38

Danger screamed over my Bond with Issei, Kiba, and Koneko at the last second. The horny part of my mind howled at being cockblocked like this. The non-horny part of my mind leapt into action. I grabbed Kiara by the shoulders.

"Oh, Taylor, ~so forward~"

"No time," I said, scooping Kiara into a bridal carry and throwing caution to the wind. I felt for Koneko's location in the Bond, and stepped through the Warp to her.

"Is this how you proposition me to become one of your fiances?" Kiara asked, oblivious to the current surroundings and danger.

We had arrived just in time to hear the enemy start monologuing. Luckily no one had been hurt yet, but I threw up a shield between us and the crazed looking stray exorcist just in case.

"You have been chosen to reveal my existence to the world! You will witness what happens here today, and you will tell of it later! Except ya won't! Cause I'll 'ave killed ya! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" said the dangerously deranged man with a thick irish accent.

He wielded two swords in a reverse grip like knives. A third sword was slung across his back. He wore a long white coat with a golden cross hanging around his neck, and glasses that glinted in the light to obscure his eyes.

"Ah, brilliant speech," I deadpanned. "And unoriginal. That was totally from Boondock Saints."

"What! No, it isn't. I came up with it a week ago."

I felt the approval of a certain fuckmothering vampire transcend dimensions as I freaked out a bit internally. Alexander Anderson. How the fuck did Kokabiel convince Father Anderson to be his Excalibur lackey?

Nevermind. The Fallen Angel with a boner for the Great War, and a Catholic with a boner for murdering monsters and non-believers make a sick kind of sense together, now that I thought about it. Father Anderson was probably just in this to kill devils and heretics. Still, he was going to be way more of a problem than Freed.

"Stray Exorcist! Why do you have the stolen Excalibur fragments?!" Xenovia yelled.

"Stray? Stray!? I never strayed from the Light of God! It is you who are the strays. Consorting with filthy devils," Anderson spat. "You disgust me."

My perception of time slowed to a crawl as I took in and considered the situation. Kiba looked like he was just about to go into a berserker state at the sight of the Excalibur fragments. He had summoned a demon sword in his hand that sparked with lightning running down its length. I regretted that I didn't get a chance to talk him through his issues before this had happened.

Issei was ready to back Kiba up, but he looked more wary than he would've been if I hadn't spent the entire training camp kicking him around. Koneko was actually glaring at me, pouting because I hadn't put Kiara down yet.

Even with the Church girls helping them fight, I didn't like their chances. Father Anderson would most likely wipe the floor with all of them if Kiara and I didn't step in to help. I also spied Anderson's backup lurking at the edge of the nearby forest. The round, old man could only have been Galilei.

Anderson's form shimmered, and he disappeared from sight. The rush of displaced air was the only warning I got before he was upon Kiba. Kiba's instincts and speed barely allowed him to block his invisible assailant in time.

Anderson's chuckle rang throughout the area, seeming to come from everywhere around us, "You're a fast one, little bat. Will speed alone be enough though?"

Xenovia and Irina leapt into action. I held back Issei and Koneko from joining them in their suicidal charge. I sent out a visible pulse of magic that exposed Anderson's position. The charging Church girls gravitated towards the outline that was crouched in a tree.

Xenovia's destructive slash with Durandal evaporated the bottom half of the tree. Anderson had already jumped away, and my magic quickly lost sight of him. He appeared momentarily on the other side of the clearing. After sheathing Transparency, and drawing Nightmare, Father Anderson stabbed the new sword into the ground.

A wave of thorny vines burst from the ground, rushing at Issei and Koneko. Issei's boosted "Explosion" blew away the illusion. Anderson seemed to be avoiding the exorcists in favor of focusing on the devils present. He quickly disappeared from the senses again after his illusion failed to take hold.

With me still holding a lewd nun, I was relegated to a supporting role. Which was probably for the best, seeing as this was mostly Kiba's fight. My grip on Kiara tightened as I felt Galilei making his move.

The fat, excommunicated priest casually made his way from his hiding place into the spotlight. Anderson's assault didn't stop. His guerilla hit-and-run tactics kept Kiba on his toes as the exorcist duo tried to pin down the invisible man.

"Father Anderson," Galilei said. "Swing with your hips, not your back."

"Don't tell me how to kill demons, you fat fuck!" Anderson shouted, his voice coming from somewhere behind Kiba.

"What's your deal, old man?" I asked.

"Ah, forgive me. I am Valper Galilei, and I was the lead researcher of the Holy Sword Project."

Kiba roared with animalistic rage at Galilei's reveal. He ignored Anderson's presence, kicking the ground and shooting towards the fatter of the two priests.

"My, my, that's no way to treat your eld- Oh Fuck!" Galilei said, dropping to the ground as Kiba's swords sliced through the air where his head used to be.

I deflected Anderson's opportunistic sneak attack on Kiba's exposed back. Irina took advantage of the deflection. She extended Excalibur Mimic, using it like a spear to try and reach Anderson. The blade was batted aside with a motion from Anderson that was so fast, it looked like a blur even to my senses.

A quickly expanding dome of telekinetic energy pushed Anderson away from Kiba. I felt Anderson kick off the dome to gain even more distance. Kiba didn't let up, swinging his sword down and cutting off one of Galilei's hands at the wrist.

Galilei surprised me when he didn't scream or cry out at his dismemberment. He just clutched his new stump, and slid backwards on his ass. Kiba's motion to follow him was interrupted by another illusion from Excalibur Nightmare.

Xenovia intercepted the illusion with one of Durandal's destructive blasts, but not before Kiba was forced to dodge out of the way. The line of fire that Anderson had projected broke down into illusionary shards when it met the Holy Sword's power.

I threw a telekinetic spear at the place the illusion had come from, but like I expected, Anderson had already moved. I couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit useless in this fight. All I could really do to make a difference was keep the non sword users safe. Still, I knew this was Kiba's fight, and he wouldn't take too kindly to me butting in.

My hand unconsciously groped Kiara's ample thighs to work off my frustration. The way I was still carrying her allowed me to subtly plunder her flesh without even realizing it. Kiara squeaked, then gasped and moaned at the feeling of my hand on her body. Koneko twitched at the sound. She was the only one that noticed Kiara's pleasure. Even I didn't hear her with my attention so focused on supporting Kiba and keeping the battlefield under control.

Kiba rushed back at Galilei with single-minded focus. Having the person responsible for his suffering and the deaths of his friends had made him into a berserker. He was out for blood, and if I had it my way, he would get it.

I had already rifled through Galilei's mind, and seen how much of a sociopath he was. He was the definition of an unethical researcher. He didn't care who he hurt or experimented on. The only thing that mattered to him was getting results.

I tripped him when he tried to get up, allowing Kiba to close the distance in an instant. Galilei's face contorted in terror when he realized that no one was coming to his aid.

"Wait, wait, wait, we can talk about this, right? You wouldn't kill an innocent old man, would you?" Galilei blubbered, begging for his life.

"Innocent?" Kiba scoffed. "No one involved in the Holy Sword Project was innocent, especially not you. Not even me."

He whispered the last line with guilt heavy in his voice. Galilei wasn't given a chance to respond to that, even though he was already reaching into his pocket to bribe Kiba with the Light Container. Kiba stabbed the researcher through the gut, cutting upwards with his sword and stopping just shy of his heart. The Light Container fell out of Galilei's hand as he fell to his side, dying a slow, painful death.

The crystal container twinkled when Kiba picked it up. Kiba started tearing up, listening to something only he could hear. The container burst into light particles, which slowly were absorbed into Kiba's body. The light attribute glowed as it settled in his heart, before spreading down his arm and forming his Balance Breaker.