the enemy." Xenovia stated proudly, her faith unshaken.
That only made Kokabiel laugh more. "Well, it is supposed to be a great secret afterall. A pity since 'The Death of God' sounds like an excellent name for a play. Hmm, was there a play like that? Would never be as spectacular as the real thing was." The fallen angel commented with a grin. "It was such a great day. We were all there in a free for all with the leaders of the Three Factions taking charge of the battlefield. It had so many of us there and it was absolutely pure chaos! I remember having stabbed another angel right through the stomach before being buried into a pile of bodies I had to struggle to escape."
For a day that obviously took many lives, including from his side, Kokabiel sounded delighted at reminiscing it. His eyes and posture screamed how happy he was at the memory, like a father being told their child was born healthy.
It was disturbing to almost everyone watching but Freed who began to crackle.
But there was no stopping the Cadre as he reminisced. "After my escape I charged at Heaven's lines again, behind me was Baraqiel and we were destroying that side! Azazel was in the center leading most of our forces and the devils had a veritable rain of Light pouring on them from all the celestials on the battlefield. They refused to retreat, or better yet, dear old Lucifer refused to retreat as they charged up and met us in the sky!"
His smile was pure maniacal and those with more experience felt he was there on that battlefield again, cutting and killing all on his path. There was also a bestiality on Kokabiel's demeanor that wasn't present on the wannabe director before in a manner that had shivers run down some spines.
All together the fallen angel's behavior was giving him a credibility born of how truthful his expressions were. His words carried a certainty that were present either in madman or those that could only be telling the absolute truth.
"When Father eventually showed up, late for a reason or another, He was diminished. Extremely diminished, almost like He was missing part of Himself. It was at that moment that I knew that was to be the definitive battle of the Great War." His smile grew bigger in a proportion that shouldn't be possible and his angelic face looked demonic. "And what a battle it was! The blood flowed into earth and flooded the city we were fighting above! There were dead left and right or someone to kill at every second! It was the best time of my life!"
Theatrically Kokabiel raised his arms, glorifying that day even more.
"Despite how reduced He was, Father was still Father and His power was no joke. He may never have been the most powerful god but His skill was without peer." He waved his left hand to the side. "With a wave of his hand He resurrected all dead humans on His side." Then waved to his right. "And with another He brought down the fury of the Heavens, beams of Light that could cut even continents if He wasn't careful. That was the might of God!"
Kokabiel's hands dropped to his sides almost like they lacked strength but the smile on his face said otherwise.
"That wasn't enough, not against Lucifer. If there is something I could always give to my older brother it was how persistent he was." There was more fondness when talking about his brother when he talked about his father. "Instead of retreating or giving up, he seized the opportunity as Father was really weakened and it showed. Gathering the other Maous, Lucifer charged straight towards Father to 'seize the throne of Heaven as it was his right' as he used to say. Damn I wish I had a clear view of that fight." He chuckled. "After a huge flash that blinded everyone there was this explosion so big that part of the world literally became smoke. A whole chunk of the planet was gone and a lot of maps needed to be adapted."
Then the fallen angel shrugged.
"And so Father was dead, so was Lucifer and his main lieutenants. The leadership of Heaven and the Underworld, all gutted in a single moment."
"You are lying!" Irina shouted from the side and Kokabiel turned to regard her before replying. "God wouldn't- He can't die."
After laughing a little, Kokabiel added. "Oh but I have proof."
"Any proof from you is going to be fake." Xenovia prepared Durandal to attack the fallen angel, completely forgetting about the Fused Fragments. "All you can do is lie."
Shaking his head with a smile, Kokabiel pointed down to the ground. "Even if the proof is right under your feet?" The stunned look on Xenovia's face showed her undesired curiosity, exactly what Kokabiel wanted. "Come now, don't be shy and look down."
That she did but then scoffed. "There is nothing there."
"Oh but there is. You just can't see it."
"Stop wasting time." Durandal's energy began to pulse and she threw it in a swing that Kokabiel dodged.
"Do you want a tip?" He offered with a chuckle.
It was clear that the fallen angel was going to be teasing Xenovia until she figured it out and that Freed was happy to let his boss talk, maybe even run around to distract himself while Kokabiel talked with the Exorcist. Making matters worse was the fact that time was short and someone had to say or do something.
A lot of suffering could come of this but the magus saw no other choice. "He is talking about the Sanctuary." Shirou stopped the blue haired girl and she turned to him, rage giving way to shock. "Isn't that right?" He needed to force Kokabiel to order Freed to attack and that meant letting the man talk.
Shirou felt that Kokabeil gaze was studying him with far more curiosity than he had before. "Indeed."
"What does that have to do with God?" Xenovia turned back to the fallen angel, enraged. "This unholy field may be an offense to God but that is it, nothing else."
"Feh, that shows how immature you are. Durandal truly chose poorly." Valper commented and Xenovia's glare turned to him. "This 'unholy field', as you called it, is the greatest concentration of Holy Energy on the planet right now. I have little doubt that if God was really around He wouldn't be able to sense the energy." He fixed his glasses to give her a mean look. "And yet there are no heavenly hosts, no angels, to try and stop us. Not that was unexpected since they are close to extinction."
"Hahahahahahaha! That is right, Valper, you figured it out! As expected of the man who swore to reforge Excalibur!" The older looking man gives a small bow to thank the praise but Kokabiel's attention was already back on Xenovia. "Let me ask you something; you really think that Father, the god who hated when other Factions got involved in his business, would really let one of his creations go rampant in Japan?"
It was Irina who replied with barely a whisper. "He wouldn't invade another's territory."
Yet Kokabiel heard it. "For the Origin's sake, Christianity started in the Roman Empire you fool. You know, the place the Greeks made their home after their believers were assimilated?" The girl looked properly chastised and fearful, something the fallen angel liked. "He was always a hypocrite like that, never liking the Pantheons to get involved in His business but always messing with everyone else's."
"The ceasefire. He wouldn't because of the ceasefire." Xenovia felt dread supplementing her faith as uncomfortable truths began to be whispered on the back of her mind.
For a moment Kokabiel looked at Xenovia like she was an idiot before shrugging. "Very well, let us say that is a fair point for the sake of the conversation. So tell me this, why Heaven would accept any ceasefire dictated by Azazel of all people?" His brother's name was said with some frustration as the fallen angel looked irritated by just talking about it.
But the face that Xenovia was making, the face of someone close to an uncomfortable truth that would shatter her world, kept him going.
"I will tell you why; It is because when the dust settled down and we fished most of our men from the ocean, Azazel was the only real leader remaining for the Three Factions." Kokabiel chuckled bitterly. "Unlike Heaven that lost its leadership or the Underworld who lost that and their main fighters, we still had everything!" The last part was a shout of rage, all joy the man had gone to give space to a bitter poison. "And what does our 'righteous' leader do? He stops everything and says 'fight is over, let's go home'." Kokabiel spits to the side in distast. "We won. We won and he threw our victory away!"
After a few seconds the fallen angel calmed down and turned to look at Xenovia again. He could see she was believing him, logic wearing down the barriers of her faith.
"Ask yourself this; why wasn't Father the one who declared the ceasefire? Why aren't there more angels flying around like in the old days? Because Father isn't around to make more." Kokabiel could tell that Xenovia hadn't met many angels in her life, at least not those with white wings. Then he pointed at Freed, more precisely, the sword on the Mad Exorcist's hands. "Or why when Azazel declared it and many of the weapons of the Great War were decommissioned, 'Excalibur' Fragments remained divided?"
This was a tale that Xenovia heard more than one time, read about a dozen and her guardian repeated once she received her present mission. "Because humans were supposed to restore it… Because until then it should be used to protect us… Because… " But for the first time she saw the flaws in the story she was told.
"The ceasefire wouldn't permit it, after all it is a sword poisonous for both us and devils." Kokabiel wasn't giving her any new information, just helping her connect the dots. And that was worse because with her eyes open, Xenovia couldn't find room to disagree. "Had Father still been around and the peace was real instead of this farce of a ceasefire then the sword would be whole again, as a show of good faith."
"But you are still dangerous-"
"We had already won." Kokabiel cut Xenovia off again."I am alive, Azazel is alive, Baraqiel, Penume and many others! We had the number, the power and all other advantages you could think of." Opening his wings proudly, Kokabiel declared loudly "We fallen angels are the true winners of the Great War! The only reason why any of you are still alive is because of our mercy! A mistake that I shall soon rectify!" Disbelief and doubt still plagued the blue haired Exorcist so Kokabiel dropped the last nail in the coffin. "Michael is your god, Xenovia Quarta. He has been occupying the Throne of Heaven and playing pretend over the last century. That is why there are no more new angels and no more miracles. And the best part? He even ordered the excommunication and death of everyone that could prove otherwise. Executors and Exorcists, like yourself, killing them in droves." He pointed at Asia who had a look of utter despair on her face. "Like the former nun overthere."
Xenovia felt her knees grow weak as she fell, the realization of the truth making her sick. 'All those people that I- Why, why didn't Griselda tell me?' She wasn't the only one facing an existential crisis as Irina dropped her sword and also fell to her knees. 'Was it all… for a lie?'
"Asia, Asia!" Ise and other devils called the former nun but the Bishop was unresponsive due to shock.
She realized that she wasn't banished from the Church due to a mistake but to perpetuate a lie. Suddenly Asia saw all her suffering and how it was unnecessary but recovered quickly. "I am… I am fine, Issei-san."
Rias' hand touched her Bishop's shoulder gently and shook her head. Every member of the ORC saw through the lie but when Asia turned to look at Irina, everyone followed her gaze and saw how the Exorcist's reaction was much worse.
The chestnut haired girl was in tears, her hands supporting her but she just wanted to lie down and forget about the world. She also looked sick and ready to puke at any second, practically begging the earth to open and swallow her whole.
Ise saw his childhood friend's state and tried to leave Medusa's boundary field only for his body to burn before he jumped back. Sanctuary stopped him from giving her any solace.
Xenovia was no different as the weight of all her actions, the actions she saw before as being made in the name of God, suddenly fell on her shoulders.
'A lie… it was all a lie.' Xenovia wanted to cry and fall dead as every action she made, every decision that she took since young was because of her love for God, a duty she took with gusto with the thought that she was making His work easier with all her sacrifices.
All the hours of training, every battle, every action that she took since she became a teenager was for Him. She grew up to fight for Him and every time she prayed in thanks she sincerely felt He was there hearing her. Even if she never met him or if His angels never paid a visit, she never lost her faith.
Perhaps that was what made things worse as her faith turned to doubt as fact after fact hit her and even if some parts of Kokabiel story didn't add up there was enough there to show he was right.
'God is dead. He has been dead since before I was born.' Xenovia now knew all her prayers were never heard.
"Where did you say you guys fought again?" Shirou suddenly asked, stepping in front of Xenovia to take Kokabiel's attention away while protecting her from Freed. "You never gave it a name."
Once more Kokabiel looked at Shirou curiously. "A town of no importance. Not that it matters as that section of the continent doesn't exist anymore."
"So it was a minor town, without any real strategic value?" That was doubtful to Shirou considering how big the battle was.
"The town itself was unimportant. The land however was another case." Kokabiel stopped for a moment to think as it was a subject he hadn't thought about for centuries. "There was a tomb there that housed, or was supposed to house, a Holy Relic of extreme power. Certainly enough that there was an alarm around the place. The town was only a casualty."
Despite how much he didn't want to, Shirou directed his full attention towards Kokabiel, hoping that the fallen angel's interest would hold Freed back. "Let me get this straight, the town was never a target and just got into the middle of the crossfire? And God still decided to show up?" That question caught some people's attention. "Aren't you trying to mislead us here?"
"I haven't lied once today." Kokabiel sounded offended and amused at once. "That town was not important and even if it was, the facts won't change. Father showed up and died-"