Chapter 12

Schoolyard.

Frostmourne moved against Kiba`s Holy Erasers, blocking and deflecting both blades with minimalistic effort. Alex was focused far more on his defense instead of assaulting his enemy at the moment, seeing that attacking Kiba in his state right now would only play in his favor. Besides that, Kiba may be blinded by rage and desire to kill him and Arturia, but that doesn`t mean that he has lost his Knight`s prime advantage- superior speed. Indeed, Alex does not possess the same speed as Kiba in terms of swordplay, nor was he as skilled in usage of blade in the same way Kiba did. However, what Alex did possess was more than making up for that lack. Unlike Yuuto Kiba, who was thinking as a knight, a warrior of pride, chivalry and honor, Alexander`s mindset was more like one of an assassin, calculating, precise and realistic. Kiba was fighting for honor, but Alex was more akin to achieving decisive victory, through patience, study and preparations. And even right now, he was studying, learning and preparing, as Kiba was launching one attack after another, seemingly having Alex pinned against the wall with his overbearing assault, left with only option to defend himself.

But, what Kiba wasn`t seeing right now was the fact that Alex was simply standing in front of him and not moving even an inch. However, Cuhullin and Arturia were more experience d and trained warriors, capable of seeing through minor disguises. Both at the moment were watching closely how their close friend was faring against the person that started up this whole ruckus. And near of them were the rest of the audience, watching with high interest and having their own thoughts on the matter.

Arturia was the first to break the silence.

"Alexander is faring rather surprisingly admirably against him." She commented, watching Alex blocking left Eraser and moving to the left and pushing Kiba back. "His stance is firmly defensive and his moves are precise and minimalistic. I`m pleasantly surprised that he was perfecting his defensive style over offensive, just as I`ve asked him to do." Arturia remembered with a small smile.

"Wait, do you mean to tell us that he was studying swordplay before he became a Devil?" Rias asked Arturia curiously, causing Pendragon look at her critically.

"As the matter of affect, Alex has always been a Devil." Arturia reminded Gremory, causing the redhead to frown. "And yes, he did express an interest in learning the art of swordsmanship. We both were 14 when he and I started to practice together. While it was always more or less clear that I held the advantage over him in almost every area of sword art, Alex was compensating for it with his adaptability and superior mind. And now… It`s clear to say that your Knight is the one that is at disadvantage here and his time is short now. Right now, Alex holds the major advantage over him."

"What?! That`s bullshit! Kiba is the best when it comes to swords. Ain`t no way he is losing it to Alex, just look how he is kicking his ass!" Issei disagreed, seeing Kiba performing combos in air against Alex, who was merely blocking him.

Cuhullin simply snorted at Issei`s stupidity.

"Kid, you must be really new into this if you don`t see the obvious." Lancer pointed at Kiba and Alex. "Right now, I`m totally at the agreement with my partner here. Your gay prince may have more speed and mobility then Alex, along with being able to wield two blades at once, but the way he fights, how he simply goes into assault after assault, along with basically not seeing the obvious, he won`t last very long."

"Care to elaborate us here?" Rias critically asked the both. "What makes you so sure that a Servant that I`ve chosen to be my Knight shall fail to defeat my future husband?" Rias was mentioning this fact specifically, stating her status here.

That caused Akeno to look down a bit, Tsubaki to clench her naginata tighter and send a glare at Gremory, while Arturia contained her dismay by simply stiffening his grip on Divine Excalibur. Raynare, instead of being silent, decided to voice her opinion.

"Pardon me, but does anyone else sense this?" She deliberately sniffed the air and then covered up her nose. "Ugh… Smells like a mix of marches, dumpster, rotten flesh and bullshit. And above all of that, we also have a crimson haired whiny princess here, that thinks that because her big brother is a Satan, she can do whatever the hell she wants and doesn't give a shit about others` feelings."

"Do you seek your death, crow?" Rias` red aura glowed a little. "Because, if I remember correctly, you are nothing more but a servant of Alex, not his fiancé. And as his official future wife, I have more than enough right to dispose of you right now just for your words."

"Don`t push it, princess." Raynare threatened Rias, revealing her 4 wings and two powerful Light Spears. "In terms of status, you may be somewhere higher than me, but don`t think that just because you are a High-Class bitch you are stronger than me. Alex has made sure that if there were trouble I would be able to give anyone a beating. Including you, crimson haired princess."

Rias was already on edge, when Tsubaki interjected with her question to Arturia and Cuhullin.

"Might I ask both of you something?" Both descendants nodded. "Are you here because of Alexander`s situation, or you have some different matter here?"

"Our business here is directly tied to Alexander." Arturia answered. "We were dispatched here with a specific goal and our orders include informing the highest ranking member of Grigori in this area about our mission."

"So, Alexander really is connected to Grigori, isn`t he?" Tsubaki received a nod from Arturia. "Mind if I ask you, just how high in rank is Alex in Grigori? And will there be any trouble for us in the future from you?"

"Nah, you needn`t to worry about that." Cuhullin shrugged. "Are orders are plain about not stirring up trouble with Devils. As for the rank of Alex, sorry, that`s a confidential information, but, I`ll say that among us, decedents and Sacred Gear users, Alex sticks out as one guy that we all respect and like. Myself and my lovely companion, of course, included."

"I see." Tsubaki adjusted her spectacles. "Then allow me to apologize for my reaction. I was under the impression that you represented a threat to us."

"Neh, I`m cool with it." Cuhullin waved away, but then he turned serious. "But, care to explain just what possessed that idiot to attack us in the first place? All we did was just pass by and then he challenges Arturia to a fight and then attacks just because we refused. Mind telling us what`s his malfunction?"

"Kiba… Has a grudge against Holy Swords, that`s all." Rias replied returning her attention to a fight.

By this time, Alexander has blocked nearly 6 of Kiba`s assaults and the said blond knight was now standing in front of Lucifer, panting and catching his breath, covered in sweat, but his swords were still in the battle position. Rias` Knight used up all of his power and stamina to attack Alex and break his defenses, but said Devil proved to Kiba that he could easily block and deflect any of his strikes, cuts and thrusts. From no position was he able to attack Alex successfully and break his defensive stance. Hell, it was as if he could read every single move that Kiba was going to make and place his sword where it should be in order to deflect or block him. Kiba knew that Alex had a certain degree of potential in swordplay, but he always considered himself to be superior in all areas of swordplay. And now, here he way, panting and being practically defeated even without receiving a single strike.

By this time, Alex has pretty much achieved his initial purpose: exhausting Kiba to the point of him being not able to continue effectively fight. In his blind rage state, that idiot didn`t think properly and ended up in such poor state. While it was true that Kiba has speed and more experience with swords, Alex exceeds Kiba in terms of sheer strength, stamina, endurance, strategic mindset by a very wide margin. Kiba has always prided himself as top Knight among Servants, but he has several vital weaknesses, such as his utter disregard of defense and his relatively low stamina, along with overestimating himself and his skills. If it was a contest of speed, Kiba would`ve won, but in battle such as this, speed isn`t the most vital parameter. It`s the ability to fight for the longest amount of time that really counts, and Alex surpasses his opponent in this several times over and then some. If it was before he became a Devil, then he would be done for already, but after Forsaken Regalia was finally released and Galeran became his mentor, Alex had to endure a real Spartan training from Northern Dragon Emperor, pushing himself to the point of nearly breaking several bones and damaging his muscles, but in less than 2 months, Alex managed to reach the pinnacle of his physical prowess in terms of his strength, endurance, speed and stamina. He could handle battling against a small army for hours non-stop and still beat them. His speed was still lower than Kiba`s, but it was enough to keep up with him and put up a very good guard against Kiba.

There was also one more factor in play: Frostmourne. After Alex had integrated Frostmourne and his power, essentially binding this sword with himself, this powerful weapon became essentially a continuation of himself and his soul. Frostmourne was a hard to handle sword and his weight wasn`t easing up after practice, as it was continuing to evolve with his master. However, Alex had quite a lot of time after the Rating Game to practice up his skills in handling this sword, even if he was in cage essentially. But that didn`t mean that his mind was caged and, thanks to Galeran and Frostmourne bonded with Alex, young Lucifer was able to master it`s usage in his mind, body responding instinctively and learning along. So, right now he was capable of putting up a very good fight if he wanted to, but he didn`t… At least at the moment.

Alex moved his sword down, moving into an offensive position and in the next second he charged at Kiba. Rias` Knight wasn`t ready for this, but he still prepared himself for an attack at the best of his abilities. But, all this fighting and exhaustion were taking a very great toll on him. At this point, he could barely hold one sword, not two at the same time whatsoever. And that was the end of him.

Alex appeared right before Kiba`s eyes, making a single quick slash from right to left with his Frostmourne. And in the next second, Kiba dropped both of his swords and stepped back, a red long line appeared on his body and he dropped down on to the ground, wounded. Alex simply walked to him and, just to make sure, stroke him with a handle at the back of his head, leaving him unconscious. Good thing that he only grazed him instead of doing it seriously, because just one good strike like that would be deadly even for a Devil, but this wouldn`t do a lot of damage, just put Kiba on hold for a day or two until he recovers. And with that, Alex turned to the audience and spoke up.

"Well, with all pesky avengers avenged, why don`t we take it somewhere more comfortable and less…" Alex sniffed the air and frowned at the stench. "Ugh… Somewhere with air cleaner and without a certain red haired march witch to kill us with this stench."

Lucifer`s Estate. One hour later.

After sending Asia to Kiba to heal him up, along with Rias getting up to three showers, the group has finally arrived to Alex`s place, where they were joined by Sona and Grayfia, who stayed there and was now dressed in civilian clothes, instead of her usual maid attire. Everyone was in the large living room, Alex and all the higher up devils on one side, along with members of households and Peerage members, while Cuhullin and Arturia were on the different side of the living room, along with Raynare. Now that all the things were taken care, they could finally begin their talks.

Alex, after sighing, was the first to speak up.

"Okay, guys, what has brought you in Kuoh? I`m pretty sure that Grigori and Azazel personally knows that this town is Devils` territory and last time Fallen Angels and their allies were here, things went south." Alex reminded.

Rias decided to add up with a smirk.

"Oh, and if I find your answer not satisfying enough, there might be some serious consequences for you two."

"Rias, please contain your arrogance a little." Sona asked her seriously, turning to the pair. "My apologies, Rias Gremory here is the appointed governor of this area, but she tends to believe herself to be the absolute ruler here and doesn`t pay much attention to other high-ranking Devils in here."

"Anyway, Arturia, Cuhullin, what`s really going on?" Alex asked directly the pair. "I know for a fact that you aren`t dispatched unless there is some serious trouble coming, and that`s when one of you sent, so I`m guessing there is something really serious incoming, is there?"

Everyone looked at Alex with surprise and was actually amazed that he knew so well how heroes` descendants are operating and what it means to send one or two on a mission. Rias and Sona, along with their Peerages, have heard rumors that Azazel and Grigori gathered up around them quite a number of Sacred Gear users, some of whom are among the strongest there is. There were also some whispers that Azazel and his people also have a number of hero descendants under their wing as well and that they often operate as their special espionage or black ops unit, but there were no real confirmation to it. Well, until now, of sorts. It was also quite stunning that Alex had knowledge of such sensitive topics for Grigori. If Devils were to go to war, as Rias thought, then Alex would be their main trump card with his deep knowledge of Fallen Angels. Now, if only she could squeeze more information from him of that topic…

"You are correct in that assumption, Alex." Arturia agreed, looking at the others. "What Alexander said is true. Whenever there is a very problematic situation that threatens to destabilize the current ceasefire between Three Factions, Grigori, instead of sending out their official group, rely on us, hero descendants, to resolve the matter in the quickest and safest way possible. We, what you would call, a specialized peacekeeping force, operating independently and securing their objectives outside of jurisdiction of Angels, Devils and Fallen Angels."

"So, in short, you operate as deterrent force, preventing the escalation of tensions between the factions." Sona summarized. "Quite fascinating, to be fair with you. I would`ve never imagined that Azazel has established such force, in order to keep a new war from breaking out."

"Well, since we, descendants of famous heroes, will be dragged into that war, if it were to break out again, because of our unique abilities, weapons and lineages, it`s pretty obvious that some wouldn`t like for it to start up in the first place," Cuhullin spoke. "So, Azazel has set up this little spec ops unit, taking care of all troublemakers that decide to start up trouble. And we are here just because of that." Lancer turned to Alex. "Alex, mind if I ask you if you happen to notice any strange events going on in the town. Like, sudden outbursts of rage among people out of the blue, reports about people being attacked by other people or something like that?"

"Sorry, bro, but I`ve been pretty much out of the loop in the past 2 weeks." Alex replied. "I`ve had some business to take care and I`ve pretty much got free today."

"Yeah, Raynare has already told us all about your battle with Riser and that you are actually Lucifer`s grandson." Lancer smirked to him. "I say, you`ve done society a service. Also, having First Devil as your grandpa is simply awesome, if you ask me."

"Well, kid sure knows who is boss." Lucifer chuckled to that.

"And what of you, Lady Sitri? I apologize for my rudeness and direct approach, but if you did receive such information, then we would appreciate it if you shared it with us." Arturia spoke seriously and diplomatically.

"Hm… Now that you mention it, I did receive several reports of accidents that you`ve described just now." Sona replied, rubbing her chin. "And what`s most interesting about all of those reports is the fact that all victims end up having serious rash, nausea and other suspicious symptoms, akin to more deathly variant flu."

Both heroes glanced at each other with knowing looks and nodded to each other, confirming what they`ve already suspected. Alex also caught on to that and knew better than anyone else that if they were speaking with each other that way, then they were aware of something now that meant serious shit coming up. And just from the looks on their faces, Alex was more than sure that whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn`t going to be pretty. In fact it very much may be something that will endanger a lot of innocent lives in the process.

Alex spoke again.

"I take it; you were already suspecting that whatever you were tracking was already here?" Alex received a firm nod from Arturia. "Okay, why don`t you gives the details of whatever this is. Because I have a feeling that there is something really bad coming our way."

"You aren`t too far away with that suspicion, bro." Cuhullin spoke seriously. "I`m sure that everyone here knows that Grigori, just like other factions, tries it`s best not to start up a war. Unfortunately, that can`t be said for a certain Devil`s faction that has been a constant thorn in Azazel`s ass."

"Old Satan Faction." Alex spoke firmly, drawing everyone`s attention. "While most of the Devil`s race is under firm control of current Four Satans, there are still those that prefer to follow the descendants of the original Satans. And they, unlike most of the Devils, haven`t acknowledged the ceasefire and continue to attack members of Angels and Fallen Angels, trying to ignite the new conflict between the factions. Out of all morons that desire to spark a new war, they are by far the most dangerous and unpredictable of them all, as they hold quite the influence and powerbase, allowing them to mount attack after attack on the factions. They are one of the main reasons why this task force was established in the first place and why our factions still can`t get the peace treaty signed up."

Sona was generally surprised that Alex was so well informed of the matters concerning the politics between the Three Factions and about the inner turmoil inside the Devil`s society. She really did enjoy having near her smart people and Alex so far proven himself to be the smartest there is. And his knowledge of the politics and foreign affairs already was enough for him to be considered a valuable ally and friend. Bust Sona wished to see Alex not as ally or close friend, but as her bellowed and possible husband. He already passed her test on beating her in chess, proven to be a very powerful person, along with someone who understood and cherished people close to him. And she wasn`t even looking into the fact that he was a direct descendant of Lucifer, as it didn`t really matter to her. Sona wished that she was the one engaged with Alex, but Rias…

That minx has used the whole situation all to her own advantage and instead of letting go of Alex she decided to tie him to herself through a different kind of bond and was enjoying the spoils of her manipulations. Sirzechs didn`t see through her ruse, as he loved his sister way too much to look past her mask, while Serafall and Sona caught onto that from the fist second Rias voiced her opinion. She stated that if Alex were to marry into the powerful Devil`s family, he would be safe and Devils would secure themselves a very powerful warrior on their side. Along with that, as Alex was a grandson of First Devil, his status was quite unique and whatever family were to become tied with him, then they would have secured themselves a possible heir with the blood of original Satan, and as Gremory family has produced the current Lucifer, having Alexander join the Gremory family through marriage would greatly improve powerbase of Rias and Sirzechs, along with giving sort of legitimacy to Sirzechs rule as a Devil King.

However, that also applied to other families as well and Sitris were also a powerful family as well, not to mention the once that have produced a current Leviathan and has equal amount of influence and power as Gremory family, meaning that if Alex were to marry Sona then he would also be secured, and Sona wished that Alex was safe and she didn`t view him as a political tool or as a prized possession, like Rias. In truth, Serafall has also confessed to Sona that Alex was quite intriguing and she has expressed profound interest in him, because he wasn`t like any other man she had ever met before. And Satan wouldn`t mind going on a date or two with him, but only if it wasn`t affecting his relations with Sona. As for Sona herself, she and the other girls have already discussed it long ago and have agreed to share Alex as long as he was on with it. He was simply too good for one girl to have, that was for sure. Besides that, there was also a problem with Devil`s very low fertility and numbers, so harems were becoming more and more common. So, Sona was all for it, if there was, of course, no Rias in it. That red haired minx didn`t deserve to have Alex.

Sona turned away from her thoughts and looked at both of the heroes.

"All that said is true." She agreed with Alex. "Is it safe to assume that your mission is directly tied with descendants of original Satans?"

"Yes, that is correct." Arturia confirmed, taking a breath. "Two months ago, Grigori`s Intelligence reported us that a member of higher echelons of Old Satan Faction, Malaya Leviathan, has acquired a trough unknown means a very powerful and dangerous artifact, Necroa Scepter."

"Wait… Did she just say Necroa Scepter?" Lucifer suddenly clicked in with serious voice, drawing the attention of his daughter and grandson.

'She most certainly did, but I don`t believe that I`ve heard of such thing before.' Grayfia spoke in her mind. 'Alex, have you heard that name before?'

'No, but I have a feeling that whatever it is, it's nothing good.' Alex reported. 'Old man, I take it you`ve heard of that thing before?'

"Worse, I`ve had to deal with it before." Lucifer grimly reported. "When I was still God`s Right Hand and his Angel of Death, I was sent with my brother Azrael to investigate a sudden plague that stroke cities Sodom and Gomorrah. When we arrived, we found out that there was no plague, as there was no one that could be infected. The entire population of both cities was turned into mindless and raging living dead, rotting and festering, destroying all that was on their path."

'Wait… You mean to tell me that Sodom and Gomorrah weren`t destroyed by God, but by…zombification?' Alex asked surprised.

"Oh, the cities were destroyed, but by me and Azrael." Lucifer confirmed. "We`ve discovered the source of that plague very soon in form of black staff with an ill looking green crystal placed on the tip of it. That was Necroa Scepter, a powerful artifact, created by the magi of both cities by using the darkest and most vile form of magic that was known to all races."

"Necromancy…" Alex soundly muttered, drawing everyone`s attention.

"Alex?" Akeno asked concerned. "Why did you suddenly say something like that?"

"I remember reading in one of Medea`s books about certain items and manuscripts that allowed to bring back dead to life." Alex explained. "And in many names, 'Necroa' always meant reanimating corpses. And this Scepter most certainly sounds like something out of the same opera."

"Medea? As in, the infamous sorceress from Greek mythology, lover of Jason and a mother of his children, that killed them out of jealousy and the one that was a very powerful witch?" Tsubaki curiously asked. "I never knew you`ve had an interest in such things before."

"Actually, that version is nothing more but a much propagandized fairytale. In reality, Jason and Medea led a relatively peaceful and happy life after their adventures, living away from politics and schemes." Alex informed Tsubaki. "And Medea I was referring to is actually their descendant and one of my friends from my time in Grigori. She is one of the strongest Magicians, but she preferred not to ally herself with no magi association or other magicians group. Instead, she was volunteered into the Grigori and became a very valuable member of the team and its main expert on necromancy and other powerful dark arts. I was… curious about magical arts, so I`ve read a couple of her books. Aside from that, she is actually a remarkable designer of clothes and tailor. Heck, half of my entire wardrobe is her work." Alex chuckled a little.

"Anyway, after we`ve discovered that Malaya has acquired the Scepter, we started to receive very troublesome reports about… literal zombies attacking innocent people in several towns." Cuhullin saw the surprise on faces. "Yeah, yeah, zombies are a real thing. Believe me, I`ve personally saw and killed quite a share on my own. Fortunately, all of those attacks were happening in secluded and relatively isolated areas, so we were able to deal with this without serious trouble. At first, we didn`t see the connection between these incidents, but when a month ago, our top operative personally encountered Malaya and saw her new toy, that`s when we went in full alert and this became our top priority. Along with us two, two other teams were dispatched for this mission, sent in different locations in this country. We were specifically instructed to contact Alex and cooperate with him on this mission. Along with that, our command also has told us to come in contact with Devils in this town and warn them about the threat of possible attack on the city."

"How very considerate of Fallen Angels, to send their little children to warn us about something as preposterous as living dead." Rias dismissed the very idea. "Are you trying to fool us? Or your mission is in fact to cooperate with Old Satan Faction to assassinate us? Anyway, I believe that I`ve heard quite enough of this farce."

Now, that statement was something that Arturia didn't take very well and she decided to voice out her frustration.

"How dare to blame us in something so ridiculous?!" Arturia was righteously furious. "We were the once that came to you and warned you about this danger! Not only that, but you were the first to attack us without even a reason for that, and yet, we`ve willingly shared very sensitive and important information with you, regarding the real threat to you and innocent people of this town. The least you can do is listen to us and not insult us in such mocking manner!"

"And what gives you the right to correct me in my own home?" Rias smirked victoriously at Arturia, who was now stepping back a little. "You are in no right to order me here and I`m politely asking you now to leave, until things really get out of the control."

"Rias, I think that we should really listen to their words." Akeno decided to voice her opinion. "Arturia is right and they have nothing to gain in deceiving us."

"Akeno, since when did you become a friend of Grigori`s lapdogs?" Rias turned to her Queen. "Don`t tell me that you actually believe their little farce? Are you really that easy to fool?" Akeno`s expression was beginning to shift to one of shock and dismay

"Rias!" Alex made sure to shut her up. "You`ve already proven to all of us here that you are absolutely incompetent as a protector and governor of this area. And we all know how that worked out for all of us." Alex critically stated. "Based on that, along with you ignorance of an obvious threat to the city and all its inhabitants, I believe that it`s time for some changes in our political structure. As a member of House of Lucifer and a current Head of House of Lucifuge, I remove you from your position as governor of this area and take control over this area, until the immediate threat has been removed."

Rias was utterly shocked. She was removed from her position by Alex?! As if she was nothing more but a figurehead. Just what right did he have to do something like that to her?! After all that she has done for him and this is how he repays her for the kindness and affection she showed him?!

"Are you out of your mind, Alexander?!" Rias shouted at him. "Just who the hell do you think you are to say something like that?! You owe your own life to me and…"

"Lady Rias." Grayfia spoke up, drawing attention to her persona. "As the current head of Lucifuge clan, Alexander holds the title of Prince and has the authority to temporarily remove an existing governor of an area he currently resides. Such action can be sanctioned with the approval of one of Four Satans and after being acknowledged by a High-Ranking member of a different Household that also resides in the same area."

"Which I, as an heiress of House of Sitri, acknowledge and approve of." Sona smiled victoriously. "As for the approval of a Satan, current Leviathan has already expressed her personal disapproval of your governing of Kuoh and how you`ve allowed it to become an unstable area. I believe that she will find this decision to be the right one, along with the information, regarding the threat from an Old Satan Faction."

Rias stared in shock and disbelief at both Alex and Sona. She simply couldn`t believe it: she was just overthrown as ruler of this area just like that! To think that she, Rias Gremory, heiress to the Gremory Clan and younger sister of Sirzechs Lucifer himself, was removed from power by her own fiancée and her best friend. She simply couldn`t find right words to express her anger and dismay over this fact, so instead, she decided to go out like an Englishman. Without any warning, she activated her magical circle and teleported away, along with Issei and Akeno with her. In her thoughts, she cursed both of them and made herself a promise to make them pay for it.

As Rias disappeared from the room, Alex turned to his old friends and spoke.

"Now, let`s talk business, shall we?"