Why Angels Fall (part 3)

=======Chapter 7 (part 3)==========

"Emiya Shirou," He turned his imploring eyes towards me, "Will you please kill me?"

…What?

Not even giving me enough time to gather my scattered wits he carried on, "I cannot stop, not after going so far, not while so many continue to suffer all around me. Yet I no longer believe I have the right to decide the fate of the world. Or at least, not by me alone. That is why the future will be determined between us, a Son of Heaven and a Son of Man.

"Tonight, I will enact a plan that will reignite the Great War. And this time, I will not stop until I had brought about the end of the Three Faction. And it will be at that moment, just before the point of no return, I shall give you a chance to kill me.

"I will not make it easy for you of course. I intend to fight you with all of my might; I shall call upon all of my magic and forces to strike you down Child of Man. I will hold nothing back and I expect you to do the same. And with that, I will let the potential of man determine the fate of the world. Just like father intended.

"Will the spirit of man that burns inside you emerge victorious and prove that even in the world's current hardship humans can still prosper, or will you prove that your existence was nothing but a fluke, a product of chance and that the future of mankind is doomed so long as the Faction continue to exist and exploit them.

"No matter what the outcome may be, I will make sure that man will have a hand in shaping in its own future." He folded his hands over his laps and calmly relaxed into his bench.

"And what's," I began when it became apparent that he had nothing else to add, "stopping me from ending you right now?"

His lips curved into a tiny smiled and he indicated with hands to the empty space on either side of him. I just stared at the spot for a few seconds before I raised an eyebrow at him. What exactly was I supposed to be looking at?

Wait a minute. What happened to the guards?

A blade was place on the right side of my neck. Ah, never mind, found them.

"What's stopping you? Simple, if you wait for tonight I promise you that I will fight you out in the open. No subjection or traps, just a clean open battle. And while I'll not be alone, my elite guards will not participate in our fight. They will sit it out and observe our battle as witness. Does that seem fair to you?"

"Fair enough." I would have nodded if I weren't sure I'd cut my throat on the guard's blade. Fortunately the blade disappeared the next second, but I still had no idea where his guards was hiding and I wasn't willing take my eyes off Kokabiel to turn around and look for them.

"Then it appears we have an accord." Kokabiel raised from his seat and gave me a single bow before leaving. "I wish you best of luck tonight Emiya Shirou."

"I won't need it. There is no way you're going to end up winning tonight. Not just for the sakes for the people I'm protecting but for yours as well." He stopped in his track and turned to look at me. "Kokabiel let me make one thing clear, I don't believe that you are wrong about the three Factions nor do I believe that you are a bad person. However that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and watch you commit mass genocide, no matter how justified you believe it to be."

"Oh?" He didn't seem upset about my declaration, just curious, "And why is that?"

"Do you know what a hero is?" I asked instead, "I once met a man who thought himself a hero. He wanted to so badly save everybody. Even though he knew it was impossible, he tried to save everyone he could see anyway. No matter the cost he threw himself into the line of fire time and time again to save as many lives as he could. It did not matter to him if they friends, enemies or complete strangers, he would risk his life to save theirs without thought of loss or gain.

"Yet he could still not save everybody no matter how hard he tried, so he had to choose who to save. Should he save the three people to his left or the ten on his right? The decision may appear to be an easy one but to him, who wanted to save everyone, it tore into his soul. But the same situation propped again then again, and each time he choose to the save the many over the few.

"Then came the time where he had to face the same decision again, where he had to choose who to save, the many or the few. Only in this case among the few that needed saving was one of his dearest friends. In such a situation anyone would have hesitated on what to do but not him, oh no. He was a hero and to him a hero is someone who saves as many people as he could. And that was why he abandoned his single friend to save the lives of a dozen strangers.

"But that's wrong, completely and utter wrong. That's not being a Hero, not even close.

"A hero is not someone who simply saves lives, he is far more than that. Nor is he someone who defeats evil, that's what we have soldiers and the police for. To fight back the darkness is not enough to become a hero, a hero needs to be the bringer of light as well.

"What is the point of living for hundred years of misery? Wouldn't it be better to live a single day full of joy instead. What is the point of saving one's life if they end up crying to the end of their days? Would it not be better to the let them die happy instead.

"Listen Kokabiel, no matter what you do death comes to us all in the end. Whether it is a single day from now or a million, all of our time is limited. And when our time comes, and we look back upon our lives, we do not judge whether our life was a good one or not by the number of days that we lived but the number of times we laughed, the number of times we had smiled. That is how we decide if our lives were worth living.

If a Hero is simply someone that just stalls the inevitable that is death then what's the point of him? A Hero must be more than that. A true Hero is not someone who simply saves a life but someone who makes that life worth living, someone that bring joy to that existence. Or else there would be no point to it all.

"That is why Kokabiel I'm gonna save you. Tonight I will come and kill you, but when I do I'll make sure you fulfill your promise to Asia. I'll make sure you'll die with a smile."

"And why is that Son of Man?" He looking at me strangely, as if he was expecting to see something in particular but found himself being confronted by something else entirely.

"Simple," I jerked a thump at myself, "it's because I'm a hero. The real thing."

He just stared at me dumbfound, as if I had grew a second head, eyes wide open in surprise. Then he began to laugh. And I mean really laugh, as in 'he laughed so hard that he had to prop his hands on his knees to keep himself from falling over' kind of laugh.

I felt my cheeks burn as I watched the Angel hyperventilate from laughter. It was not the first time I had someone laugh at my dream, not even close, but it felt different this time. Not sure if it was because I'm a Devil now or because it was an Angel laughing at me but it was embarrassing.

After what felt like hours Kokabiel's laughter finally subsided, though he still let out the occasional chuckle. "Let me say it again," He said all the while smiling at me teary eyed," I can't help but adore your kind. And though our acquaintance may have been a short one. I am truly glad to have met you.

"So I guess this is goodbye Son of-… no. Goodbye Shirou."

"Goodbye Kokabiel." I replied and with one final bow he was gone.

Just the instant before he left I did something that I was always loathed to do, I looked into his soul. It was just for a brief instant but it was still enough for me to get my answer.

Why did Angels fall?

Some fell willingly, others fell unknowingly. I had been told there were only those two reason, yet today it seems I had discovered another.

Loyalty

When I looked into his soul, into the heart of his being that was the one thing that I could see. It eclipsed everything. To his duty, to his people, but most importantly to his Father. Enough loyalty that he had willing Fell to make sure Heaven remained safe.

By becoming a spy in the enemy camp.

Who had ever heard of such an absurd thing? An Angel who fell from Heaven to protect it.

He and all who followed him allowed their wings to be stained black, to be reviled and hate by their brothers and sisters by very people he was trying to protect, and yet he did it all with a smile.

Even after he saw his father, his reason for living, fall and die before him he did not stop. He still fought on, loyal though the one he was loyal to was already gone.

For a moment his back was imposed with that of an archer in red. Even when it betrayed them they still followed their Ideal to the bitter end. It looked like even if I did nothing, he had no intention of breaking Asia' promise. Just like him, Kokabiel will face his end with a smile.

Above me the full-moon hung bare in the cloudless night sky. What little stars that could be seen were faded little specks, their brightness dulled and diluted by the city lights. Propping myself up with my arms behind me I gazed onto the moon from the rooftop of my house as I waited for everything to begin.

Moon watching. Kiritsugu used to do it all the time though I never did understand the appeal of it back then, I still don't to be honest. Still, it's not bad to do it from time to time and it's not like I had anything better to do while I waited.

Gasper and Asia were asleep in bed. I didn't want them to get caught up in this mess so I made sure to not let anything slip on what was happening. I wasn't sure I could keep them away if they knew. I also activated the defensive Bounded Field that was placed around the house. It should stop anyone from entering or exiting the building, at least for a time, and hopefully prevent the two of them from sensing any magical discharge from the upcoming fight.

Now all that was left was to wait. That was one of the good things about the way I fought, I never needed time to prepare. I was more or less my own walking armory after all. Unfortunately it often left me with a lot of free time before a battle to think.

The Devils guarding the town aren't aware of the upcoming showdown simply because there was nothing they could do to help. If they got in the middle of a fight between Kokabiel and me they'd get slaughtered at best or get in my way at worst. There was going to be more than enough death tonight, no need to pile up the body count even more.

And as much as I trusted Kokabiel to keep his words, I didn't want to risk driving him into a corner. Seeing a horde of Devils converging onto the city might be enough to send him into a panic where he would either enacts whatever plan he has cooked up early or worse, he decides to go with the original plan of using his elite guards to assassinate the girls.

As much as I hated to admit it, I had no way of stopping him if he decided to do that. Those four guards of his, I couldn't keep track of them even when they were standing in front of me. They may have not been strong, I'm sure even Kiba can fight probably take two of them at the same time and win, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. It doesn't matter how skilled you are in battle or how much magic you can bring down at an opponent, a knife slicing your throat as you sleep will kill both the strong and the weak just as easily.

That was one of the things I never truly understood about the Holy Grail War. Assassin Class was perhaps the most dangerous of all the Servant Classes despite its reputation as the weakest. They can remain hidden whenever you're ready for them and attack when you're at your weakest. No matter how diligent a Servant guards his Master, there is no way they can keep their guard up indefinably. I was convinced that the Holy Grail War would have been won long ago if a competent and determined Master had ever summon an Assassin Class servant.

It was good thing that Kokabiel agreed to keep those four out of it. That was actually one of two reasons why I accepted his terms. The second reason was that he had offered me an all or nothing showdown, which was much better than anything I could have hoped for otherwise. In war, or even a skirmish, a true victory is a rare thing. Even if you win a battle or the entire war the losses tended to be catastrophic. There are always comrades to bury, friends that were lost.

But here Kokabiel has offered me a chance to avoid that. A way to win without sacrificing anything or anyone. If it meant that I'd lose everything if I was defeated well, how was that different from how it has always been? That has-

A wave of magic crashed over me, interrupting my thoughts. I looked towards the direction that I sensed the magic originate from, or at least the closest one. There were, as far as I can tell, at least a dozen sources and they were positioned all around me.

Most of them were too far out of my range to accurately sense but the nearest one was just close enough for me to tell it was located at the very edge of the city limits. Even from I stood on top of my roof it was still too far for me to see, and I was just as I was about to reinforce my eyes when whatever spell they were casting activated.

A wall of blue light, seemingly made up of a hexagon patterned slabs, emerged from the edge of the horizon. Not just at the point I was starting at but from all around me. They kept rising up like a curtain being raise all while curving inwards until they converged, forming a dome over the city. For a moment the dome appeared to grow brighter before fading away so it could no longer be seen, though I could still sense it was there.

So it looks like it begins.

While I was no expert, it was painful obvious that the dome was meant to keep anyone entering or leaving the city. I guess Kokabiel didn't want anyone interfering in our fight. And from the familiar sensation I'm getting, it looks like the dome blocked all forms of teleportation magic within the city as well.

"Emiya-sama."

I whirled around at the sound, instinctively summoning Kanshou and Bakuya in my hands as I did so. I barely resisted hurling them at the kneeling figure behind me, and that was only because I realized he was unarmed and recognized him as one of Kokabiel's guards.

What the hell were these guys, freaking ninjas? I knew they were good at sneaking around but did they have to give me a heart-attack every time they showed up?

He was kneeling with one fist one the ground while he had his other arm resting on his upright knee. He hadn't shifted an inch even after I had drawn my weapons, just staring at the ground before him as he spoke.

"Emiya-sama," He repeated. He has a surprisingly soft voice, one that belied his appearance. "Kokabiel-sama sends his regards and wishes to inform you that the he will be waiting for you in Kuoh Academy's courtyard. He also advises you to hurry, it appears that some of the Devils have already arrived earlier than we had anticipated."

I was already moving before he finished speak. Dismissing the blades I turned and leapt of the edge of the roof as far as my reinforced limbs would take me before unfurling my wings and flying as fast as I can towards the School.

Even from as far away as I was I could already flashes of light from the distant hill of the school. The battle had already begun.

============x=================x===============

It was a sword that devoured the light of the world. A demonic blade that embodied the end of the day and the beginning of the night. It is here where light comes to die and against a being of light, one both made from it and wields it, there exist no better weapon.

It was also utterly worthless.

A fist tore through the heart of the blade as easily as glass, shattering the sword to pieces. It continued on, ploughing through until it found itself sheathed in the boy's chest. Bones, ribs, sternum were devastated under the force of the blow, sending the boy flying across the clearing.

"What use is a sword that can devour my spears when I don't need them to win?"

It was a punch that can break stone and tear the earth itself. With just a graze it could kill a man, a direct hit will liquefy one. It slammed full force into his side, shockwaves erupted from the impact sending gusts of winds strong enough to topple trees.

It did nothing.

She looked at her fist in confusion from where it sat on his unharmed side before a hand latched onto her shoulder. She looked up to see eyes of startling blue staring down on her before a knee impacted her chin, lifting her clear off her feet and shattering her jaw.

"Your form is magnificent but you did not put your all behind your punch. You have the power within you to harm me and yet you won't use it? What an utter waste."

Lighting fell from the sky like rain, blinding bright, it lit the courtyard like the light of day. It tore the paved ground, scarring it with trenches that spit the courtyards in two and craters meters wide. It never stopped, falling in an unending torrent of power, radiating enough heat to melt steel beams to puddle.

He walked through it as if it was raindrops.

"Disappointing." He raised a hand to block the lighting and it split apart at his mere touch, like water before the cliff, pouring down at either side of him. "To think the daughter of that man is such a pitiful creature. I know your father girl, and compared to him you fall short in every measure."

"THAT MAN IS NOT-" a kick from above knocked the girl from the air before she could finish, sending her crashing into the hard ground. The earth fractured from her landing, spider webs of cracks forming all around her. She did not get up.

Kokabiel hung in the sky his ten wings spread out about him, surround his frame like a crown of shadows. "Why is it always the child that hurts the parent the most?" He question out loud before looking at his remaining opponent.

It was the end given form, destruction granted shape. Congregated into a sphere it was painted with the colorlessness of the void, for neither light nor shadow can survive its touch. It is here where existence dies, where mortal and immortal alike are made equal. It danced off the tips of her finger, bending to her will, while she glazed with eyes filled with utter hatred at him as she prepared to cast it

It never even reached him.

She doubled over as a knee found itself buried into her stomach. Folding in two over his leg, the back of her uniform erupted outwards in a mist of shredded cloth as the force of the blow tore through her.

"While the Power of Destruction is truly frightening," He looked down at the coughing girl as she collapsed to her hands and knees, "if I can kill you nine times over in the time it takes you to cast it then it becomes utterly meaningless."

"You won't get away-" her face was driven deep into the paved ground by the bottom of his foot impacting the back of her head.

"Devil, it is you that won't get away with your crimes any longer. Either by my hand or his, one of us will bring your accursed kind's rule of terror to an end." He did not quite sneer at her as he lifted his foot off of her head. She did not get up.

Behind him, in the heart of the courtyard that held the battle was a circle of shimmering light. Its borders were made from a series of sigils and runes that were carved into the ground. They shone with an inner fire of sky blue, painting the courtyard around it in a warm blue light.

In the center of the circle were four swords, planted point first into the ground in the shape of square, each corner was pointed in the four primary cardinal direction. A network of lines grew out of the point that the blade met the ground, marking the earth with veins that burned from within. They filled the inside of the circles completely, pulsing every few seconds like the slow beat of a heart.

That was Earth-Breaker, a spell that will bring ruin to the City.

Ribbons of water came to life in the air around him by the dozens, rising in number by the second. They slithered and twisted in the air like serpents as their numbers quickly grew before, like the vipers they so resembled, they struck.

An explosion of water filled the air from the impact, misting the area from sight, yet still the attack didn't end. More streams formed and rained down upon were he last stood, in ever growing numbers. And under the cover of the attack, three more appeared.

Legs coated in steel rained down blows from above, a sword flashed by as the air screeched from its passing, water vaporizing by the approach of a shield of burning blue fire; all three strikes fell as one, perfectly coordinated, the timing just right.

All of it meaningless.

Steel legs fragmented then shattered, the blade vaporizing by the might of the answering weapon, the blue flames burned away by heat of the spear of light. In an instant all three thrown back, broken, towards the feet of their master as he emerged into their sight.

Stepping out from cloud of steam, all what remained of the torrents of water after a single swipe of his spear. He strode calmly forward while steam clung onto his body, unwilling to release him for its embrace. It trailed behind him shifting with his every step, like a clock drifting in the wind.

"Your skill in shaping the water is impressive, I must admit. However if all of the strikes lack any real power behind them, then there is no meaning in it."

He paused in his approach as a tongue of shadow slithered on the ground before wrapping around his ankle. He released a sigh as he shook his head before uttering a single word, "Fool."

Screams of agony soon followed, echoing throughout the courtyard. All eyes turned towards the wailing form of Saji as he writhed on the ground, the tongue of shadow dissolving as he did so, the light element that it absorbed burning it away.

"Saji/Gen-chan!" The remaining members of the Student Council yelled out at the fate of their pawn.

"Sacred Gears were crafted for humans, did you think it will work perfectly now that you became a Devil boy?"

"KOKABIEL!" a voice of hatred roared out of the Bishop's throat. Lighting danced along her fingertips as she turned toward her enemy only to find the palm of his hand blocking her sights before it gripped her skull.

"Never look away from an opponent in battle little Devil." With a single push she found her head buried deep into the ground behind her, as unconscious took her moments later.

The second Bishop soon followed the first into unconsciousness. Before she could so much as cast a single spell or utter a word, she was brought down with a single backhand from where she stood protectively over Saji. Her King would have soon shared her fate if not for the halberd that barred his blow.

"Oh?" with a single hand he brought his own spear crashing against it, bring the wielder to her knees, yet the weapon held. "Remarkable, it withstood the full blunt of my spear yet it bears not so much as a mark to show for. I know the name of every weapon that is capable of such an achievement and yet, I have never heard of this one before." His eyes shifted from the halberd to Tsubaki, who was grimacing from the effort to sustain her guard, despite the utter ease he single-handedly held her down. "Tell me little Devil, where did you ever find such a treasure?"

Before Tsubaki had a chance to speak, Kokabiel leapt back as streak of steel shot through the spot where his has head had been just a moment before. It was a long thin bar of metal that had its end sharpened to a point. When it became apparent the attack had missed, it quickly retracted back to where it originated from, within the shadows beneath the archway of the school entrance, dozen of yards away.

Kokabiel looked over his right shoulder, eyeing the direction the attack came from, "This is why combating with humans, despite them being the weakest of all races, has always interested me." Without turning his head away, he lifted the spear with his left hand and blocked the blow that came from the opposite direction he was facing. "You always fight dirty."

He turned to look into the yellow eyes of the blue haired exorcist. Her blade grinding against his spear, sending blinding sparks into the night air. "There is no such thing as fighting dirty Kokabiel," She retorted as she leapt back, "merely victory and defeat. Anything else is just the whining of the losers."

"I agree." He pivoted in place as he dodged an attack to his back from the twin-tailed exorcist, "Yet the question remains my little humans, do you have what it bring about the victory you seek?" He question the two.

The swinging of their blades was their reply, beginning the battle of weapons users. In instant Tsubaki joined in the fight, adding her own blade to the fray.

It was beautiful to behold as sparks of blue and white erupting each time the light of spear clashed against the steal of the blades. Fireworks of the battle burned into the retinas of all watching, flashing and diming with each exchange, as all four combats fought for victory. Yet all who watched knew the fight only lasted as long as it did because he was humoring them.

He held back the power of his strikes and the speed of his swings. Instead he held all three of them down with skills alone. His spear spinning and twirling around, blocking, parrying and redirecting all their attacks. His movements inhumanly smooth, the end of each action leading the beginning of the next, it flowed together with all the grace of flowing water and looked more like an elegant dance than brutal combat. And through it all he only used a single hand to wield his spear.

It was hopeless. The Devil among them continued to fight on for the unattainable victory because to lose would be to forfeit the lives of her friends, even though she held no hope in her heart she fought on. The humans on the other hand fought on because they cared not if victory was possible or not. It was not victory that they fought for after all but something else entirely.

All they wanted to do was to distract him.

It appeared in a flash. With speed too inhuman for the natural or even supernatural to perceive let alone match. It covered the length of the courtyard in a time too short to be called an instant, charging towards his unguarded side.

His spear was in his opposing hand, locked into place by the blades of the other three as they fought for dominance. Too far to bring to it around in time even if he had been free to do so, the unwavering strike flew to his side unobstructed.

It impact with a flash of light so bright in illuminated the courtyard with all the brightness of day.

"It's been a long time, Griselda." Kokabiel greeted his attacker warmly, a joyful smile gracing his lips, "I see you've gotten old. A pity, you were faster in your youth."

"We're can't all be unaging like you Kokabiel." Her Excalibur Rapidly pushed against his spear. Her surprise strike was blocked by the second spear he summoned in his opposing hand. Despite her failure her voice was equally warm as she smiled at her old friend, "Still, I can't say I would have it any other way. It would make this old woman cry to see that pretty face of your fade with age."

Her smile was replaced with a dejected frown. "It's a shame that I can't say the same for your sanity. I never thought you of all people will do anything like this. What would the others think if they ever saw you like this?"

"I believe Dianna wouldn't care as she continued her efforts to try and get into my pants. Ralph would be too busy trying to write line of poetry to adequately express his lamentation of facing a friend in battle, while Luka would tell me to stop being a dumbass wasting his time fighting when we can be spending it drinking."

"Yeah that's sound like them." Despite herself she allowed a smirk show for a moment before it disappeared. "Please stop this Kokabiel. You can't win anymore. Just give up." Her words were not empty bravado either.

He was trapped in the middle of two opposing forces. With one hand he held back one of the strongest exorcist alive who was wielding what was perhaps the fastest sword on the planet. With his other hand he held back two of her students, both of whom wielded Holy Swords themselves, and a Devil with the strength and speed granted to her by the Queen Piece.

And behind them all stood her King. Above her she gathered a giant globe of water that was slowly shrinking as it was pressurized into a smaller ball, ready to release all its gathered power in one single attack.

Even for one such as he, victory without serious injury would have been difficult.

Yet none looking upon him would have believe he was in any danger as he gave his friend an amused smile.

"Remember how we used to spar all the time?" He asked, "How you and the others kept pestering me to stop holding back in our fights until I finally agreed to always go all out?"

"Yes." The instant after the words left her mouth, dread appeared on her face as she began to understand what he implied.

He nodded at her comprehension, "I lied."

They had no warning before they felt it come crashing upon them, almost bringing them all to their knees.

Power, unadulterated power came pouring out of him in a level incomparable to before. From his back a new pair of wings erupted to join the ten others as he finally revealed his true strength. The light of his spear grew in intensity, to the point that none can looked directly upon them, as the blade pushing against them glowed a cherry red.

They were Swords of legend, whose name is known by the people of all the lands. Wars were fought over them and men willing died for them. Heroes longed to prove worthy to hold them while bards sang of their majesty for a thousand years.

Yet before the might of his spears they were nothing. In an instant the metal of the blades melted then vapored, destroying them beyond the repair of mortal men. The swords did not go quietly as they died, as the remnants of the power they held exploded outwards no longer contained by their metal shells.

All four were sent flying and even Sona, the farthest away, was completely knocked off her feet by the wave of holy energy that crashed through the courtyard, causing her to loss control of her spell. The watered she gathered fell to the ground, spilling over its hard surface uselessly.

He twirled both spears in his hands once before he began to make his way to Griselda, his twelve wings draped over his shoulder like a cloak, as she weakly tried to push herself off the floor but only succeeded in lifting her upper body.

"It has been a thousand years since I witnessed my Lord's demise." He spoke as he approached her, "Can you understand how it felt to witness my Lord and Master, my beloved Father struck down before me during the Great War? Do you understand how I felt as I stood by and watch, too weak to do anything to help, as I watched God die?"

Exclamation of shock echoed throughout the courtyards as the few conscious among the fallen combatants comprehended his words. He paid them no mind, his eyes upon his fallen friend as he approached her before stopping only a few yards away.

"I failed him." His eyes shining with unshed tears as he looked upon her, "I had one true duty, one single purpose and I failed. And the world has paid the price for my failure ever since. Mankind has suffered under the rule of the Devils and Fallen alike for a millennia because they no longer had God to protect them, all because of my weakness."

"Kokabiel," Sadness and understanding coloring Griselda's voice as she looked up to him, "It wasn't your fault-"

"IT IS!" He bellowed out, dismissing his spears as he threw out is arms, "I AM KOKABIEL THE LORD OF THE STARS AND ONE OF THE GUARDIAN OF THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES! I HAVE THE POWER TO OBLITERATE NATIONS AND RAZE CONTINENTS WHOLE AND YET…and yet I lacked the power to do anything at the time it mattered the most. Truly, what use am I when I can't even prevent my own Father's death?" He stared at his empty hand, as if they held the answer before he clenched them into fists.

"But rejoice." His voice has regained his previous strength. "For a thousand years I had planned, for a millennium I had trained and prepared for this day. And at long last my efforts have begun to bear fruit, as at long last the time to enact Father's final wish has finally come. I shall free man from the shackles that bind them and create a world where they shall roam unrestricted, free to forge their own future."

"And you're going to do that by obliterating the entire the city?"

In reply he strode up to the Earth-Breaker, then with a single sweep of his leg he shattered the four remaining Holy Swords from where they were planted in the middle of the Magic Circle. The runes and sigils flickered for a moment before extinguishing completely, bringing the spell to an end.

"The Earth-Breaker was nothing but bait to draw the Maous' sibling out into the open. Even the scraps of metal that you have hunted me for is nothing but bait to me." He turned around and approached the two girls in question. Rias had apparent regained consciousness but was barely able to stand as she had her arm draped over Sona's shoulder for support, who didn't look to be in any better state due to the backlash of her own magic. Still, even as the drying blood dripped down her face she continued to glare with utter venom at the approaching Fallen, "And with their death I shall ignite the flames of war and in its fire I bring the demise of the Three Factions."

"By the four saints that live within your steel, heed my call and come to my aid." A voice called out, drawing the attention of Fallen and Devils alike.

Though her legs trembled and shook, threating to buckle at a moment's notice, she stood tall and defiant as she glared out at her enemy. Her eyes never once leaving Kokabiel's as she held a hand straight out to her side, palm wide open ready to grip a weapon that wasn't there, she yelled out "I beg of thee, grant me your might to defeat the foe that stand before me."

The space before her hand distorted, reality bending causing the airrippling like water, illuminating one side of her face as the distorted space began to emit a dim golden light. Without any hesitation she plunged her arm into the distorted space, shoulder deep, before pausing and reversing her course while yanking something out.

And what she pulled out…

…was Hope.

It shone with a golden light, its divinity unmistakable. The entire battlefield was flooded with its presence, outshining even Kokabiel's oppressive strength, as unending waves of its blessed power washed upon them all. It was a weapon of divine origins, sent down from the Heaven's to aid mankind in their darkest hour.

Durandal.

A Gift from the hands of God himself given to Roland, his most worthy of children. With it an army of a hundred thousand was brought to halt by a single man and in the hands of one worth to wield it, there lies nothing in existence that it cannot cut.

It laid shackled and bound by chains of purest iron, but what chains can hold back such a sword? What works crafted by mortal hands can hope to bind such an existence. A single twist of its blade shall rip it from its fragile confinements and it will be free once again.

She reach out and grabbed its hilt, ready to break though it's binding but then-

-Hope was extinguished.

A hand harder than any iron clamped onto her wrist like a vise, halting all movement. Xenovia found herself staring into the saddened eyes of an Angel.

"You had such a weapon all this time and you only draw it out after you had been defeated?" Sounding so much like a disappointed father that, despite herself, she felt herself flooded with shame. He shook his head sadly, "It seems you despite all your skills you still have much to learn child."

He then snapped her arm like a twig.

A wail of absolute agony tore out of Xenovia's throat as she collapsed to the floor, cradling her broken arm to her chest. Kokabiel turned away, not giving her so much as a second glance as he made his way to back to his two targets.

"Do you truly think that this will start a second war, just because a one Fallen decided to act on his own?" Sona yelled out him as he approached them. Even to her own ears her words held no certainty, no convention, just fragile desperation. "The Maous won't consider this an act of war from the Fallen Faction but the actions of a single madman. The rest of the Fallen leaders will denounce you and what you have done. You will accomplish nothing tonight but the start of a manhunt, your own. There is no way you can start a restart the war alone Kokabiel."

"Alone?" Kokabiel asked with genuine amusement a shadow fell upon them, blocking out the light from the moon for a moment before it was gone, "Foolish little Devil, I have never been alone"

Another shadow drifted over them, then another and another, drawing the eyes of all on the courtyard to the sky.

"My god." Griselda muttered, sounding like her true age for once. She shut her eyes in resignation, "We're doomed."

They circled over the defeated party like vultures, their wings blocking half the moonlight from reaching them, before they descended upon the school. Black feather drifted to ground by the thousands, falling down upon them and coating the earth like black snow.

"Even in my Fall they have followed me, ever faithful." His feet was pulled backwards off the ground. "These are my loyal comrades, my truest of friends." His twelve wings continued to gently lift him into the air until he hung in the middle of the descending flock. "Thirty-five thousand we numbered once before the war. Though only twelve hundreds of us remained afterwards, not one had ever abandoned me, the fought by side to the last." He smiled down upon them. "So you see little Devil, I have never once been alone."

They continued to drop from the skies above, descending onto the roof and grounds of school in ever growing number, until there was simply no room remaining. And still there was more, drifting in the air above them blotting out the very skies with their numbers.

He held out his arm wide open as he hung above them, backdropped by the sky filled with a legion of Fallen. "And tonight, after a thousand years, we shall fulfil our Father's greatest wish. After tonight, the fate of all that lies under the Heaven, will be determined by MAN." He yelled out as he raised a single arm above him.

The darkened skies above them were illuminated by the birth of a hundred and more spears of light. Though only a fraction of the Fallen had called forth their spears it was more than enough, as what had been called filled the entire night sky like stars.

"And all of it will start with your deaths," He looked down upon the two girls, and for moment his eyes was filled with genuine sadness before they hardened with resolve. "Goodbye Devils." Then he brought his arm down.

Hundreds of spears of light fell upon them from the skies, streaking down like a shower of burning meteors, more than enough to kill them a dozen times over. All of them aimed for the two girls.

The two could do nothing but watch as their death came to them. Too weakened and injured to run, they knew that even if they could that there was no shelter than could shield them from such a barrage of attacks. So with no hope in their hearts, they shut at their approaching end even as their ears was filled by the screams of their friends begging them to run.

The Spears detonated upon impact, illumination the night with the light of a morning's dawn.

These were spears crafted from light itself. Its heat was such that it was capable of burning thought the flesh of Devils and humans alike with the utmost ease. One alone had enough power to pierce a wall. A hundred was enough to bring down a Fortress.

Yet all of them combined lacked the power to reach their mark.

When she had finally realize that she was still alive Sona, body still shivering from instinctive fear, slowly cracked open her eyes only to gape in surprise as she found herself staring a flower.

Five petals, each as large as grown man, hung in the air before her and Rias, standing between them and the fallen. It was iridescence and translucent, and looked as fragile as glass, yet it stood before the might of a Fallen army and did not fall.

Everyone looked upon the shield in confusion, unable to comprehend what happened. Even Kokabiel looked surprised before realization dawned and a rueful smile graced his face.

"Why," he question with a voice filled with amusement, "do heroes keep insisting on arriving at the last possible moment?"

His answer came in the form of a dark streak that shot down from the sky, tearing thought the mass of Fallen the filled the sky and crashing among the ones on the ground. The paved floor collapsed under the force of its impact, sending up a thick cloud of dust in the air.

The Fallens closest to it leapt away in surprise as it crashed down among them, before they regained their composure and surround it. The darkness of the night was pushed back by the light of the dozen spears that they held, all pointed towards the silhouette of the figure that was just beginning to appear as the dust settled.

"Who in heaven's name are you?" A four-winged Fallen called out as he took a step forward, spear pointed threating at the emerging the figure.

"Who am…I?" A familiar voice drifted out from the dust cloud as the figure within stood up, revealing his red colored hair to the world.

"…I…"

Golden-brown eyes peered around the courtyard, ignoring the dozens of spears point at him. Those eyes hardened as they caught sight of his injured and fallen friends.

"…I…"

He repeated again as he glared out at the smiling Kokabiel before he chanted the words that would signal the death of a thousand this night.

"I AM THE BONE OF MY SWORD"

=======Chapter End========

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