A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 8: Grayfia (Patreon)

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

Also will be updating Toloveru, snafu ch. 81 and chapter 7 of Fake Familiar with the beta read versions in a second. Also nanoha chapter 2 will be uploaded to fanfic in about 10-15 minutes.

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-Kuoh-


Devils were weird creatures in this world, coupled with a magic system he still hadn't grasped the full concept behind, made him very cautious of strong foes in general.


At least, more paranoid than his usual self.


Just the Evil Piece system broke many expectations he had along with their ability to not only grant specific powers to a certain piece; such a case pertaining to Knights having greater speed and Rooks holding greater strength and durability. Yet a measly Pawn could potentially achieve the power of a Queen by just reaching enemy territory and getting permission from their King from what Yuuto mentioned. How did that even work? Were the Pawn pieces made with the same capabilities of every piece but with many restrictions? 


That was just a tip of the iceberg. 


The real mind boggling knowledge came from the idea that Devil magic was heavily linked with desire and imagination. Though there were still some limits, that alone made him quite wary of any powerful Devil opponent. 


Which was why he didn't hesitate to attack this maid who came out of nowhere. 


Normally, Archer would have tried everything to avoid a full on conflict while trying to buy as much time as possible to think up a plan of attack. But this case was different, the moment she emerged from the shadows a terrible chill spread across his skin, the same sensation when he knew that someone had hostile intentions towards him. 


She was going to attack no matter what he did, so that was why he took the initiative to deliver the first blow to capitalize on the element of surprise. 


Bang! 


Yet she still managed to cause an explosion powerful enough to push him back several meters. "Argh!" His back broke through a few tree trunks before it stopped and he ended up with torn sleeves, though no damage to his body yet. 


He looked to the side and saw Kalawarner's unconscious body hanging on a branch, if left undistributed she wouldn't fall or suffer any injuries from stray attacks — he didn't need her alive but it was a preferable option. 


"You still haven't answered my previous questions." Grayfia said while emerging unscathed with the same prim and proper posture. "I'm giving you a chance for this to end peacefully without having you get hurt too much." 


"Heh, quite an arrogant claim on your end don't you think?" He said, rolling his shoulders, not intimidated in the least. "You say that but I doubt you're truly going to stop. No matter what answer I give you, something tells me you're going to twist them in a way to make me look like a villain. Or you're just not going to believe me in the first place, so why bother? Still, you haven't even told me your identity and because of that, I take it you're an enemy here to fish for information, and as you can imagine, I can't have you do that." 


The woman frowned, her powers flared with a mesmerizing blue glow around her body, the leaves swaying and the dust rising in the air. 


"Under the orders of my master, I, Grayfia, will then force the answers out of your mouth." With that said, she waved her hand with dozens of magic circles forming behind her and firing shots of condensed silver magic that shot straight for him with blinding speed. 


'A Caster-like opponent, she doesn't strike me as a close quarters combatant with her apparel and maid accessories. But I could be wrong, she could switch at any moment to a polearm weapon for all I know.' With Kanshou and Bakuya gripped firmly in his hand, Archer with a single swipe cut through two of the orb attacks. 


With the dao swords, Archer's magical and physical resistance increased, the former by a few grades. Allowing him to easily slice through such magic attacks with ease, though taking a direct hit would still hurt him and it was best to avoid them. 


'If I use my bow right now then it might work to her favor as she's a long range fighter. But if I keep applying pressure with close combat, I can throw her off and break her guard. If she proves to be equally capable at close range then I'll opt for the bow and bombard her with a few Rank B and A Noble Phantasms.' 


With a plan in mind, Archer pushed against the ground and moved faster than the human eye could see before repeating his previous move and appearing straight in front of Grayfia with Kanshou already halfway to her torso. 


The maid summoned another field of magic that acted as a shield to block the attack.


Clang!


Sparks flew everywhere, with a small shockwave ruffling Grayfia's silver hair as she gazed at Archer with a cold stare. 


"Your attack didn't work last time, what gives you the idea it'll be any different now?" 


Her answer was met with a smirk, "Did you forget what happened a few seconds ago?" The sound of glass cracking came from her defensive spell, the maid watched as the swords that previously barely made any damage smoothly cut through the blueish silver firm before nearly cutting Grayfia if she hadn't moved out of the way in time. 


'Fast, she can move around like that without using her wings is a testament to her overall speed. But it's a pointless endeavor against a Servant.' Archer rushed at Grayfia, using both Kanshou and Bakuya to keep applying pressure on her. Each strike aimed for her throat, legs, waist and hands. 


"Ha!" 


Whenever she tried to use a spell he would cut through the magic circle, rendering them useless. If she proceeded to create more distance between them then the Servant closed the distance within a split second and kept up his offensive approach. 


'She's an expert and knows how to keep up with my speed. And despite everything, I feel like she's still holding back.'


"Tch!" It seemed like his method started to frustrate the maid as she let go any attempts of using magic and sent a straight punch at Archer's face which he blocked by using the flat side of his blades. With a loud clang, he slid backwards with the sheer force behind the attack. 


'Surprisingly strong, and her form was excellent, she does have experience in close quarters combat and is just limiting herself to simple spell attacks. That punch didn't seem like it was powered by any type of reinforcement and could have been just her raw strength — which is quite impressive. I can't tell if she's a peerage Devil, if so then she's possibly a Bishop. But again, that last attack makes me lean towards a Queen. Though it is very possible that Devils can grow this strong without needing the help of an Evil Piece.'


"Your blades, they are not just normal swords." Grayfia said, now looking much worse than before. Despite not having any bruises or cuts on her body, the maid's clothes were ruined beyond measure. With numerous tears and cuts along her upper and lower body that showed a lot of skin. Though the biggest one was the slash in the middle where he attacked first. 


"I'm impressed you managed to notice that, even though it took you a while. It would have been a shame if you were having troubles against regular steel weapons." The sarcasm in his tone couldn't be any more obvious, unfortunately, his taunt did not seem to bother the woman as she calmly examined him from a distance. 


"Anti-magic properties? I have rarely seen a weapon like that aside from some past users of Blade Blacksmith and Sword Birth." This time, she didn't waste any more time to call for dozens of spells around her that acted as multiple layers of shield and even more magical attacks. "Is it perhaps a Sacred Gear? No magic should be capable of creating blades like that." 


"A Sacred Gear, Mystic Code, a regular sword enhanced by my own magic or even a mere construct — it could be any one of these and you'll just have to guess." 


"Do not be fooled by what happened so far, I gave you a chance and went easy on you until now. If you continue to persist then I'll have no choice but to get serious." Bat-like wings emerged from her back as she flew up into the sky, with more and more magic circles covering the space above until it illuminated the entire area. "I'm asking again, what is your relationship with Ouroboros and your plans with the Gremory heir?" 


Archer didn't answer her, market watching the scene with a hint of amusement. If Grayfia had worn a dark robe while holding a staff or twisted dagger, then this scene would have been no different than his fight against a certain Witch of a Caster. 


'Though even now I don't feel any killing intent coming from her, she obviously never planned to kill me or go into this fight seriously. Ouroboros… what does that have to do with me? And my plans with Rias… nothing for the moment. I was summoned as a Servant and so I plan to act accordingly until some unexpected scenarios occur in this world. Still too many unknown factors with my summoning here along with who or what created the Greater Grail to act as an anchor. Nevertheless, I should wrap things up now.'


"I guess I can answer one of your questions," his response intrigued the silver haired maid. "I am Rias Gremory's Servant, you only need to keep in mind that my sole purpose is to protect her against all threats. For better or for worse, the only way I can fail at my duty is either through my own death or the mysterious whimsical nature of Fate."


A glint flashed before her eyes, "So you'll protect her against anyone?" 


"That is part of the contract," Archer's mind flashed with hundreds of different swords, most of them nameless Noble Phantasms which he acquired throughout his journey as a Counter Guardian and his time as a Servant against many heroes. 


"Even if it's an opponent beyond your capabilities? An enemy who unquestionably has the power to kill you… will you still utter those same words then? You are fast and skilled with the blade, but nothing you've shown so far has impressed me in the slightest." 


'So the narrative changed from interrogating me to now measuring my skills? At this point I'm already starting to doubt her identity as an enemy and possibly someone looking after Rias. Good to know yet pointless, I'll just have to show her.'


He chuckled, something Grayfia picked up on. 


"What do you find so funny?" 


"Nothing that might interest you, except maybe one thing." With one move, he threw Kanshou and Bakuya at Grayfia, who responded by having the spells behind her activate and shoot a flurry of attacks while also deflecting the white Dao sword as it fell back to the ground near his feet while Kanshou flew past Grayfia who chose to dodge the sword. 


"Such attacks won't work on me, you can't seem to handle an airborne target." She said dryly. 


"Funny you should say that. How about this, let me tell you something, I'm called Archer." 


She tilted her head, having read Sirzechs report she naturally knew what his ‘name’ was. Though given during the entire fight, he mostly used swords against her and that made her a bit confused about the entire thing. A Servant of the bow who fought with swords, how contradictory. 


"I can't tell if you already knew it or not given your poker face, Ice Queen. But the fact of the matter is that I am indeed an archer first and foremost. My abilities to use swords can be considered as a bonus which compliments my style and helps out in sticky situations against certain enemies. I try to make a point of always thinking ahead of my enemies, to confuse them if possible. That is why they always get distracted by the abilities of my swords and my magic. Also, you should watch your back too, imbecile!"  


"—!" 


Her senses went awry, when moving to the side she was close enough to swerve in time a familiar dao sword she remembered Archer throwing previously. It cut through her wings, creating a large bloody gash. Filled with adrenaline — she fired all of her spells. 


Demonic magic attacks rained down from the sky, destroying the trees and creating small craters wherever they landed. Archer nimbly moved around, avoiding every single shot as if he already knew where they would appear next. A bow flashed in his hand, one that Grayfia remembered him using against the Fallen. 


'Trace, on.' 


Woosh!


Dozens of swords formed around him, their numbers growing and doubling every few seconds until their numbers equaled the number of spells Grayfia had casted up above. 


With a simple mental command they all fired simultaneously and clashed against her. Lights and explosions flashed across the mountains as steel met Devil magic before blowing up all together. Worried that he would be siphoning too much Magical Energy from his Master which could prompt her to do something reckless — Archer was ready to fire his last attack. 


'My swords will give me enough cover for a few seconds which is more than enough. I don't need a Broken Phantasm to prove my point,' he jumped back with a spiral weapon having already formed within his hands. With his bow and pulled the string along the weapon, it grew thinner and thinner till becoming no different than a twisted arrow. 


The bow creaked, a large gust of wind and red energy gushed out of his body with the arrow growing brighter. 


"I am the bone of my sword." 


No matter how many layers of protection she had on her, it still wasn't anything comparable to Medea's magic. 


"Caladbolg!" 


The arrow left the bow with enough force to cause the air around him to vibrate. 


Bang!


Grayfia had long since sensed the danger behind but it was too late to do anything. The projectile pierced —no, twisted through — all of her defensive magical spells, an intense streak of light illuminating the sky and parting the clouds before a large explosion swallowed the area where Archer and Grayfia fought. 


"Argh!"


{Break}


"Come on!" 


Rias was having a panic attack right now, and had been from the moment she and Sona felt the explosion from the mountains. Archer was supposed to guard Issei just in case the boy got attacked again. It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous mission given how easily her Servant managed to take down Raynare previously. 


Yet now out of nowhere he was being attacked by someone else. By his description Rias immediately thought of someone but shook her head. It couldn't be her, why would she come here in secret and then attack Archer? It didn't make sense!


"Buchou! I have brought Issei back to his house. I put him to sleep just in case he tried to go out or tried to find us" Yuuto flew next to her alongside Koneko and Akeno. Everyone was worried about Archer and made their way to the mountains. 


"Nicely done, Yuuto." 


Her mind couldn't concentrate on anything else. The girl was contemplating whether to use her Command Seals to summon him by her side, but she remembered the consequences Archer mentioned. He told her to only use it in emergency cases but Rias' conscience was telling her that this was one of them! 


"Look over there!" Akeno pointed beneath the mountain where they saw the body of a Fallen Angel with blue hair, probably the one Archer didn't kill. "Should I take her out?" Her Queen asked, though her tone was just as calm as before, Rias understood that she was holding back a lot of hate at this moment.


"Leave it. Koneko, you take her back to the club and bound her to an empty room. Make sure she doesn't escape and don't hesitate to break her wings in case she tries something fishy." 


"But, Archer…" 


Her Rook’s small whisper told the others enough that she was worried about Rias' Servant and wanted to go and help him just like the rest instead of taking care of an enemy. She was unwilling to return. Fortunately, Kiba volunteered once again and descended without saying a word.


"Thank you, Yuuto-senpai." 


"Not a problem, just make sure he's okay," the group nodded before flying up the mountain where they witnessed more and more carnage along the way. 


"Oh Lucifer, just look at the destruction…" 


From shattered trees, to craters, the land was practically demolished by an intense battle. The redhead's heart was filled with worry, it grew every second as they got closer. 


"Look out!" she said when the entire sky in front was covered with magic circles, soon, hundreds of destructive spells rained down creating a small earthquake. "Ugh!" Their group nearby fell to the ground to the intense shockwaves and pressure coming from the magic user on the other end. 


A pit formed inside Rias' stomach as she recognised who this person was. "Grayfia!?" 


"Stop!" Akeno stopped her going any further which didn't sit well with her. 


"Why are you stopping me!? That's Grayfia, she's fighting Archer! We must stop her before it's too late!" 


Known as the strongest Queen in the Underworld, there was no one who didn't know the fearsome power of her brother's Queen and wife. An ultimate class entity capable of challenging Serafall for the title of Leviathan in the past. Though she lost in the end, the fact she even came close made many see her as a frightening existence who was easily considered as of the most powerful Devils in the Underworld. 


And for reasons she could not fathom, this same existence was now facing her Servant in a serious battle! 


"If you go any further you'll get hurt or hit by stray shots! It's dangerous and we need to think how to approach those two safety issues without putting ourselves… at… risk…" 


Her voice slowly slowed down, as a shocked expression formed on her face — the same happened with Koneko. Following their gaze Rias witnessed something incredible, hundreds of swords started to meet each and everyone of Grayfia's attacks. Keeping up pace without showing any signs of being pushed back. 


"Ah," Rias felt her reserves start to drop, an external source drains her at an accelerated rate. At this rate, she would fall unconscious from mana exhaustion in twenty minutes! "It's Archer, he's the one firing all those… swords?"


Their previous conversation returned to her mind. When she first summoned him, he referred to himself as a servant of the bow, going so far as to even use it as his name. He then explained how each Heroic Spirit summoned in a particular would have the weapon pertaining to that category in particular. So a Saber would use a sword, Lancers fought with a spear whilst Archers wielded bows and arrows. "He even used a sword back then," she recalled the day he faced Raynare with a falchion sword. Having to deal with Issei and the destroyed Pawn piece, such a matter completely left her mind!


Yet here she witnessed the sight of dozens if not hundreds of swords at this point, forcing Grayfia of all people into a stalemate! 


'Is Archer as strong as a high Ultimate Class Devil!?' 


It wasn't like he tried to hide this fact from her. Her Servant mentioned on many occasions how most Heroic Spirits were terrifyingly powerful beings who very few could contest against. She never doubted him of course, but seeing his prowess in action was a completely different story. 


'If he's this powerful, surely he can beat… that insufferable bastard!'  


But Rias couldn't even feel happiness as the battle continued to get more intense and she just could no longer stay behind.


"Rias!" 


Going against Akeno's advice, she pushed back her fear and flew straight towards the area of the battle but before she could shout for both of them to stop, a streak of light emerged from the ground to the sky, aiming straight for the maid who deployed all of her available shields. 


She watched with abject horror as the twisted arrow pierce through each of them as if they were made of paper before heading straight for Grayfia. For the first time in her life, Rias was worried that her sister-in-law, the woman she believed to be an unbeatable monster, was going to… to die?


"Grayfia!!!" 


Boom!


Her voice was drowned by the earthshaking explosion that pushed  her and everyone else out of the sky and had them fall to the ground.


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Back with Archer, the Servant covered his eyes from the intense light that emerged from the explosion just now. 


'Who would have thought that the crazy woman actually fired a magic attack at Caladbolg instead of either dodging or protecting herself.' He didn't know what else to call her, already facing such an attack was dangerous in itself but forcing it to explode at such a close range was no different than suicide. 


"Urgh," the shockwave launched some debris over his body which he pushed away before getting back up. "Hmm, looks like she did manage to hurt me in the end, even if it was by my own attack." 


A large part of his shroud was burned to a crisp leaving him with only his black armor. His skin was covered with bruises and some light burns, not anything major which wouldn't heal in a few hours with the help of his Master's Magical Energy. 


"You are crazy, you know that?" He spoke calmly to the person in front of him who was in a significantly worse state. 


"How so?" Her voice sounded the same as always, without a hint of exhaustion or pain from the injuries she suffered. Right now, his opponent not only suffered from damages to her wings, but also grave burns to her arm and legs with a stream of blood dripping from her head. How she survived such an impact was a mystery in itself, or just showed how resilient her body was compared to Caster. Too bad she couldn't regenerate with a near endless amount of Mana from the leylines and her own territory playing a big part in it. 


'I hope she doesn't attack me again for seeing the state of her clothes… or at least what's left of them.' 


Yes, currently Grayfia in front of him had lost most of her clothing, leaving behind only a few patches here and there. How her front remained untouched by a single injury was another miracle. 


"If you hadn't destroyed the arrow, it would have flown past you and might have only broken or injured your arm rather than leave you in your current state." 


"Not like I expected for the arrow to have the capabilities to explode like that, let alone destroy all my defensive spells so easily. I thought it was a regular projectile which I could have deflected in time or changed its path." Grayfia sighed, "you have proven me wrong, I underestimated you far too much and paid the price. It's my fault for not taking my enemy seriously." 


Archer scoffed, "Are you still trying to keep up the act?" 


"I'm… afraid I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to act ignorant, but he didn't fall for it one bit. 


"You never had the intention to kill me from the beginning. Merely playing the role of a villain to make me go all out as a way to measure my skills. I even doubt that was half of your power… You obviously were sent here by someone related to Rias, probably to spy on me and gather information on my origin amongst other things." 


His answer was met with a small chuckle.


"Hm, I failed in many ways it seems. Eh?" She was surprised when Archer extended his hand to her. 


"Just helping you to get back up on your feet. I don't know much about Devils' physiology, but your injuries shouldn't be painless by any means. Just take it as a gesture of truce so that we can talk like normal people without going at each other's throats." 


Grayfia looked at him for a couple of seconds, he couldn't get a read on this woman whatsoever. Thankfully, she accepted and he grasped her hand before slowly pulling her up. 


"Do not worry about my injuries, Archer-sama. They are not as painful as you may like them to be, I have a high tolerance for such things."


"Hoo, what a respectful way of addressing me all of a sudden. Should I feel honored that I passed that secret test of yours?" He said with a smirk, as he brought her to the side of the field where she sat on a large rock. 


She reciprocated with a small smile. "You have proven to me that you're serious about protecting Oujo-sama. That's all I need to know to no longer consider you as an enemy, and your prowess is more than enough to put me at ease."


"Well I accept your praise, as long as you don't stalk me again or attack me in the middle of the mountain. Do I count it as having your blessing?" 


"Indeed. Also, I do apologize for the hostility I displayed." 


He watched with great interest as a small magic circle formed on her palm before a small vial appeared. Holding about a drop of liquid, she opened the corck and downed the content immediately. Before his eyes any burns and cuts around her body started to heal at a visible rate, regenerating until they all disappeared within seconds. 


Archer whistled, not bothering to hide his curiosity over the effect.


Grayfia, seeing his reaction, decided to give him a small explanation. 


"This is a rather precious potion in the Supernatural world. A Phoenix tear, and from the name and seeing my body’s recovery, you must have an idea on what it's capable of." She handed him the empty gold bottle for him to examine. 


"A healing potion I take it, emulating the effects of regeneration and mending all kinds of physical ailments." Though others would no doubt find it extremely hard to peek at Grayfia's body without having blood rush to both of their heads, Archer barely showed anything remotely similar. Examining her skin with an analytical gaze as he watched the last of her burns get darker until the layer fell off, leaving behind only perfectly smooth and soft skin. 


"Fascinating, though before we continue this conversation, take this." He projected a large blanket which covered Grayfia and hid her modesty. "The atmosphere between us is awkward enough after trying to kill each other, no need to make things worse."


"Thank you, Archer-sama. I must admit your magic intrigues me greatly. I don't see you using any magic circles and both your weapons and this blanket appeared as a flash of light. If it weren't for this blanket I would have seen it as another version of Blades Blacksmith or Sword Birth." 


"It's not that amazing, your ability to use so many offensive spells while keeping a multitude of defensive measures is much more impressive. I'm not capable of such things. So, going from your previous maid outfit and how you addressed Rias, I take it you're working for her family?"


Having no reason to lie anymore or hide any information, Grayfia answered his question truthfully. "Yes, I am Sirzechs Lucifer's wife and the head maid of the Gremory family — Grayfia Lucifuge." She understood why her husband had some worries about this person, he cared about Rias a lot and was already under a lot of pressure with the Phenex engagement. Having another issue prop up out of nowhere who apparently had some link to an entity that his sister should never meet obviously pushed him over the edge. But sometimes what looks like a curse could end up being a boon in disguise, and she believed this to be the case with Archer. 


Archer faltered when she revealed her identity as Lucifer's wife… while also being a maid! This… this didn't make sense!


"Wait wait wait, back up a bit here. Why is the wife of Lucifer walking around in a maid outfit while calling herself a head maid in the first place?" 


"—fia!" 


Before she could answer, both turned their heads to see Rias and the rest of her peerage running towards them with a haggard face. 


"S–Stop fighting! Archer is my Servant!" She screamed, "Please… stop?" The girl and the rest stopped running when instead of a bloody scene with either Archer or Grayfia trying to rip out the other's throat, what they found instead was both of them chilling under a tree with Grayfia holding a blanket around her naked body. "Wha-Wha…" 


"Oh, sorry for worrying you, Master. Grayfia and I had a rough start but we managed to sort things out in the end. She even gave me her blessing to continue being your Servant, though it did take destroying a mountaintop for me to earn that privilege." He said while crossing his arms, looking at the mess around them. "Good thing this didn't happen inside Kuoh, or else it would have been a headache to take you on."


"I do like to remind you that I already have given you an apology for that, Archer-sama. But you have performed admirably, I have never experienced such a lethal attack from a bow." 


"Really? Angels, Devils and Fallens don't use bows, or some of the other pantheons?" 


"I do believe the Hindu pantheon has many formidable bow users and even powerful gods with bows as their primary weapons — though I have never faced any myself. We Devils mostly use our own magic powers and clan inherited abilities for those who are blessed to be part of the 72 pillar families." 


"And your clan powers are?" 


She gave him a side-eye, "That is a secret, Archer-sama. Just like how you keep secrets of your own."


Rias was having a mental breakdown while hearing these two talk to each other as if nothing happened. Just a few SECONDS ago Archer launched a deadly attack that looked like it should have struck Grayfia and gravely injured her! 


And now the same woman was sitting naked with a blanket making small talk with her Servant while looking like they had completely forgotten about her group. 


And why was Grayfia smirking!?


"I'm curious, can your magic create new clothes as well?" Grayfia asked, getting up from her seat which made the blanket cling against her body, showing off her curves. 


"Why do you ask?" He could make clothes, but unlike the gear he was wearing now, any other type of clothing would just disappear if damaged to a certain extent or if he dismissed them. They weren't permanent items so making one wasn't a good long term idea. 


"I was hoping you could make me a new set of clothes."


"Uh, sure, I could make you some pants and a shirt, but keep in mind they’ll just be temporary constructs." The request was honestly a bit weird, Archer had never in the past had someone ask him to use his magecraft for clothes. So it was a new experience, it wasn't like he couldn't create some baggy shirt and pants appropriate for her size. "Though I'd advise you to ask my Master or her Queen for better clothes."


"I would prefer to wear my maid outfit if possible." 


Again, he had to remind himself that the person that asked him to make maid clothing was in fact the wife of Sirzechs Lucifer who was the literal Satan of the Underworld. 


"...You're weird." 


As for Rias, she finally had enough and felt something break inside her psyche.


"ALRIGHT, ENOUGH OF THIS!!! Grayfia, why are you here and why did you attack my Archer!?" 


Her scream spread across the entire mountain while Akeno and Koneko were just as speechless as their King about the whole situation. 


{Break}


(An hour later)


-Occult Research Club-


After the whole battle was concluded, everyone returned to the club where Yuuto waited for them. Kalawarna had been brought to one of the spare rooms in the basement and bound by magic restraints just to make sure she wouldn't escape when waking up. 


In the main room, Akeno came with another tray of tea with Archer standing behind Rias, the latter rubbing her temples from excess stress. 


"So let me get this straight, not only did Onii-sama ask you to spy on Archer and test him behind my back but he also believed that my Servant was a potential danger to me just because of a single symbol on my hand?" 


Akeno handed the tea to both Grayfia and Archer, paying closer attention to the white haired man as he took a sip. Unfortunately he didn't give her any reaction to indicate whether he thought the beverage was good or not. 


"For the most part, that is indeed the case. But I have also come on behalf of Ajuka-sama to deliver this to you, Ojou-sama." The maid put a box on the table. "This is a bit different than what you may have been waiting for, a small token of appreciation from him in his own words." 


Confused by what she meant by that, Rias grabbed the box and opened it to see the content. "What!?" Almost dropping it, the girl stood up from her seat with clear shock as she held in her hand a Pawn piece. But not just any piece, one radiating with a mysterious power along its black exterior. "A Mutation Piece!" 


Seeing his Master's reaction, Archer also paid close attention to the item in question. It did in fact look very different from the other pieces Rias had on her and given her reaction, it must have been a valuable asset. He did remember Rias mentioning certain extremely rare pieces but withheld any further information as it wasn't that important back then. 


Fortunately, Akeno decided to give him the general details. "Mutation pieces are a rare creation of the system Ajuka Beelzebub created and only occur every one time in a hundred pieces. It is said to be a bug in the Evil Pieces system that was kept for fun." 


"I take it that it holds some special properties?" 


The buxom raven haired girl nodded, "Yes, quite a major trait which many would pay any price to have. Basically if a particularly powerful individual holding a Sacred Gear with immense potential, like a Longinus class, were to be turned into a Devil — the cost could easily go beyond six Pawn pieces to the full Pawn set. Though such cases are extremely rare and are almost unheard of, they are very much possible. You must understand what happens if they require so many pieces, right?" 


"It's more a question of quality over quantity. I get what you're entailing with the King having less Peerage members than regular if one of their members required multiple pieces, even if it's more common to desire both quality and quantity. This Mutation sort of bridges that gap and will allow Rias to add a powerful member to her peerage without sacrificing any more Pawns." He didn't miss how convenient this event was for Rias, given he knew Issei would have normally required all eight pieces, and for this cost to be reduced to a single one… It seemed like her brother knew how to help out his sister from the background. Understandable given he couldn't do it publicly as Satans like him were supposed to cut ties with their clan and become a neutral entity. 


"This… This is amazing." Rias said while holding the piece with her shaking hands. She calmed her breath before placing the newly acquired piece with the rest. Keeping in mind to call Issei to the club tomorrow and complete the ritual to change him into a Devil. 


"If that is all, I should return to the Underworld, Ojou-sama." 


"Wait, before that, I need to make a call." Despite her brother most likely having a hand in having Ajuka hand over a Mutation Piece, that still didn't mean she was willing to forgive him for what he ordered Grayfia to do! He crossed a line in her eyes and she was going to give him the biggest punishment possible that would eat him up from the inside. 


Grabbing her phone, she dialed his number and waited for him to pick up. Everyone in the room could see that Rias was a volcano of anger ready to explode at any moment and even pitied their Satan. He really kicked the hornets' nest and earned the ire of their King, Koneko in fact was actually looking forward to it as she also hated what Sirzechs did and his distrust over Archer was a grave sin in her mind. 


Maybe she could have Grayfia bring back some of Archer’s sweets. As much as she didn’t want to part with those delicious treats, that would certainly show him the truth and enlighten him to the Servant's true nature.


The Silver haired Queen was just enjoying her tea the entire time, knowing what fate her husband had coming and how he fully deserved it.


.


.


.


The beeping lasted for barely a second before the call was picked up by an overenthusiastic Sirzechs.


"Woaaaaa! Ria-tan finally called her older brothe—"


"Shut up!" Rias cut him off instantly. "I got the new Pawn Piece… and for that I want to thank you."


 "E-Eh, that's no issue, it was all thanks to Ajuka's hel—"


"BUT YOU SENT GRAYFIA TO FIGHT ARCHER AND FOR THAT I'M NOT TALKING WITH YOU FOR A MONTH!" She shouted so loud that Archer contemplated creating some earplugs for himself and poor Koneko who was shaking from the banshee worthy screech. 


"W-W-What!? Wait, Ria-tan, I-I can explai—" 


Not even giving the man a chance to explain himself, she cut the call and blocked his number immediately. The fact that Lucifer sounded so flustered and panicky in the call made the bowman sigh at the absurdity of this world and its people. Granted Sirzechs wasn't the original Lucifer but as a Devil holding so much power and Influence, the thought of him cowering to his little sister's furious tone and getting blocked afterwards was quite funny. 


'Hard to believe that guy is actually a Satan.'


Though given his wife alone was this powerful, Archer wasn't going to look down on him whatsoever and knew that sometimes the most eccentric personalities tended to hold the most fearsome power.


"Humph, that will teach him from doing such things in the future." 


{Break}


"Ugh," Kalawarna was experiencing the mother of all headaches. "Where… where am I?" 


Her surroundings were dimly lit, with a single barely working lightbulb illuminating the ground around her. She spotted some old storage boxes and old books dilapidated with time and moisture. There was no window anywhere she looked, and as she tried to move even a little, she discovered her limbs to be tied by some restraints to a chair.


"Just what happened?" Her memory was foggy due to the headache, having little to no idea how she could have ended up in such a situation. The last event she remembered was with her, Donhaseek and Mittelt going to hunt down the Hyoudou Issei boy in order to draw out the one who managed to defeat Raynare and to kill him as a group. 


"Right, we then flew out around the city to find that kid and it didn't take us long to spot him walking on the streets… yeah, Donhaseek and Mittelt went over to corner him." Bit by bit, her reminiscing of that particular day kept coming back with more detail and familiarity. "Yeah, the human kid was quite pathetic to look at as he tried to escape while crying out loud. I nearly speared him from afar just to stop hearing his annoying voice. But then…"


Her eyes widened as the following flashed of memory turned into a horrific bloody scene. "Mittlet, sh-she w-was struck by some arrows before getting slashed in the face! And Dohnaseek… oh god! H-He killed them both and then came for me!" Right as she was about to remember how she got knocked out, the doors to the basement opened loudly with a single figure standing there with a ominous smirk on her face and sparks of lightning dancing around her fingertips.


"Ara ara~ our little crow seemed to have woken up from her sleep." 


Kalawarna shook, having finally realized that she was taken by the Devils and held as a prisoner. Living for centuries, this was her first time in such a situation and the woman didn't know what else to do aside from starting to beg for mercy. 


To plead with the enemy to let her live.


"P-Please, d-don't kill me!" 


 The woman smiled at her feeble plea, her expression looking almost demonic as she took a step closer. The lightning within her fingertips getting more intense and chilling the Fallen's heart with each stride Akeno took, the smile coupled with the sadistic glint Kalawarna had seen countless times on Raynare's face whenever she hunted a human. In fact, these two basically looked the same in her mind, even down to the same eye color.


"Well, if you answer my questions then I won't hurt you much. But before that, let's see how good your are with electroshocks~"


With that, Akeno lashed out with her right hand towards Kalawarna, sending a burst of white lightning that struck Kalawarna right in the chest. "Aaaaahh!" She screamed out in pain, jerking in the chair with her hair standing on end and her vision blurred due to the electric shock. 


Though she managed to stay conscious in the end.


"Fufufufu! You're more fun than I thought, I guess since you're a Fallen you can resist electricity, huh? Though it'll still hurt a lot, so don't worry~"


The young Devil snapped her fingers, making the lightning more intense and causing the Fallen to feel like her body was being boiled alive. Then, once again, she felt another searing heat impacting her body with each strike, forcing Kalawara to scream out in agony.


Her howl only made Akeno's smile stretch further upwards with a large blush showing on her face. Her breathing got deeper with every shock and thighs began to rub against each other as the girl was beginning to have a hard time concentrating.


"N-No, please! I'll say anything! Just stop!"


"..."


"A-Anything… Just please…" 


In the end, Akeno knew she couldn't let herself get swallowed up by her desires just for a quick burst of pleasure. There was still the matter with Raynare to deal with and why these people came to Kuoh in the first place. 


So with a disappointed sigh, she stopped and began asking her questions. 


"Why did your group come to Kuoh?" 


"I-I don't know the exact reas—argh!" An arc of lightning fired from Akeno's fingers to Kalawarna's face. 


"Lie to me again and this time I won't stop having fun with you until your body is nothing but a charred corpse." She said with a tone so chilling that it carried a hint of killing intent. 


Gritting her teeth the Fallen started talking. "W-We were mostly sent here along with Raynare to assist her to… pick up an excommunicated nun from Italy."


"An excommunicated nun…" Akeno wondered what was so special with this person for the Fallen to be willing to confront not only Rias but Sona as well — both girls being siblings of the two Satans. "Why is that?" 


"I-It's Raynare, she w-wants to use this person to gain more power or something. I-I don't know how, I swear! I'm not lying!" She started panicking when sparks danced around Akeno's fingers. "A-Ah, I heard something about a… a Sacred Gear! Yes, that must be the case!" It was only a tiny conversation she accidentally eavesdropped once when Donhaseek spoke with Raynare. Something about a nun and Sacred Gear which would lead Raynare to become stronger and a more important or valuable person in the eyes of the Governor General. But it didn't matter if she even heard it correctly or nor, her life was on the line here!


"Alright then, I believe you on that for now. Now my second question, why did you try to kill Hyoudou Issei?" 


At that question, Kalawarna hastily shook her head, not wanting to lie about this matter whatsoever. "That wasn't us! I-It was Raynare who suddenly decided to do all of this for no apparent reason! She said something about a Sacred Gear user in a school belonging to the Devils was just a disaster waiting to happen and which needed to be taken care of immediately! I-I had nothing to do with it, she forced me into this!" 


"Okay, last question. Where is Raynare hiding?" 


"At the abandoned church!" Since that bitch was the reason she was locked here and being tortured by this psycho, she didn't hesitate to betray Raynare. There was never any loyalty in the group to begin with so this wasn't something difficult for her. "She's surrounded by many rogue priests and one who’s especially crazy yet also skilled."


The way she so easily revealed Raynare's whereabouts with a twisted smirk on her face without even realizing it told Akeno enough about their dynamic. These people truly had no sense of loyalty between them and that just made her disgust of the Fallen grow to another level.


"Humph, I should have expected your kind to not care about each other and leave your kin to die by the hands of the enemy without any care. Typical Fallen, better to kill treacherous filth like you right here and now." 


Getting more desperate as the lightning in Akeno’s hand grew even brighter, Kalawarna scoured her mind for something… anything that could help her stay alive and not die a brutal and painful death. 'Wait, lightning, violet eyes and raven hair… isn't she the Fallen girl turned Devil Donhaseek spoke about in the past?' 


As the former keeper of knowledge and guardian to the gates of Heaven, Donhaseek kept many of his traits even after having fallen from God's grace, and one of these traits consisted of him gathering all sorts of information from everyone in the Grigori. One of these rumors was how one of the Cadres had a girl who was turned into a Devil by a Gremory. This information was never confirmed and no one wished to bring it up with the higher ups, so she remembered him using it as just gossip with her and Mittlet. 


But now…


"Y-You can't kill me, p-please let me go, as a fellow Fallen you must help me out!" 


"—!" 


Seeing Akeno freeze up in shock just further proceeds to Kalawarna that the rumors were indeed true and that she actually had a chance to survive!


"Yes, you understand me, right!? I know you're now a Devil but you can deny your Fallen Angel heritage! We are like family, distant family but one nonetheless. Just to honor this connection we share the least you can do is let me li—AAAAARRGG!" 


Before she could even finish, a storm of lightning far stronger than before descended upon her from the ceiling where a large magic circle spun around with Akeno's hands coated in white magic. 


Her eyes, having turned dark with a tsunami of killing intent wafted off her being. She was gritting her teeth with an unhidden furry and disgust at Kalawarna's words. 


"Don't. You. Call. Me. A Fallen Angel!" She screamed, preparing to use a deadly attack to just kill her off once and for all. "You're better off dead." 


As she brought her hands up to execute the attack, a voice came from behind her. 


"Akeno," shaken by the unexpected arrival and possibility that someone overheard their conversation — she swung around to find Archer standing at the door carrying a platter of food and a cup of water. He looked at her with an unreadable expression, similar to Grayfia. Her heart shook when thinking about whether or not he heard what Kalawarna said.


"I believe I was the one Master put in charge of the interrogation, not you. So why are you here?" 


"A-Archer?" 


Did he truly not hear anything?


{Break}


-Underworld-


It had taken him a long time to set up the hundreds of different intertwining magic circles and inscriptions for this summoning. 


Hidden in a secret chamber inside one of his many manors, Diodora Astaroth had spent the better part of a week setting up the preparation for the summoning ritual. "Tch, my precious Asia should be arriving at any moment in Kuoh. Those pathetic crows better do a good job keeping her away from the Gremory and Sitri." 


He didn't expect for the creation of this ritual to take so long, the spells and inscriptions were complex and detailed where just the first part of the ritual covered more than half of the hall. Though having the maidens from his peerage do most of the work did ease up some of the burden.


Though given they were taking a lot of time he forced them to skip over the unimportant nonsense of these notes and just focus on the main part.


"Hehehe, summoning a Heroic Spirit from the past to become my slave? Can't believe such a thing could even exist! Now who should I hope for? There is Joan of Arc, hehehehe… If I get her then I can have her body all to myself. Ahh~ just thinking about it makes my heart beat so wildly. There is also Mary Magdalene and Saint Martha, but I'm not sure if those can be considered as Heroic Spirits. No matter, as long as it's a pure holy maiden then I'll be more than happy to bind her to me, and if she resists then the Command Seals will come in handy." His perverse grin couldn't hide the carnality within him when imagining the mere idea of tainting such renowned pure maidens. 


"For the element silver and iron, the foundation stone and the Archduke of Pacts, and for the great mistress, Lilith.

Raise a wall against the wind and close the gate in four directions.

Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat five times, but when each is filled, destroy it.


Heed my words.

My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.

If you abide by this feeling and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning.

I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world,

That I shall defeat all evil in the world.


Seven realms clad in the great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of Scales!" 


With an excited grin, he exclaimed the last verse of the chant loudly with his arms opened wide.


"Now come forth, my innocent holy maiden, for I your Master order you!" 


Ready to see the spell activate and for his Servant maiden to appear before him.


.


.


.



Bzt!


"Hm?" Something wasn't right, "Only half of the spell has been activated?" He noticed that the other half of the hall remained dark with none of the inscriptions or magic circles glowing like the ones near him. 


Crack!


"W-What?" Something broke, he looked everywhere for the source but couldn't find it. "What is going on!?" The hall grew brighter and brighter till it was far too blinding. More parts of the circles started to break apart before the gathered mana became far too chaotic. "Don't tell me it failed! How!? I made sure it was perfect!" 


"You, come here!" He dragged one of the peerage girls near him and used her body as a shield just in time before everything blew up in a large ball of fire. 


"Aaaaahh!" 


Diodora shrieked when his body was now sent flying out of the castle with the flames engulfing everything in its path.