A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 7: Come out (Patreon)

Beta read by Fluffy Slayer and Paragon of Awesomeness

Longer chapter, though every chapter for this story has been well beyond +5k words so I guess it's the usual.

Next update: Broly

Edit: Beta read with more edits coming in the future.

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-Kuoh-



"Haa… today sucked."



Lately, Issei couldn’t stop repeating the same phrase over and over again. It all started on the day he discovered that his girlfriend was actually a Fallen Angel, sent to kill him for his unique gift. The girl he had grown to love in less than a day had been deceiving him all along… pretending to like him while hiding her true intentions.



And then, just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, a white-haired bastard appeared out of nowhere and hammered his girlfriend to the ground, leaving Issei helpless to do anything but watch in horror.



"..."



"That sounded weird." 



His previous statement needed some rephrasing: Yuuma was pretty much beaten to a pulp by the guy. Even though she was on the verge of killing him, Issei couldn't bear to watch and pleaded with the guy known as Archer to stop. Somehow it worked and she escaped… But did Issei regret his action? He couldn’t say for sure.



As if summoned by magic, a stunning woman emerged from a red magic circle thingy, known throughout  the school as one of the revered Onee-samas. Her luscious crimson hair and curvaceous body was quite infamous, leaving an impression on  every single hormone-fueled teenager who laid eyes on her — including himself. She offered  him a chance to become a Devil, promising a harem of busty girls in return. Despite Archer’s words, Issei remained reluctant to give the guy any credit after getting humiliated in class that morning by a piece of chalk.



But the offer… was too tempting to refuse.



Yet something went wrong and he was told to wait for a bit. 



"Just what is her relationship with that guy?" She had mentioned him being a Servant, which was akin to a ghost hero. But what Issei really wanted to know was how close they were, the way he called her 'Master' reminded him of the  scanty scenes from Matsuda's BDSM porn collection. "No! No way is Rias-senpai that lewd, it's probably a name thing." 



He still wanted to touch her boobs and refused  to entertain the thought that his objective was impossible. 



Flap!



The familiar sound of wings flapping reached his ears, but there were no birds or crows in sight, yet he heard it coming from somewhere close by. A chill ran up his spine, a sense of danger washing over him.



"I feel like someone’s been watching me for a while now." The once familiar streets now seemed shrouded in a dreadful and mysterious atmosphere. His body trembled as he heard footsteps approaching from behind.



He turned around.



Issei could feel his body tense up as he realized the source of the flapping sound was a person, a large man wearing a trench coat who glared at him fiercely for no particular reason. Issei couldn’t help but freeze as he looked into the man’s eyes.



Wasn't this what they called killing intent? But why was this man looking at him like that, to begin with!? Issei wondered, trying to shake off the feeling of dread that was building up inside him. 



The man's hostile aura was palpable and as he  walked closer towards him silently, Issei couldn't help but fear the worst. Was he a supernatural person? A serial killer? Or is it worse… a rapist who liked handsome boys like him!



"This is bad! Why did I have to run into some dangerous guy on my way home!?"



“You were surprisingly easy to find,” the man said, causing Issei's heart to race. “Raynare said you would be protected by the Devils, but I didn't expect them to let go of their pet like this… It’s likely you're already one of them.” 


Issei backed away, feeling sweat cover his back as the memories of Yuuma resurfaced in his mind. 



The man emitting a perverted aura started to walk towards me.



“Trying to run away? Who is your Master? There are only two of them here, not that it matters in the end. But then again, you could easily belong to another… so answer my question. Oh, and tell us where this white-haired man who wields the dao swords is." The man demanded in an icy tone.



Issei didn’t know how to respond nor did he plan to speak even if he had any answers. He turned around and sprinted across the dark streets of Kuoh, hearing more flapping sounds ahead  before a pink flash caught his eyes.



"Shit!" Issei jumped aside just in time to dodge a pink spear that resembled a straight pole handle with the head having two-layered points, causing a hole to appear on the road and pebbles to fly everywhere, almost hitting him. 



As he caught his breath, a mocking voice came from the sky. "Hahahah! What kind of lame dodge was that? So ugly!" A young girl sat on another pink spear, wearing a gothic dress with messy blonde hair tied in a twin tail — she looked to be around the same age as Koneko. "Can't believe Raynare failed to kill him, he's so pathetic. Don't you think so, Dohnaseek?"



Issei winced as he heard those words cut through him like butter. Dazed, he took a step back before freezing as he remembered the presence behind him. The nauseating feeling of impending danger grew until even his legs shook uncontrollably.



"She mentioned a man in red, wielding both a bow and sword. He was obviously protecting the boy, perhaps being part of a peerage — a Knight most likely, the man said to the little girl beside him. “Raynare has truly grown weak if she couldn't handle one person. Mittelt, has Kalawarna reported any approaching Devils or enemies?" 



"Nope, the coast is clear. Hurry up and kill him so we can get this over with."



Was he truly going to die here? Issei pressed his back against the wall, with no escape route in sight. He had just escaped death not that long ago and it seemed like these people really wanted him dead. 



The man approached, raising his arm up where another light spear appeared. Now that he was closer, Issei could see how, unlike Raynare's jagged and crooked red spear, this one was much smoother and normal looking in a way. 



"Honestly, I would have preferred if you were accompanied with the Knight then all three of us could have taken him out with ease. No, just two of us would have sufficed." The arrogance that dripped from his voice was not lost on Issei. He didn't know how strong Archer was nor how dangerous these people were… but in the end, none of that mattered as he was the one in danger right now!



Donhaseek came closer and raised his spear right above Issei's head. 



"Goodbye kid, I'll make it painless and quick."



In desperation and fear, Issei closed his eyes.



Schrk!



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"Kyah!"



Thud!



"Aaaaahh!" 



A loud guttural scream came from the streets followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. "Huh?"  Issei opened his eyes to find the Fallen Angel holding his arms with a face contorted with pain — which is hand nowhere to be seen. 



His eyes trailed below where he found a pair of hands still holding onto a light spear. Blood gushed from the stump, some of it splattering on Issei's face which made his stomach turn. His face turned pale then green from the sight and iron scent in the air. 



But that was not where the sound of something falling came from, behind the man was the lolita girl from earlier, struggling to stand with both her wings and legs pierced with some kind of arrows.



"Honestly, this is the second time. Just how bad is your luck, kid?" 



{Break}



Archer didn't intervene immediately when he saw the Fallen Angels in the distance. All three of them spotted Issei and were making their way toward him with haste. The third one, a woman with purple hair and a tight leather suit, decided to remain behind and survey the area while the other two went to Issei. 



The boy didn't notice their presence until one of them landed near him. At that moment, it was too late and impossible for him to hide or even run away really. The other side of the road was blocked by a young-looking girl with blonde hair.



From their conversation, it appeared as if they were hoping to ambush him and merely used Issei as bait. Archer wanted to call them fools but couldn't as the plan worked after all, given how he now stood right in the middle of the road after having shot the blonde Fallen Angel — Mittelt — so that she wouldn't be able to escape and like his last target. Granted that ok me was mostly due to Issei's interference and his Master gave him an order. If it weren't so, then Raynare would have died.



"Honestly, this is the second time. Just how bad is your luck, kid?" 



Having his Master force him to rescue a young naïve teenage boy seemed to become a regular occurrence in his life as a Servant. Was this a curse? 



"Y-You! Fucking Dev—Gah!" Donhaseek tried to fly away, but Archer was faster than him. With a single slash from Bakuya, he mercilessly cut through the Fallen's wings, making the man cry louder as he fell to the ground. 



Issei was still in shock, which was good. Archer made a mistake by not killing Raynare quickly last time and had both the boy and Rias interfere at the last second. Now… now he wouldn't give either of them such a chance. Barely a few seconds passed by since he shot his first arrow and rushed here, Tracing Kanshou in his left hand — Archer rotated his body faster than anyone could react and cut through Donhaseek's neck. 



In the split second as his blade was halfway through his target's neck, Archer saw the despair and regret flash before the man's eyes. Knowing that he was done for with no chance of survival, Donhaseek could only beg to plead through his gaze. Unable to even utter a sound with his windpipe having already been severed. 



"Humph," he scoffed, wanting to mock the Fallen Angel for his foolish actions and so-called ambush which didn't even look like it had any plan behind it. 



Did he feel sorrow? No, maybe the entity known as Emiya Shirou would have been abhorred by such a sigh but the current Archer had already forgotten the man's name before his head even touched the blood-splattered ground. 



Fwish! 



In an instant, he appeared right next to Mittelt, "A-Ahh-AHHHHH!" She screeched with terror, her current appearance making it look like he was about to kill a young child. Something that even Issei noticed. 



Archer saw the boy trying to raise his hands and voice, probably wanting to stop him before he could do anything else.



"Fool… I only need one of them alive." 



Even now, Issei desired to spare these people, something the Heroic couldn't help but sigh at. But maybe not out of the need to save them, but rather to stop Archer from another gruesome action that seemed like it shook his soul. 



"Wa—"



He couldn't even say a word before Bakuya pierced the girl's face and sliced right through her skull. Her hands which tried to block the attack stopped midway before falling limp to the ground. 



"—!"



Confusion, fear, anger, shock, and disgust, all of these emotions crowded Issei's face. He was hyperventilating looking at Archer with a hazy stare before he fell unconscious. 



"... I expected more from these people. Are Fallen Angels truly this weak?" Rias mentioned how they were ranked differently powerwise depending on the number of wings. A single pair being the weakest and twelve wings representing the pinnacle existence known as Seraphims — an existence below that of the biblical god itself.



'Is everything okay, Archer?' Rias spoke through their connection. 



'See for yourself, I took care of the Fallen Angels that were after the boy, but it seemed like the sight was too much for him and he fainted. I'm failing to see how he has a Sacred Gear inside of him when even after two near-death encounters he still hasn't unlocked anything.' Akeno and Kiba helped him understand more of these Sacred Gears and the circumstances under which they could be manifested under. There were many different types of awakening but the most common one was when their lives were in danger. Yet Issei went through such scenarios twice and nothing happened. 



'Ah… a bit brutal don't you think so, Archer?' Rias mentioned after watching the scene through his eyes. 



'Brutal yes, but I prefer calling it efficient, Master.'



'This… this is a dangerous case. If there is a chance that they were indeed from Grigori then—' 



'Rest assured, you are in the right this time.' Archer cut her off, acknowledging that she was taking the right action at playing it safe but realized that such things couldn't be left alone. 'You gave them a chance during the first encounter with Raynare, I even mentioned Hyoudou Issei's connection to the house of Gremory. They themselves asked him if he belonged to the Sitri or Gremory.'



'They could have seen Issei as a possible stray.'



Again, he denied that possibility.



'Unlikely, firstly, he's a human being without an ounce of Devil magic on him and secondly, we wouldn't be protecting a Stray in the first place wouldn't we? I understand your concern, but you must realize that these people didn't come with the purest of intentions. You even admitted their status as Rogue Fallens previously, Master.'



He heard Rias sigh, 'Right, that's true. I'm just worried about making a mistake and paying for it later on.' 



He gazed at the spot where the third Fallen was located and found it to be empty. Archer didn't panic as he knew which direction she flew off to and knew he could catch her quickly. 'I should catch up to the last Fallen, she could serve as an ideal informant and reveal their secret plan. What should I do with the boy?'



'Hm, don't worry about him, I'll have Kiba grab him and bring his body back to his house and he'll also get rid of the bodies. Be careful, Archer.'



With that said, the Servant disappeared from his spot, rushing straight to the west where the blue-haired woman escaped to.



…



"What was that!?" 



Flying above the city of Kuoh, Kalawarna was panicking from what she just witnessed. 



It was supposed to be a simple plan, scout the human and use him as bait to have the possible Gremory Knight appear and kill both of them in one fell swoop. If Raynare on her own couldn't kill him then surely all three of them would be more than enough.



But in the end, it all ended in a complete massacre in a matter of seconds. She blinked once and both Donhaseek and Mittlet died. The former with his head gone and the latter having a sword embedded inside her face. He was a Knight alright, they were known for their freakish speed.



"A sick monster… that bitch lied to us!"



Raynare said that he mostly won by ambushing her with a power right around her level. Stating how in the next encounter she was going to tear his hands and disembowel him with his own swords.



"Raynare is nowhere near his level!" How did she even survive an encounter with that guy? "Not important, I need to go back and force Raynare to abandon this whole operation. It's too dange-Ah!" A searing pain came from her left wing, she watched in horror as the same arrow that attacked Mittlet had pierced her as well.



He caught up to her!



Unable to fly any longer, Kalawarna lost control and descended right in the direction of the city below. In a last ditch attempt, she tried to maneuver herself to the side where there was the start of the forest. 



Crash!



The trees helped her to cushion the fall but not by that much. Kalawarna's body was riddled with bruises and cuts, her Fallen constitution keeping the woman alive from such a fall. With a splitting headache and ringing ears, she tried to crawl away slowly, wanting to escape her pursuer before it was too late. The impending feeling of doom and death spiked when she heard the sound of footsteps near her. 



Her head robotically turned just in time to see a pair of silver eyes watching her quietly. It didn't show any emotions like contempt, anger, or even disgust from what she expected from a Devil. His white hair blended perfectly with the Moon behind him, creating a more chilling image in her heart. 


Nevertheless, only one thought floated inside her head, "D-Don't, k-kill me… please." 



She pleaded to a Devil, a humiliation that would haunt her for centuries. But at least that was better than getting viciously murdered like the last two. 



"Even after falling for a few hundred meters you still survived. I must say, you creatures are quite sturdy." He spoke calmly, further freaking her out as she couldn't figure out what he would do next. "Figure I would be quite flattered for you to have a three versus one battle, guess I left an impression on Raynare." 



"..." 



Kalawarna didn't know what to say, she was terrified of this man before her and couldn't find it in herself to even speak. 



"Aside from you and Raynare, how many more of your kind are hidden in the city?" He asked, blocking the path she was crawling too. "If you answer my question then I'll keep you alive. If you don't, then there's no need for such a thing and I'll end things right here and now." 



"N-No no! I'll talk! I-I'll talk!" She gathered herself, taking a deep breath to stabilize her state as she continued to suffer from the pain. With gritted teeth, she started talking. "T-there's only Raynare and me remaining, the rest are… dead." She couldn't even look him in the eye, afraid to find a murderous stare that would seal her fate. 



He continued to ask another question, "Why did Raynare try to kill Issei in the first place? No matter how much I think about it, there's no benefit to killing aside from creating more trouble for your group. Meaning that someone must have ordered you to do this, who's behind all this? Or better yet, what's your primary goal in Kuoh?" 



Kalawarna was shaking, unable to provide an answer. She was merely a grunt who worked under the direct orders of Raynare who barely mentioned anything about the need to kill that kid. "I-I don't know, we were just told to wait for s-someone's arrival. As for the reason for killing the human, that was all Raynare's decision! I h-had nothing to do with it!" 



Raising his eyebrow, Archer sighed. "That's all you can tell? Then there is no reason to keep you alive…"



Panic flooded her body as she moved hastily and grabbed onto his leg, "W-Wait! I know other things! I've been with Grigori for centuries! I know many secrets and information about Azazel and the higher-ups! A-And I'm even good at physical activities, I'll even let you use my bod—"



She couldn't finish her phrase before the soles of a boot filled her vision.



Bang!



The last remaining thought in her head before losing consciousness was how she wished to bash Raynare's head against a wall for his idiocy.  



{Break}



"Their wings seem to be a major weakness, quite sensitive to damage and attacks. Perhaps this is the case with less powerful entities but something to keep in mind." Archer kneeled near Kalawana, checking for any signs that she was faking it, and found none. Her wounds weren't grievous and she suffered from minor bone fractures in her legs. "I'll ask her about their hideout soon after bringing her back. But if I had to take a guess from the path they came from and the direction Raynare flew off to last time, then it's most likely that abandoned church near the outskirts of the city." During his time in Kuoh, Archer had long since memorized the layout and sorted out every possible location where enemies could hide at. Empty locations like warehouses and abandoned buildings were all taken into account.



A habit he gained from his past experience as both a Servant and a Counter Guardian. Though in most cases he would get the general knowledge from the Grail and would mostly focus on the details — though when he first arrived such detailed information wasn't given to him.



He projected a chain and made sure to tie up the woman's hands and legs. There was no reason to do the same with her wings as it was shown they could easily dismiss them at any moment. 



Just as he was about to pick her up and bring her back to the Occult Research Club, Archer stopped in his tracks. 



"Hn?" 



He looked around, his hawk-like eyes watching his surroundings as if trying to spot something or someone. The many eons he spent as a Counter Guardian allowed him to hone his senses well beyond what his past self could ever achieve in a lifetime. His Mind's Eye never failed him in the past, allowing the Servant to temporarily keep up with beings far superior to himself, like certain Demigods. A talent he honed to foresee and sense danger like a sixth sense of his which enabled him to avoid many kinds of dangers. 



"Who's there?" 



In the darkness of the night where the only source of light was the Moon itself, Archer felt a disturbance in the air… as if he was being watched by an entity. The grasp around his bow tightened, and his muscles tensed as this feeling grew the longer he observed.



"I know you're there, why don't you just come out so that we may have a chat?" Unable to identify whether it was a human or probably another Fallen Angel, Archer kept his guard up regardless. "If you don't appear right now, then I'll force you to come out. Take it as common courtesy to greet the person you're stalking, I'm rather displeased at such actions so you must know that I won't use mere words to bring you out. This is my first and last warning." 



"..."



Again, silence reigned in the forest with not even the sound of insects. With an arrow in his hands, Archer pulled the string to the bow and looked around. 



"Then so be it."



With great speed, he aimed for the furthest tree, hidden within the fauna and flora of the area, it was quite an unsuspecting plant that no one would even give a second glance — but he fired at it regardless. 



The arrow was strong enough to tear through steel, so it should destroy the tree's trunk. But that didn't happen…



Bang! 



Before it could reach the trunk, a blue film of energy surrounded the tree and effortlessly shattered the arrow into pieces. 



"Interesting, I did not expect for you to accurately spot my presence." There came an indifferent voice of a woman, breaking the illusion and calmly walking out as a person wearing a maid outfit of all things. With silver hair and red eyes, she was most definitely a Devil just from what he felt a moment ago. Her posture was firm and perfect, not showing the least bit of imperfection whatsoever. 



His senses screamed at him to be careful of this woman. It never gave such a reaction with the Fallen Angels but with her, it wouldn't stop. 



"Our stalker has finally come out, an interesting choice of clothes I must say, makes me more curious of your identity, miss prowler. Who are you?" Archer asked calmly, even bringing out a smirk as he threw small jabs, wondering if she was an enemy from clan or the mastermind behind the Fallen Angels causing problems for Gremory and Sitri heir. 



"..."



"Not a person of many words I see, let me guess, an Ice Queen? So scary, I'm shivering in my boots. Or are you a comedian here to waste my time and have your minions ambush me? How cowardly and fitting for a Devil." Her eyebrows twitched from his words, but she didn't didn't show any other emotions on her face.



"May I ask how you detected my presence? I was certain that my cover was perfect." Through patience, she ignored his past comments and questioned him.



"None of your business. Your innate capacity for acting so cold is impressive. Are you trying to intimidate me?" 



"..." 



Her eyes narrowed at his response, obviously displeased by it. Then she observed the bow and arrow he was holding. "Interesting magic, it resembles Sword Birth quite a bit, perhaps even Blade Blacksmith."



She saw his battle against the Fallens.



Archer clicked his tongue, how did she know he would be present there? Maybe she expected to see him appear when Hyoudou Issei was in danger? 



The man continued to speak, feeling the tension rise with each passing second. "Oh, comparing my magic to Sacred Gears — a waste of time and purpose. Are you an enemy?" The possibility that a Devil working with Fallen Angels would have been very absurd to many, but not a possibility he would ignore. The world was vast and there were many kinds of people who would work with the Devil just to further their own goal and no, he didn't fail to realize the irony in his words 



"And what if I am? It all depends on you." Her Devil magic began to leak, just a tiny sliver of it far surpassing anything he had seen from Rias in the past. If that girl was an ant then this woman was an unmoving mountain where its peak could not be seen. It felt like he was facing a Caster class possible enemy with the amount of power she was showing. "I need you to answer a few of my questions. What is your connection with Ouroboros and what do you plan to do with the Gremory heir?" 



Honestly, Archer had absolutely no idea what she was talking about with this Ouroboros.



"Let me repeat my past words if you haven't heard them properly. None. Of. Your. Business. You Devils just don't know any manners, do you? I didn't even get a name, if you have nothing better to do then I advise you to leave the area and return to the cosplay party you came from." 



Her frown grew deeper, the emergence of killing intent made it obvious that she was going to strike at any moment.



"Then you'll force me to choose a more forceful option." She said coldly.



His following response came in the form of releasing his arrow once again. Unlike before, it flew at high speed, faster than a bullet which even surprised the silver haired woman who summoned another barrier around her body. The arrow shattered with a small explosion of fire and smoke which blinded her temporarily.



When the dust cleared, Archer was already upon her with his trusty dao swords in his hand. His second attack having both blades head right for her jugular. But she didn't panic, the blue Devil magic grew stronger and brighter till the entire area turned into a bright explosion of white light.



Boom!



{Break}



-Kuoh Academy-



'... Be careful, Archer.' 



In the Occult Research Club, Rias silently sat in her chair with both eyes closed. From her connection to Archer, she could peer through his vision and see through his eyes. An ability that required a lot of concentration on her part but something he mentioned would grow easier with proactive 



She didn't see the battle but the aftermath sure was bloody. Archer didn't hold back at taking out those two Fallen Angels. She doubted whether someone like Akeno would even gain any sort of pleasure from such a sight. Not that she was willing to find out, her Queen was quite… unique and unpredictable with such things. Which was also why she decided to send Kiba for the clean up instead and to make sure Hyoudou Issei was brought back to his house. 



"Ara, did something happen, Buchou?" Akeno spoke, standing by her side with a tray of tea. Just from the smell she could guess Akeno changed her blend and method of making tea. She spent an entire hour in the kitchen testing new leaves and even went so far as to order different types of sugar and milk. The comment from Archer really ignited a large brazier inside her heart. 



Rias sipped the beverage, it was a tad bit sweeter than her previous tea and the more fragrant scent wise. It was an improvement but still failed to topple Archer's skills. "The Fallen Angels tried to attack Hyoudou Issei again, this time there were three of them with the intention to gang up on Archer. They failed, he killed two of them and is in pursuit of the third one." 



Akeno sneered, a hateful aura surrounding whenever the topic of Fallen Angels was brought up. Seeing her usually cheerful Queen lose her smile made Rias silently shake her head. The tragedy of the past involving her mother and father still remained deeply ingrained within Akeno's heart. 



The redhead tried her best to give Akeno a happy life and provide the girl anything she would have ever wanted with the entirety of the Gremory fortune at her back and calling. Yet that barely helped in healing her wounds, Akeno still despised that side of hers along with her father and the species as a whole. 



'There's nothing I can do about what has already happened aside from doing my best as her King.'



"He should kill them all." She said, pouring a cup of tea for Koneko. "We don't have any use for them, they're better off gone."



"You're being too cruel, Akeno. Though I can understand eliminating such threats to be logical, we still need to know their purpose in Kuoh and question whoever is behind this — if there is someone. Of course, after we gather all the information then we can dispose of them, I doubt the Grigori will say anything." Archer's words calmed her worries, this was her territory and if she acted too careful and passive then people would take advantage of her. But she also couldn't act recklessly and be caught off guard, there needed to be a balance. 



Knock 



Knock



"Come in," Rias said, having an idea of who it might be. The large Ebony door opened with two beautiful bespectacled girls walking inside. At lead being none other than the heir to the Sitri clan, Sona and then her Queen, Tsubaki Shinra. Both known by the student population as the Students Council President and Vice President respectively. While Tsubaki had an extra title as the unofficial Onee-sama of the school. "Good evening, Sona, how's your day been?" She started off the conversation with some light questions. 



Sona sat across the table opposite to Rias while Tsubaki quietly joined Koneko on the sofa. Akeno, being mindful of their presence, already served them with both tea and biscuits before standing near Rias. 



"Haa… Not great I must say. I have been dealing with my potential future Pawn. So far, Saji Genshirou has shown the proper desire and capability to join my group but my request has been mostly ignored by Kiyome Abe."



Oh, Rias remembered the girl. Currently holding the position of captain in the tennis club. She was a blonde haired girl coming from a long line of beast tamers. So far, she maintained a clear distance with every Devil and made it apparent that she didn't want to get involved with their affairs and wanted to live a peaceful life of a highschool girl. A sentiment Rias shared and understood from her very core and could sympathize with. 



"I know about her, I believe we came to Kuoh around the same time. It's a shame that you couldn't convince her, better to drop the matter as of now and not deal with her family." 



Sona's glasses flashed with a menacing light, "Easy for you to say that. Aside Hyoudou Issei that you've taken for your group, there is also the inclusion of this familiar with whom I haven't been introduced yet." She helped Rias to uncover forgotten knowledge about a magic and ritual that had been long forgotten and covered with dust from the passage of time. The least the redhead could do was to show who or what she got from this event. Given how relaxed Rias looked lately and annoyingly pleased with herself — it was easy for Sona to guess that it must have been someone or something powerful. 



Rias had a sly smile on her face while Akeno giggled, hiding half of her face with the tray. 



"Ara Ara, I thought Kaichou already met our mysterious familiar, fufufufu~" 



"Yes, I'm honestly surprised, weren't you in charge of going through the paperwork I left you last week?" 



Sona frowned, deep in thought as she was going through each of their words. Last week was quite hectic for her, being swarmed by clubs' requests and dealing with the antics relating to the Perverted Trio forced her to split the usual workload with other members and staff. Oh, she remembered Rias talking about a new teacher she wanted to appoint to the school, a rather unique request from the redhead but she had completely forgotten about it soon after. 



"Wait," realization slowly dawned on her face. "This new teacher is your familiar!?" She exclaimed loudly, catching Tsubaki's attention as the girl was following the conversation closely. A familiar as a teacher? That certainly wasn't something one would hear every day.



"Indeed," Rias said calmly, enjoying the astonished face coming from her long-time rival. Bringing out such a reaction from her friend/rival was always a pleasant experience. Sona was a tough person to fluster but when she could crack through her strict persona then what awaited her was pure entertainment. 



"What!? How!? How could a human be a familiar!?" She exclaimed out loud, banging her hands against the wooden desk which Rias ignored as she continued to enjoy the scene. 



"Well~♪ He's no longer a human from his own words and he's called a Servant." 



"Explain." Sona demanded, not willing to leave the club until Rias hadn't given her every single detail. 



Lowering her cup to the desk, Rias positioned herself first before explaining the basics of what Archer told her while keeping the details which would be detrimental to her to the side. For the command seals she only mentioned that it represented the connection between Master and Servant and also keeping her mouth shut about Archer's magecraft — only mentioning that he was powerful enough to easily take down a Fallen like Raynare with minimum effort. Oh, and she also changed the fact that technically more Servants could be summoned with the ritual as this was a way to keep herself ahead of the game. Mentioning how only a single Servant could be called forth and anything else was impossible. Sona was her friend, but she wouldn't hand her such a potentially powerful ally so easily so soon. 



She must have made a copy of the ritual as she helped her throughout the process and their research, so Rias wanted to fool her and delay this possible second summoning as much as possible.



A dirty tactic but Rias never said she played a fair game against her rival.



Sona's complection grew pale, showing a myriad of emotions from surprise, jealousy, wonder and finally disbelief. A similar case was shared with Tsubaki in the background. 



The Sitri heiress shakily brought her finger while pointing at Rias. With a large amount of effort going into keeping herself from flying off her chair. "Y-Y-You summoned a-a ghost of a heroic warrior of the past from another world as your Servant? The same kind of figure like Okita Souji and with the ability of a Queen without having any Evil Pieces inside him?" Pride swelled within the Gremory heiress's heart the more Sona reacted like that. "A-A-And on top of all that, y-you had him become your personal butler then a teacher of all things!?" 



"And a kitchen thief who has no taste in fine cooking." Akeno whispered from behind with a pout, unwilling to let go of Archer's previous comments on her tea making and his action of stealing everyone away with his cooking. Now even she struggled to eat her own dishes with how they tasted mediocre to her violated tastebud — all because of that hateful man. 



"Indeed, he's quite the catch don't you think so?" Rias said with a grin.



"Oh, and he also became Buchou's personal body pillow."



"Akeno! You didn't need to say that!" The grin in Rias' face disappeared and was now replaced with a blush. She would have preferred if that tidbit remained hidden.



Sona supported her head with her hands, processing the unbelievable information she received just now. Putting aside the fact that there existed a magic spell which could summon and contract basically people who've died from another world as one's Servant blew her mind and everything she understood so far. Not to mention, just how unfair was this world? Just when she believed she was having a lead in their competition then Rias came flying right past her and now threatened to create a large gap between them. Not to mention since this Archer fellow counted as a familiar then he could participate in Rating Games while Rias could continue to add more Peerage members to her roster. 



This was so unfair!



"Don't smirk like that just because you think you've gotten an advantage over me." Sona grumbled, feeling her veins throb at Rias' smug expression. 



"Oh but I do feel that I've taken the lead as of this moment, Sona. You can't blame me for my fortune as that would be too low for even you." 



"Humph!" Not trusting her emotions from flaring up further, she got up from her seat and went right for the door. "Let's go, Tsubaki. We have lots to work on, and call Saji Genshirou to the Student Council room on Monday, I feel he had enough time to think about my offer." 



"Understood, Kaichou."



The heterochromatic eyed Queen followed her King while bidding farewell to everyone else in the room. She was a bit sad that Kiba wasn't present but there was always another time. 



The door closed loudly, leaving the room quiet before both Rias and Akeno started giggling. 



"Did you see her face? I never thought she would become like that unless her sister wasn't coming to pay a visit." Akeno said, relishing the experience just now. 



"Fufufu~! It is fun to see Sona break apart like that. Though now she's going to probably approach Archer herself or call him to the Council and start questioning him. Probably ask whether the pact can be annulled and if he's willing to become her Servant." 



The raven haired Queen was astonished by those words. "No way… you really think she would do such a thing?" 



Rias nodded, "At first it'll only be her searching for an answer, she won't do anything now with the matters concerning my… you know what." Her mood dimmed when thinking about that particular case. "But after that problem is resolved, I have no doubt she'll try to lure him to her side. I don't blame her, I would have done the same." Very few people in the world knew Sona more than her. 



"Aren't you worried Archer will accept, Buchou?" This time, Koneko spoke. A trace of worry flashing within her eyes. She didn't want to see him go.



"Don't worry, Archer would never do such a thing. There is nothing to even suggest the pact could be broken and remade with another Master." She knew it hadn't been that long, but Rias believed that she had a good grasp on Archer's personality and morals.



As they continued to discuss matters concerning Sona and Archer, the room suddenly shook violently.



Boom!



From a distance, they all heard an explosion and felt a huge wave of energy wash over them. 



"It's coming from the forest." Koneko said, getting near her King just in case something happened. "A battle… powerful and dangerous… familiar feeling." She recognised the energy signature from somewhere but couldn't remember.



"Wait, could this be…" an uneasy emotion settled in her heart. She hastily grasped the connection within herself and tried to talk to her Servant.



'Archer! Is everything okay? Did something happen? Quick, say something!?' 



He wasn't answering! Why!? An enemy attack? A trap? Terrible thoughts began to riddle her mind as she was starting to reach horrifying conclusions. In her shaken state, Rias was unable to peer through Archer's vision as she needed to concentrate heavily for that. As she was about to contemplate using her command seals to teleport him back to the room — she finally heard his voice inside her head.



'Sorry for the delay, Master. I'm just having trouble dealing with a silver-haired stalker with a maid costume fetish.'



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"Wait, what!?"