24 Talk With The Troubled Youth

Later that day, Rias went and discussed the vision with her brother. Aside from giving him a memory crystal from the interaction, he pretty much told her that he would make plans with the other leaders. Unless otherwise stated though, the plan would be the same.

Student Council Office (2 Days Later) (Sona's P.O.V)

Sona and Kiba were alone in the student council office. Sona had set an appointment with Artoria to sit down with Kiba. She would've liked to leave them alone for the conversation, but she needed to be there in case Kiba lashed out again. Based on the power she felt from the girl and the experience likely inherited from King Arthur, she really wasn't worried about her. It was just her responsibility as a king to be present and aware of critical developments that may affect her members in a long-term manner.

She was not one to run away from problems with her peerage. She would formulate a plan to deal with their traumas and execute it methodically. As it executed, she would be there with them every step of the way. The funny thing was that if Rias hadn't gone on her epic adventure, then she would likely just procrastinate on the problems of her peerage and hope someone else dealt with it; it's how she used to deal with her problems before they reached the breaking point with Riser.

Suddenly, right at the appointed time, a golden teleportation circle lit up and Artoria stepped out. With everyone else from Rias's pillars not present, they could feel the sheer aura of divinity shining through. It surprised them that someone with such a pure divine aura could also be a demon. That was something they would have to consider. Everyone assumed demons were creatures of darkness due to their association with Lucifer, but the reality is that they existed long before he did. It may well be discovered that they fall closer to neutral. She did hear that Rias seemed to be unaffected when mentioning the Biblical God. She had assumed it was due to her newfound divinity when she learned of it, but maybe that may not be entirely the case.

"Thank you for setting this up Ms. Sitri" Artoria said bringing Sona out of her thoughts.

Artoria walked up to the only available chair in the room, which just coincidentally happened to be across from Kiba. Seeing that the guest was in the room, Sona decided to start the meeting off.

"I should be thanking you. Not many people would offer a private meeting after what you experienced." Artoria laughed.

"It's fine. I can tell that Kiba has a noble spirit. His eyes are just clouded by the pain of hatred. A poison that weathers the mind and twists one's ideals. I can see that salvation is possible by what I see in his eyes. He just needed a little bit of help and I would be honored to provide it." She finished and looked toward Kiba.

His hands were shaking. Here sitting in front of him was King Arthur, or the closest one could come to him and he had to keep his calm. He was glad Sona was in the room. It was one of the primary things keeping him from running a sword through her throat, or trying at least. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and started off.

"I'm sorry" he got out. Taking another breath, he continued. "As you've inferred. An event happened to me and a lot of other kids many years back. We were experimented on to produce an artificial wielder of the fragments of the holy sword Excalibur." He paused took another deep breath, but before he got to continue, Artoria interrupted.

"Wait, what do you mean fragments? How did it shatter? It shouldn't be possible."

"It happened shortly after King Arthur's death. The three factions fought for the sword and in a final confrontation, the sword was shattered." Sona elaborated.

"Question then. Has the Lady of the Lake been sighted since that incident?" Sona nodded.

"It's rare that she's seen, but I've heard from my sister that she's visited her lake a few times and gotten to talk with her." Artoria then shook her head.

"Then the sword isn't shattered. Lady Vivien attached a part of her soul to that sword. In a way, her true body is in it. It was her success at creating a next generation sacred gear as a means of overseeing the artifact. The form most people witness is an astral projection, since she's not really trapped, just filling a container as water fills a cup. If a sword was shattered, then it wasn't Excalibur, probably a recreation, a fake."

The eyes of Sona and Kiba widened. "Wait, wasn't Excalibur created by men?" Sona asked with burning curiosity.

Artoria shook her head.

"No. The blade was forged by the will of the planet. The will that gave birth to the primordial gods forged it and tempered it in its core for thousands of years. It was created as a weapon to protect the world from outsiders; it holds a similar role as Great Red. When humanity begged for hope, for salvation in an age where they were mere cattle to the supernatural, it answered by tasking Lady Vivian to bind herself to the sword and make sure it was wielded by the right person. The binding was especially necessary since it was deviating from the original intention it had when it created the sword by saving humans from a non-otherworldly species. When King Arthur died, the sword was returned. I don't know where it is now, but the Sword is not brittle enough to shatter, even if Shiva used his full power on it repeatedly for a thousand years. I'm not sure if I'm fated to wield it myself, but I will be ready in case I'm called."

Kiba was conflicted. He couldn't destroy Excalibur. If Shiva couldn't do it, he definitely didn't stand a chance. Then again, it wasn't the blade he was aiming for. That blade was a fake. He could go after the seven fragments without worry. Suddenly he felt worse than he felt going in. He was ready to kill her and she wasn't even related.

"I'm sorry"

"About?" She tilted her head, confused about why he was apologizing.

"I acted out like that with out even having all the facts. I could've killed an innocent person. And that would make me no different then…. Them."

She shook her head.

"No, it's a two fold problem. You didn't have all the facts for one, but that can hardly be blamed on you considering that the misinformation concerning Excalibur's origin seems to be a common misunderstanding. Would you agree Ms. Sitri?"

Sona nodded. "That's true. The myth that we believed is the common understanding and please, call me Sona."

Artoria nodded. "I'll make sure to. Anyways, the second problem is that your hatred is so overwhelming it encourages you to lash out. Hatred is not a thing that can be pointed at with specificity. No, it is a force of nature that dilutes your sense of morality. It causes you to act in ways you wouldn't have even imagined doing, all in the pursuit of justice. Mordred was a great example. In the beginning, his anger at Arthur may have been justified, but as their conflict raged on, it became a hatred so strong that he wasn't himself anymore. It wasn't about his perceived justice anymore. It was about destroying Arthur and all that he held dear, even Britain wasn't off the table." Artoria sighed. "His anger would have driven him to destroy the very country he was trying to inherit."

That got Kiba's attention. That could be him. Reflecting on some of his actions in pursuit of revenge. Hell, even what he almost attempted a few days back would have been something he would have looked down upon previously. He would give this some thought.

Sona looked at the finishing exchange with barely hidden glee.

'The situation's resolved without any trouble! Maybe, Rias and I can catch up now that there's no bad blood on the table. All right time to wrap this up before anything else can go wrong.' She then looked towards Artoria with a thankful expression.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with us this morning. We really appreciate the time and the grace you've given us"

Artoria shook her head. "No, this the least I can do for someone needing salvation. It's my duty as a woman trying to live up to my ancestor's legacy."