A Fake Familiar Reborn chapter 11 (Patreon)

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

+9k words... Damn.

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To walk into the lion's den, that's what it felt like for Diodora whenever he entered the halls of this palace. Grandiose in the eyes of many Devils, pillars of marble and paintings from bygone eras of the former Satans. 


But he knew the truth. 


"Nothing more than a dilapidated hideout of a few descendants of failed Satans." No matter what Shalba liked to claim, the man was but a figure appearing in history books, one that most people either stopped fearing or had completely forgotten. It didn't help that the organization they belonged to preferred to stay in the shadows for the time being. "Tch, but they are my only hope right now." 


The incident with his recent attempt to summon a Heroic Spirit of his own had raised unwanted attention. Despite having chosen a manor far away from any crowded areas, the explosion that engulfed said manor could not be hidden for long and soon his brother found out about the destruction. Thankfully, the fool believed his words, and Diodora managed to pin all the blame on the Old Satan Faction as nothing more than a failed assassination attempt. 


The summoning circle had been buried beneath the rubble and incinerated, he made sure that no trace of the array would remain for anyone to accidentally discover it. 


Thinking about the whole incident, the heir to the Astaroth clan couldn't help but clench his jaws with fury. "Fucking five of my maidens died! I spent so long collecting them, poured so much resources and effort into gathering them yet five of them vanished before my eyes! Fuck! This is not fair!" 


He escaped, no, survived that day with a few wounds and burns to his arms. Hands shaking with terror as they held the charred corpse of his once peerage maiden he’d used to shield himself. Diodora nearly fainted at that moment, but his anger and fear kept his mind running at a thousand miles a second. 


What went wrong? 


The preparations should have been perfect! 


Despite all of his efforts, the summoning failed and he lost more gaining anything — let alone a pure maiden Heroic Spirit as his Servant. Maybe there was an error in the notes, or something he had missed. He did not think for a second that this ritual might be a hoax, as his brother would have realized it in an instant. Too focused on his inner thoughts, Diodora failed to notice a shadow emerging from the darkness that quickly solidified into the form of a curvaceous woman standing right in front of him. 


"Ah!" A wall of demonic power hit him face first, making the Ashtaroth heir stumble back to the floor and fall on his behind. The sudden impact forced a sharp cry from his mouth while the person before him smirked at his lack of grace. 


"Ara, if it isn't the heir to the esteemed House of Astaroth. How wonderful for you to finally visit." The woman spoke haughtily, exuding an air of arrogance that drowned anything Diodora was capable of. He looked at her with barely suppressed anger, clenching his hands and gritting his teeth at her audacity. 


The woman suddenly lost much of her haughty playfulness and narrowed her eyes. "Humph, how rude of you to not pay respect to me or even announce your arrival. And even now when standing before one such as me you fail to so much as bow. You have stepped inside the halls of true Satans, yourself being nothing but a High class Devil, yet you think nothing of waltzing inside as if you owned the place."


Never in his life had Diodora ever been disrespected by anyone like this. With not only his position as an heir but also the fact a Super Devil like Ajuka was his big brother made many of the Devil population bow their heads before him. Yet he couldn't make this person grovel before him for obvious reasons. 


First was her identity. 


Katerea Leviathan, a tall bespectacled woman with a figure that made him salivate. Tanned skin with long brown hair tied into a bun with a headset and purple eyes. He tried his best to not look at the extremely low-cut purple dress with high slits which exposed a large portion of her breasts and legs or else she might actually kick him in the face. 


Next was the immense amount of Demonic power held behind those amused eyes of hers. She was right to see him as nothing but a worm, after all, the woman was an Ultimate class being — a Satan. 


Suppressing his humiliation, Diodora hastily got on his knees and bowed his head. 


"Lady Katerea, I have brought an important piece of information from my brother's research and need your assistance." He spoke respectfully, not wanting to accidentally offend her in any way shape or form. "Please forgive me for intruding without prior notice, it's just an urgent mat—urgh!" He was cut off from his speech as a suffocating sensation descended upon him. 


"Enough, hearing your voice irritates me more than that fake act you put up." 


She certainly wasn't in a good mood, that much was obvious. His heart started beating like a hammer inside his chest, making every second feel like an hour. 


"Hah, fine." She sighed. "Shalba is waiting for you, let's go." With that said, she started to walk back further inside the palace, leaving Diodora at the back who unhesitatingly stared at her behind with clear lust. 


'You act like a bitch now, but just you wait… with enough time I'll Garner Ophis's favor and be granted the power I deserve. You'll come crawling to me for forgiveness and I'll use your body to humiliate you in front of the entire Underworld!' 


Despite having a clear preference for pure maidens, Diodora realized that he wouldn't mind having her as a part of the group as it meant he could even have his way with her. 


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"A Servant summoning ritual, huh…" within the confines of the palace, inside a luxurious office, Shalba carefully rereads the information that was just sold to him by an ally of theirs. "interesting." 


"You truly believe this?" Said a man garbed in dark clothing, his long dark hair held in a pony tail and a noble aura that accompanied him just like Shalba and Katerea. "The concept in itself is absurd, calling forth heroes from another world — humans no less — to fight a war in our stead? Leaving the fact how weak their kind is, can we really trust the words to one related to that fake Satan?" 


Creuserey Asmodeus just like every leader of the Old Satan Faction abhorred the current reign of the Devil Faction. Better to say he hated them with every fiber of his being for having stolen what was rightfully his. He longed to see the likes of Sirzechs and his allies die by his hands in the near future, though couldn't help but have his doubts manifest with this… unheard of concept of Heroic Spirits. 


He gazed at the redhead before him, Shalba Beelzebub, hoping that he wouldn't fall for this predictable trap. 


"A trap you say?" Shalba mused at those words, passively gazing at the documents Diodora Astaroth provided. From the summoning circles, chants and a basic rundown of the entire ritual. "That boy for all his talent as a High class Devil does not possess the means to come up with such a highly complex trap just to fool us. If he wanted to betray our faction then it would have been Ajuka knocking at our door. For all his boasts, that trash is nothing but an incompetent pawn whose only goal is to collect pure maidens for that little peerage of his. You're giving him too much credit, Creuserey." 


"I agree," said Katerea. "He's a coward, I could feel his unhidden gaze whenever we met. That boy can't hide his emotions behind that smile of his from people like us. From what I understand with this ritual, it shouldn't be hard to guess that he just wants us to correct his mistakes and summon a maiden Heroic Spirit. Hasn't he used our resources to recently infiltrate a church in Italy to corrupt a human nun?"


The more the descendant of Asmodeus listened to Katerea the more riled up he got. That bitch even now talked down to him like an interior being. Just because she believed the Leviathan clan stood above him. 


'Calm down, this is not the moment to fall for her bait, again.' Shaking his head, he picked up another document that Shalba threw aside — deeming it as useless… disregarding Ajuka's work. He couldn't blame him, even now carefully analyzing these documents brought a great sense of disgust within his stomach whenever his eyes trailed down to the official Satan sealing at the bottom. 


Almost as if put there to mock him and everyone in this room. Ajuka Beelzebub's name written boldly with a demonic spell to engrave it permanently onto the material. 


He compared the notes to what Diodora had created during his first attempt at summoning. Though before he could look into the details, a red tendril burst from the shadows and snatched the papers from his hands. 


"Katerea!" Creuserey shouted, red demonic energy cascading around the room from his body. Cracks appeared, while the other two Satans barely reacted to his reaction, continuing to focus on the Diodora's documents. 


"Hush now, I'm busy." She responded with a smirk, further antagonizing her fellow ally. Ignoring the raging ball of fire below, the Leviathan descendant flipped through the pages one by one, using all of her experience on magic to understand the subject. 


'The brat managed to set up everything as instructed. Ajuka of all people wouldn't keep a spell that doesn't work, so it must have been Diodora's fault. Something isn't right here…' Just the sheer number of formulas and equations used in a singular magic circle would take her hours to verify. And given there were so many circles, Katerea already felt a headache coming. 


Woosh!


With a wave of her hands, she summoned a large luxurious table no smaller than Shalba's inside the office. 


Creuserey sighed, deciding to settle this small dispute another time. "If let's say this goes well and we make it work. Who will be the Master to summon a Servant?" 


That was one of the main points that worried him. 


If these Heroic Spirits were anywhere near as powerful as mentioned, then they were a valuable asset for anyone. 


"You worry too much," Shalba waved his question away. "At the end of the day, we are summoning nothing more than the dead soul of a petty human of all things. A simple spell and they'll follow our every command like an obedient dog. The command seals are just going to be an extra tool to use and nothing else. They are an inferior race to us Devils, don't forget that." 


As both continued to converse, Katerea had all of her attention to the details within the records. Struggling to go through each circle in time without feeling mentally drained and suppressing the urge to ask for aid from the others. But still, so far, everything looked perfectly accurate compared to the notes of Ajuka. 


'Just what went wrong? What was he missing?' She asked herself but couldn't come up with an answer. 


{Break}


(Romania, Tepes Faction)


Inside the confines of the Tepes Castle, within its walls under hundreds of meters of ground laid a young girl with short blonde hair and red horror stricken eyes. Having stumbled upon a small hole within the walls, a feeling Valerie Tepes squeezed through the tunnel in search for answers or even a light of hope. A possible means to escape, or even a hole that would showcase the night sky on full display for a girl who's been locked inside for years. 


Yet as she reached the end, what she found was not a passage or even a crack in the wall — rather the girl ended up in another room bigger than where she lived. An underground cave of sorts, unnatural and obviously created by someone. Having no doors or route leading to this place, she did wonder how and why it was created in the first place. 


It would be better to call it a ruin that somehow managed to stay unnoticed by everyone inside the castle. Was it something her father built years ago and forgot about? 


She didn't know. 


"Nobody knows about this place… it's quite big." 


If only she found this place sooner, then perhaps bringing Gasper here to have some peace of mind from the cold and harsh world outside would have been perfect for them to play around. 


"I hope he's safe…" it's been a while since he escaped, now all by herself, Valerie found it harder to live through every passing day. "Ah!" A pang of exhaustion hit Valerie's body, making her lose all strength to stand up and lead to the girl falling further down the ruins. The constant use of her Sacred Gear made these instances occur more often, her body unable to keep up with the strain brought by Sephirot's Graal. 


Marius Tepes, her half brother and fifth in line for the throne never allowed Valerie any time to rest — always forcing her to keep on using her ability on both his ever increasing number of soldiers and himself. Sometimes, she felt her consciousness slip away bit by bit, bringing her closer to a never ending darkness where only an eternal slumber awaited her. 


Crash! 


Air escaped her lungs as her back impacted her lungs, her fall fortunately cushioned by old rotten vines and roots. Still, it momentarily caused her to be unable to breath, only after a few seconds did she find the strength to get back on her feet. 


"Where… where am I?" The Dhamphir said, looking around the dark room with no source of light. Her eyes glowing dimly as she limped through the rubbles. Minutes turned into hours, the despair within her heart growing as she couldn't find the exit or even use her wings to fly away. "So cold…" 


Valerie didn't know whether it was the cave or her body feeling the drop in temperature. The fall must have caused more damage than she expected, "Ouch!" The girl flinched, having stepped on sharp objects that cut through her flesh. 


"Uuuuh… it hurts…" holding her foot, Valerie cursed herself to have ventured somewhere so dangerous on her own. Her vision started to grow further hazy, nausea and the pain from the wound just making every sensation that much worse. "Hic…*sniff* I want to see Gasper again." She said in between her sobs. At least with him around, life was more bearable, she could endure the daily torture by the hands of her half brother who barely even considered her as a living person. 


A drop of blood trailed down her hands as they continued to hold the wound closed. Growing all the way down, it shook for a second before dropping like a droplet of water on the ground. 


Bzt! 


The space within the cave changed. 


"Ah!" Once again, Valerie experienced another sensation of pain coming from the back of her hand this time."What's this?" 


It burned, as if someone pressed a heated branding iron on her skin and to her shock, a glowing crimson symbol started to form before her eyes. 


"I-I-It's not coming off!" She tried everything, scratching her skin to wipe it with her clothes but it wouldn't come off. 


Her shock did not stop there, as a few seconds later the entire area lit up with hundreds, if not thousands, of intertwined magic circles and countless other spells. "E-Eh!?" All of them sucking up every drop of mana within the cave and even her body.

"No no no no! Stop! Argh!" 


She couldn't get away in time or even try if she wanted to as Valerie found herself right in the middle of this… ritual. Having barely any demonic power from the beginning, she couldn't stay conscious with these magic circles taking away everything she had. 


A bright light illuminated the cave, like a miniature sun being brought into existence. There was no heat, for she was completely fine but could barely care as her mind had grown numb from the pain. 


Crash!


It transformed into a pillar of white light crashing right into the ceiling and beyond, bringing a powerful earthquake that affected the entire castle. Every single living being sensed the vast change in the atmosphere, feeling an unimaginable amount of mana all glowing within the castle. They scrambled outside, with weapons and spells thinking that an enemy had grown delirious enough to attack them in their own territory — but found nothing outside.


"What is going on!?" A young man whose face could be mistaken for that of a doll shouted at his soldiers. Many bowed to his presence as he was none other than the fifth in line for the throne and the 4th King of Tepes's son. 


"L-Lord Marius, we believe for the anomaly to be originating from beneath the castle!" One of his pale faced subordinates answered. "We also couldn't find Lady Valerie within the castle, she's nowhere to be found!" 


"She escaped!?" That was the only possibility he came up with, given she tried to pull a similar stunt not that long ago. 


The other vampire aristocrats heard the news and scoffed. "Let that half breed run as she pleases, the werewolves will make sure to teach her a painful lesson." 


"Humph, might as well die there, her existence will no longer tarnish our name."


"Losing a limb or two will be a sufficient lesson for her kind. Lady Valerie had been slacking off on her duties lately." None of them bothered to hide the scorn and mockery from their tones when talking about the girl. Unbothered whether she lived or died for a Dhamphir represented a tainted individual to their eyes. A half breed, one carrying the blood of a human to live amongst the royal family? How utterly humiliating. 


While various people continued to joke about her doomed fate, Marius grew increasingly stressed and worried. 


'If that stupid girl dies then we'd lose possession over Sephiroth's Graal, that cannot happen no matter what!' He muttered inside his head. She couldn't have gone outside without setting up the alarms he put in place all around the area. That meant she must still be hiding inside the castle somewhere and could have been the direct cause of this anomaly! 


"All of you, come with me! We will not rest till Valerie is found and detained!" With his orders, the vampires had no other choice but to follow his lead inside the castle. 


"Heads will roll if she isn't found, keep that in mind." Marius threatened everyone behind him, the guards shook with fear as their lives were now on the line. With new found vigor, they rushed all together towards the castle, begging for the half breed to still be inside. 



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Inside, Valerie was now fearing for her life 


Was this thing going to explode on her and fill the cave with a fiery storm of fire? If she was in her optimal condition then maybe escaping would have been possible. But now, she didn't know what to do aside from crawling away bit by bit — leaving a small trail of blood bleeding from her wound. 


"Gasper…" once, just once she wanted to meet her friend again and tell him sorry. Sorry that she failed to escape with him and apologize for all the hardship he must have experienced from being all by himself. With no strength to continue on any forward, Valerie's body was just about ready to give up. 


Just before her head touched the ground, the pillar of light shattered into millions of tiny motes as a figure appeared before her with incomprehensible speed. A firm yet gentle hand caught her head just in time and held her body. 


Before her eyes closed, she saw a glimpse of long soft wave of light gray hair dancing in the wind, and eyes that mirrored hers. Accompanied by a gruff voice of a man whose tone carried a sense of majesty and dominance that would befitting any king, yet with enough tenderness that she didn't feel the slightest bit afraid of this stranger. 


"This king has heard your call, and answered your summons. I ask of you, are you worthy to be my Master?"


Those were the last words she heard before darkness took her.


{Break}


-Kuoh Academy-


"Hah!" 


"Too predictable. You're telegraphing your moves well in advance, which completely gives away when and where you'll strike." 


Behind the abandoned school building, two swordsmen clashed swords again and again with sparks flying whenever the blades met. One side haggard and breathing heavily, his clothes covered with cuts with bruises across his face. The other side merely stood still with a straight posture that showed no sign of fatigue or any flaws. 


Yuuto clenched his hold on the sword and advanced with a large shout, holding his sword up to deliver a vertical slash. 


Clang! 


Once again his attack was easily blocked. No matter how much strength he used to push downwards the man before him didn't seem all that bothered. Rather his blade tilted making the Knight's blade slide downwards along his body. He didn't have enough time to react before his face got viciously struck by Archer's elbow. 


Like a broken kite, Kiba Yuuto flew in a perfect arc before falling inside a bundle of leaves and sticks. 


"You don't have any recovery skills, or any control over how you'll fall or even the ability to spring back into the fight as fast as possible." Just to prove his point, Archer ran straight towards him before casually kicking the boy in the middle of his stomach right as he was getting up. "The level of speed I’ve demonstrated thus far is within the realm of ordinary humans as well."


"Urgh… I think you broke a rib." Yuuto groaned, pushing himself against a tree and slowly getting back up. 


"No, it’s just bruised. I made sure of that. Come on, attack me again, we don't have all day." He ordered which The Knight compiled instantly, rushing to him just like before but this time he showed yo signs of throwing an attack. His sword still pointed away and held with one one hand. "Take this!" 


The sword slashed the ground, forcing a large cloud of dust to hit Archer's face and obscure his vision. "Interesting," he said, approving of  Yuuto’s use of so-called dirty tactics, all too often scorned as unchivalrous by those who put stock in such concepts. But in a life or death battle, such things were best thrown out of the window. Only those who held monstrous strength and talent could afford themselves to continue fighting fairly. "But still not enough." 


He swept the air with his foot, the speed and force alone generating enough wind to clear the area fast enough to spot Yuuto hunched low to the ground, going for a piercing attack this time. Though just when he was about to move, Archer's leg came back and struck the opposite side, this time hitting the sword and disarming him. 


"You hesitated and faltered to strike when you had the chance. Against a mortal enemy this is no different than a death sentence, let alone a Servant." Archer said dismissively, taken by surprise by the previous action but overall still disappointed in Yuuto. He honestly expected far more from a Devil Knight, apparently renowned for their speed. Maybe that fight against Grayfia really screwed up his perspective. 


Yuuto growled in frustration, light flashing within his palms as he now held two longswords this time. Dual wielding both blades he rushed forward once again to trade blows with Archer. Despite his opponent only using a single blade, he still managed to easily keep up with him and deflect any and all attacks. 


"Using two swords against me… bad idea." 


"Kargh!" Spit flew out of Yuuto’s mouth as the bowman buried a knee in his sternum, momentarily causing his mind to blackout. This was followed by a few other strikes that all disarmed the blonde and rendered him defenseless. 


In the end, Archer didn't have to do much as Yuuto fell to the ground due to exhaustion, his hair a mess and his face covered with dirt. He was out of breath, his bones and muscles aching more than anything he'd felt recently. "I seriously think you broke at least one of my ribs… even breathing hurts." 


"Hn, were you a human I’d say a few days of rest would be enough to heal you back up. But given your supernatural constitution as a Devil, a good night’s sleep is probably all you’ll need." The Servant said, dismissing the blade he held before stretching his neck. "Anyways, in general you did better than I imagined. Your moves are certainly capable of successfully hitting your opponents and putting them out of commission before they’ve even realized what happened. But against an enemy that can react in time, they’re far too telegraphed." 


"But I couldn't even hit you once, not even grazing your clothes." 


Archer rolled his eyes, "I don't think you understand what it means to face a Servant. We are not just powerful beings with superhuman strength, speed and reactions. Decades worth of combat experience, sometimes centuries or beyond, and our own unique abilities puts us at a level you can't hope to fight against yet — bringing into account a Noble Phantasm just makes the gap that much bigger. You're not Grayfia, or anywhere close to her level, so focus on getting better first. On top of that, while I’m certainly not counting myself to be among the true masters of swordsmanship within the Throne, I'm not a slouch either. Give me some credit here." 


"…How much were you holding back?" Yuuto asked, a part of him afraid to hear the truth. But it was a truth he needed to know. 


"Let me put it in this way; even if the one who fought you today was my old self who was still alive… that version of me wouldn't necessarily need to use all of his prowess with the blade to take you down as you are now. Nevermind his magic" 


"Oh," Yuutofelt disheartened honestly. Even with his enhancement as a Devil and a Knight could not equal Archer's human self. "I didn't think the difference would be that big." It made him realize how monstrous both Grayfia and his teacher were, given the Servant himself praised the maid's power and Okita Souji was known to be part of Sirzechs' peerage. 


"Your problem is not that you lack power or a powerful sword. If a swordsman only relies on the abilities of their weapon and nothing else then they are doomed to fail. Again, your attacks are passable, but against someone who can keep up with your speed they become far too predictable and telegraphed. You've grown far too used to using your speed as a Knight to overwhelm slower and frankly weaker opponents. In a way, these made your swordsmanship sloppy in my eyes. Though I can't entirely blame it on you, not everyday you get to fight enemies on your level here in Kuoh." 


Yuuto digested his words, forced to agree with everything the Servant had to say. Stray Devils weren't a true danger that pushed him to his limits. In most times, a single blast from his King sufficed in killing them instantly. 


"So what you're saying is that I need a training partner that can keep up with me?" 


"I didn't insinuate that," Archer said, knowing what the Knight wanted to do. "But it wouldn't be a bad idea, you just need to find one." 


Suddenly, Archer turned his attention on the other side of the field. "Wait here, I'll be back." 


"Ah?" The Knight didn't get the opportunity to say anything before Archer disappeared from his spot as if teleporting away. He stared at that spot for a few seconds and his surroundings, fully knowing that the man couldn't use teleportation, he sighed. "He was really holding back a lot…"


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"Where did he go?" At the far corner of the field, hidden behind a dense vegetation, Sona's Queen — Shinra Tsubaki — quietly hid away and peeked at the duel between both swordsmen. 


Why was she here? 


Honestly, by pure accident. With her Kaichou now absent from the Student Council room, she went over to the Underworld to pay a visit to her sister. Tsubaki had to take over her duties and paperwork for the day. From familiarizing their newest peerage member to the Supernatural world and going over her own school work… This led her to finish off the day much later than usual. 


On her way to the gates, she saw Kiba Yuuto along with the individual that had occupied the mind of her King lately: Archer. Both going at the back of the abandoned school building and baiting her curiosity. Having spent hours trying to figure out that white haired man's origin, it was safe to say that Tsubaki was desperate for any sort of clues. 


'Ah, it's been a while since I've seen Yuuto-Kun.' Though she also had a second hidden motive. 


Unable to hold in her impulse, she sneaked behind them until the area where they started to duel. A perfect opportunity to get more information on the style of swordsmanship Archer used and his magic if possible. The girl saw how he had the ability to dismiss his shroud before the fight started. Whether he put it away somewhere else or had the ability to create such a thing from scratch was still unknown. 


When both started trading blows, Tsubaki had silently rooted for Yuuto to win, knowing that not only was he an accomplished swordsman but a powerful Knight as well. But her hopes were instantly crushed with how easily Archer had dominated the fight from beginning to end, pushing his opponent with each move, dismantling his defense as if it were a child's play and kicking him hard enough for her to wince. 


'I can't make out the sword style he's using.' 


At first he used a basic European sword style but the very fundamentals of his style seemed to change from one second to the next. Even then it was not so clear as unlike Yuuto who delivered dozens of different strikes with various techniques, Archer just lightly deflected the slashes by lightly raising his sword one way and basically using as little movement as possible. Though he did tend to use his legs for combat often whenever Yuuto left himself too open when trying to press an attack. 


After a few more rounds, Yuuto was down and could no longer continue. She was saddened for his loss but just being able to see him perform so intensely was a treat in itself. 


Then Archer disappeared from sight. 


"Where did he go?" She asked herself the same question again. 


Unbeknownst to her, that answer came from someone she didn't expect.


"Behind you."


"—!" Her instincts took over, given they were still in school her first reaction was to bring out the Naginata or her Mirror Alice. Tsubaki twirled around, raising her leg for a clean sweep only to have a firm hand grab onto her ankle and stop any movement. "Kya!" 


She lost her balance and fell on the ground, 


"Spying on us this entire time and then attacking me out of the blue when I come to investigate. Should I consider this as a declaration of war from the Sitri heir against my Master?" She looked over to see Archer with his arms crossed, standing above her when she didn't even notice his presence until he’d announced it. 


Before she could come up with an excuse, his words registered in her mind and the once stoic expression broke into one of panic.


"N-No! K-Kaichou had nothing to do with this! I was just… passing by and got curious!" She frantically waved her hands around, not wanting to cause such a misunderstanding between both parties for her reckless actions. 


She froze when Archer started to chuckle. 


"Don't take my words too seriously, I realized you were just being a curious peeping tom after you came from the front gates all the way here. Also, it doesn't help that your rather long hair makes it easy for you to be spotted with even a light breeze." He said while smirking, making Tsubaki blush out of embarrassment and experience the desire to dig a hole and bury herself forever. "I also noticed you were especially focused on the boy the vast majority of the time, weren't you?" His grin got bigger as the blush on her face spread everywhere. 


Try as she might to keep an expressionless face, she was failing terribly. 


"An admirer, a crush, or a rival are the only explanations. And I may be a dead spirit who hasn't lived anything resembling a regular life per say, but even I can recognize a maiden in love when I see one." That and Rias just happened to mention how Yuuto had many admirers among the school’s female population, and Tsubaki happened to be one of them during dinner a few days ago. "That or you came here on reconnaissance to gather Intel about me and my Master's Knight to find our weaknesses and plan a secret attack?"


Tsubaki was speechless, both options were equally bad to admit to, not to mention embarrassing! If she agreed for the first one then Archer might tell it to Yuuto! And the second option would sow discord between her King and Rias… 


Then she saw his face again and came to realize…


"Y-You're messing with me… aren't you." A statement more than a question, the man before her was intentionally making things difficult for her just for simple amusement. "I'm starting to understand why Kaichou was so frustrated last time she spoke to you. At least in class you act more normal." 


"Making fun of a Devil, it's not something I get to do often." He extended his hand which she hesitantly grabbed before getting pulled up by the man. "Also, I don't want to attract too much attention while in class. So forgive me if I act a bit cold to everyone, including your King. Though that actually reminds me, please tell Genshirou Saji to hand over his essay by tomorrow. If he's any later with it again then I'll give him a zero." 


She gave him a weird stare, "Acting as a teacher now of all times? It's a bit weird. Though I will pass on the message so rest assured, Tojou-sens — ah." She nearly called him sensei out of habit, knowing that it wasn't his real title. 


"It's okay, I’d rather you accidentally call me that than Archer when in class or anywhere else in public." 


The conversation managed to cool down the tension from before and calm Tsubaki from her chaotic emotions. She returned to her stoic expression and spoke normally again. It was clear to her that Archer was just about ready to wrap up the conversation and return to the other side. 


A single question stormed in her head as she wondered if this was the right opportunity for it. 


But having nothing to lose, she spoke again. "Um, Archer-san, you are Yuuto’s mentor now, yes?" 


"Mentor? I would hardly say that. I'm just giving him some advice here and there in exchange for a little something he agreed to do for me. Nothing so involved as to make me his mentor. The boy wanted some help to improve his technique, so he offered me a good deal which I accepted." 


Right, well if that was the case then her plan probably wouldn't work. It was crazy from the beginning honestly, but… if it came to fruition, then not only would it help her King gain opportunities to learn more about Archer… but for her to get closer to Yuuto!


Gathering enough courage, she decided to just wing it as such chances didn't come often, if ever.


"A-Archer-san… I have a favor to ask of you, if you don't mind that is."


{Break}


-Occult Research Club-


Going back to where Yuuto was resting, Emiya instructed the boy to return to the club and rest for now. His Master was still occupied with her paperwork for the day last he checked but wouldn’t be for much longer, and he was due to return to his place by her side. 


"Did something happen for you to disappear like that?" Yuuto asked while both were on their way back. 


"Oh, it was just a curious little squirrel," answered another voice, both men looked over to find Akeno at the entrance of the club with a cold glass of lemonade. "You worked up quite the sweat out there, Yuuto-kun, I made you some lemonade to help you cool down." She handed over the glass to the Knight who happily accepted. The training was intense and he did sweat a lot, so this refreshing treat was very welcomed. 


"…"


"Oh, Buchou is calling you. We have a special guest so be sure to give her a warm welcome." 


"Ah, got it." Yuuto nodded and entered the room with Archer following close behind. But before he could get inside, Akeno stepped in front of the Servant and blocked his way. A second later, the door closed leaving both of them alone inside the quiet corridor. 


"No lemonade for me?" Archer asked. 


"Follow me." Rather than answering him, she spoke with a rather monotone voice before heading straight for walking to another area of the building. Her smile had dimmed considerably as tension started to settle in between them. 


"Hah," he sighed, having an idea on what was going on. Then again, it was kind of his fault it happened to begin with so he followed the girl without any discussion. Their footsteps echoing inside the halls with Akeno not uttering a single word the entire time. They passed through a room closed with yellow tapes and 'keep out' signs. The bowman stared at the door for a few seconds, his eyes narrowing but didn't dwell on it for long. Soon, both reached a separate room entirely on the opposite side of the building. Inside an empty bed frame with furniture draped in white sheets with the only lighting being the sunshine coming from the outside. "Nice place for some privacy." 


"I know," she snapped her fingers, the doors behind him closing with a small spell acting as a soundproof seal encompassing the room. Without wasting any time, Akeno spoke again. "You saw what happened." 


The day she tortured Kalawarna for information on Raynare's whereabouts. He remembered the entire scene as clear as day, mostly because it happened not that long ago and how intense the scene was. Still, he learned a sensitive piece of information that day on Akeno which obviously distraught the girl. 


"The fact you're a Fallen Angel?" 


Crackle!


He moved his head just in time to dodge a lighting attack. The spell hitting the wall and destroying a small chunk of it, sparks surrounded her fingers as she showed him a rather forced smile on her face. 


"Touchy subject."


"You… you weren't supposed to hear that." She said, unable to meet his eyes and lowering her hand. "And she wasn't supposed to know or even say it." 


"You know, I'm new to this world given that mine does not have Devils, Fallen Angels and other mythical or biblical creatures roaming around town and going to schools. I came from a time when the Age of Gods came to an end, so my opinion on anything really is quite neutral — aside from a few initial judgments I had on Devils in the beginning. I fail to see what worries you about me knowing about your origin to change anything." He said genuinely, having little to no care or opinion about what species anyone of Rias' peerage were given he was slapped by this world's reality and how different these beings were from his own. 


Akeno scoffed, "Was that supposed to make me feel better?" 


"Not really, I'm just stating the obvious." Archer rubbed his temples, wondering why she was making such a big deal about it. "Just so you know, I'm traversing through this issue completely blind and clueless about the general context. I wouldn't a bit more clarification if you don't mind."


She gripped her forearm, silent for the next few moments and contemplating whether to tell him or not. 


"I was born to a human mother." She whispered. "She was a shrine priestess from a well-known shrine under the Himejima Clan, one of the Five Principal Clans. One day, she met a wounded man inside the woods, barely hanging onto life and a Fallen Angel on top of that." 


Archer could already see where this story was heading. It didn't take a genius to guess what happened afterwards. But he stayed quiet and let her continue the story as this wasn't the right moment for his sarcastic jabs.


"The Himejima clan are quite against factions like the Grigori and the Devils, seeing them as nothing but evil beings. Just think about how the church sees us and that's basically the same mentality with them. Having any of their members be associated or acquainted with a Fallen is a taboo of the highest order. But despite knowing all of that, she still brought him in, took care of his needs and mended his wounds. With time, love blossomed between them and they got together, from their union is how I came into the world." 


A clan highly hostile towards Fallen Angels, to have one of their members not only fall in love with one but also have a child together was probably one of the biggest sins in their eyes. Emiya had seen such cases countless times and rarely did it come with a happy ending. 


"Of course after the main clan found out, my mother was instantly exiled — they claimed she got brainwashed. She on the other hand didn't care one bit, living a happy life with my father and myself." She scornfully said 'father', her face cringing saying that word. "Not all happy moments last forever, that life which I cherished came to an abrupt end the moment the shrine was attacked by those who came to burn away this… 'abominable family'. They couldn't stomach that something like me or my mother would continue existing and come to kill us." 


"…" 


At the end, her voice started to break down, the past still having a strong effect on her current self. 


"She protected me the entire time, kept me hidden and had to face those who were after us on her own… and he wasn't there!" She exclaimed with pure anger seeping through her voice. "My mother she… she died all because of him. Those people weren't primarily after her, they wanted to kill the Fallen Angel and he left us to die!" 


It finally became clear to him. Her hatred for the race and her father, all becoming clear to his eyes. 


"I'm sorry," was all he could say. What happened could not be changed, no amount of effort or sympathy was going to heal the wounds of the past. It being something that only her father could heal as he was indirectly the main cause of it. 


"Don't be. Humph, I just lost myself there for a second." Facing away from him, he could still hear her crying and guessed she wasn't willing to face him out of shame of her own origin. "I don't even need to tell you how repulsive Fallen Angels are. After all, you've seen it with your own eyes back at the abandoned church. How she tried to manipulate Issei-kun, to get him to turn his back to us and force him into a Stray Devil. How she planned to kill innocents for the slightest convenience and steal their Sacred Gear." 


"…"


She turned around, showing a self deprecating face. "You must feel disgusted, standing so close to a creature like me, right? I remember how you were wary of the Fallens before, you don't trust their kind and were willing to kill the entire group back then if there was no need to find Raynare or any of that political play between us and the Grigoris." 


The Servant stood there still with his arms crossed, tilting his head sideways with visible confusion. "Forgive me, but I still don't see your point." His response caught her by surprise. "While it's true that I did find it safer and more convenient to kill Raynare and her group before they could cause more damage — I'm still happy with the outcome. I don't like killing as much as you or Master might suspect, quite the opposite in fact. And those Fallen Angels were purposefully trying to sow chaos and were a threat to the local population and my Master, so it's obvious why I was so active into taking care of the situation as a Servant given it's my duty to keep your King safe. It had nothing to do with them being Fallen Angels or anything like that."


"Hn, you expect me to believe that? You don't need to hide it, Archer, you can be honest with me." 


This woman was getting annoying. He had better things to do than trying to convince her about not hating or caring about a specific faction or race.


"Hah, look, I'm not going to judge the entire race of Supernatural species just because of the actions of a few. They could have been Devils, Youkais, Frogs or even a group of talking cats and I wouldn't have cared in the least. The same applies to you, be part Devil, Fallen, Angel, Human, Elf, Dragon, Dog, Cat or whatever weird humanoid species that exist in this world and It'd still be the same." Though Archer did accept the fact that in the beginning he did doubt Rias and everyone else due to their nature as Devils. But that was because of the entities he faced in his world for eons which went beyond the point of a 'handful' of groups. 


The raven haired girl gritted her teeth at his response, convinced that he wasn't being truthful. So pushing her discomfort to the side, she brought out her wings. 


Black and white appendages extended from her back. One as dark as the night sky, covered with soft feathers and glossy exterior. The other side, almost leathery, similar to that of a bat with multiple sharp ends. Akeno felt a surge of discomfort and unease from bringing out her Fallen wings out on display. Having grown used to showing her Devil wings for years and nothing else. Not even Rias got to see her other side since she last turned her into a Devil. 


This would show him what kind of abomination she truly was. Forcing out the truth he tried to hi—


"Huh, neat. So does the type of wings affect your speed in any way? And is it a Fallen thing to always have loose feathers cover the ground? It's a pain to clean up." He said while rubbing his chin, curiously looking over the wings and picking up one of the black feathers on the ground. "Or perhaps it disappears when you dismiss them… guess we'll see soon." 


At a loss of words at his dismissive reaction, she shouted, "That's your reaction? Don't you find the sight of two things that shouldn't mix repulsive!? This is not something that should exist!" 


Archer was starting to lose his patience, having had enough he walked to the girl and tapped his finger in her forehead. "Let me put it in a way that will go through your dense head. To me, you're just Akeno Himejima. Rias' Queen and mediocre cook with a tendency to indulge in your masochistic side a bit too much. I'll say it again, to me you're still just a little bratty girl, nothing more and nothing less."


"W-Why you! I'm eighteen years old! I’m not a little girl in any sense of the phrase!" Out of everything, the last thing Akeno expected to lose her cool with was her age. "And stop trying to change the subject!" 


"I'm not, it is what it is. Go find someone else to hate you for being a Fallen and Devil hybrid or whatever — I'm sure the Church faction will be more than happy to decry your existence if that’s what you’re into. I on the other hand don't have time for such nonsense, so stop moping around like a child for something that’s an inherent part of you, and let's go back. Also, if you want me to stop treating you like a kid then you'll just have to act more mature, your age and your body has nothing to do with it. Either way, whether you are a Devil or a Fallen or a hybrid of the two, you're still the same annoying brat in my eyes. Keep that in mind." 


Seriously, he had expected this conversation to be about something far more serious and potentially problematic. Not that this matter didn't hold some serious issues, but not one that required all that much attention from him. "Also, don't forget about your homework tomorrow, I'm not going to be lenient on you just because of some unresolved daddy issues."


He was certain that with time and proper care from Rias and the rest of her friends, Akeno would get over her hate. Though it would be much faster if her father came forth and talked things out. He of all people understood how important that last part was given the mess Kiritsugu inadvertently created with Emiya Shirou, and the many problems that plagued the boy in the earlier stages of his life, let alone the impacts those had down the line.


His body disappeared from his spot after entering his spiritual form, leaving Akeno all by herself within the room. Her lips quivered, as the tears she held back before streamed down her face. 


She sniffed, "…That jerk." But for some reason, it felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulders. He saw the ugliest side of her in its entirety… and he didn’t care. He saw and treated her just the same regardless. She wiped her tears, frustratingly staring at the spot where he stood before. "Calling me a brat… I'll show you."


Her emotions were in such a mess that she giggled for a few seconds. Finding the whole scenario absurd along with his ridiculous reaction now that she thought about it. Then she remembered how he also called her a mediocre cook, another arrow that struck her pride. 


"Stupid bastard, sniff… I'll prove you wrong in every way… just you wait." 


He didn't look at her with disgust even when she showed her mismatched wings, keeping that stern, analytical frown on his face like always. It reassured her more than she thought it would, giving her a strange sense of comfort. 


Her wings retracted back, as Akeno decided to stay inside the room for a few more moments until her emotions calmed down enough to return back inside the club. 


She found herself looking forward to her next class with Toujou-sensei now.


.


.


.


Archer reappeared inside the club near Rias, the latter in the middle of an arduous paperwork Sona dropped on her head along with other school assignments she had to complete for the following days. 


But he noticed something unusual, his King was worried. 


"Master?" 


"…" 


So deep in her thoughts that she didn't even react to his voice, continuing to bite her nails. This was more than worrying, to him it was clear that she was also very much stressed. Looking forward, he spotted Koneko also staring at the tray of sweets before her with less life within her eyes and Yuuto sleeping in the background. 


The atmosphere in itself was quite heavy. 


"What happened?" Having no other choice, he asked the only other member in the club who either wasn't lost in their thoughts or sleeping. "Did someone come over, Hyoudou?" He asked the boy sitting on the sofa nervously snaking on some sweets. 


"A-Ah! You wouldn't believe this, but a smoking hot maid with giant boobs came over and asked for Buchou's attention for an important matter of some kind! Uooooh, she was so sexy!"


Grayfia was here? To think she now came prepared by somehow managing to hide all of her demonic powers. He didn't feel her presence once, though it could have been before the seal in the other room and how it aided to further hide her actual presence. "What did they talk about?" 


The boy scratched his cheeks awkwardly.


"I'm not sure, I couldn't get to hear much to begin with." Something told Archer that Issei got too distracted staring at Grayfia's chest to follow the conversation properly. "Don't know if it's correct, but I'm pretty sure they said something about some number of days that have been shortened with a few changes in plans. Oh! Then I heard 'Possible Rating Game' or something like that."


That all but confirmed it for him. This must have been about the engagement to Riser Phenex. 


"Alright, I'll just ask Rias for more deta—hm?" He was cut short by someone gently pulling his shroud from behind. Turning around, the bowman found a new addition to the group he hadn't seen so far. A small girl with blonde hair and nun clothes touching his shroud with stars filling her eyes. 


"S-Sei davvero un santo!" She said with great shock. 


"Huh?"


‘…Oh no,’ Archer nearly lost it when he saw the girl go down on her knees and start praying out of nowhere. 


"Argh!"


My head!" 


"Hn!" 


Every Devil inside the room flinched with a sudden terrible headache, the girl's prayers being more than enough to bring them back to reality and hold their throbbing heads. All the while, Emiya questioned just what had happened the entire time he wasn't in the club and the identity of this new weirdo. 


Then again, he already had a pretty good guess given the nun outfit she wore, which only made him more afraid as to why she started praying to him. For no particular reasoning!


"Eurgh, what happened?" Rias said, holding her throbbing head with one hand. "Archer?" 


"Finally awake I see, Master. Care to tell me who this girl praying at my feet is, and why she just called me a saint?"