Chapter 57: A witch

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi

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--Kuoh Academy-

Just like Griselda had mentioned, the next day at school, I received word from Koneko that there were two Exorcists waiting in front of the gates and waiting for permission to enter.

We still had a few more minutes before we had to meet them, so I wasn't in a hurry.

For the moment, I was in my club room, taking the time to actually deal with some paperwork and give Aika some well-deserved rest and send her home early. Though, I also sent her away because I knew that today would be an important day and didn't want the exorcist to mistake her for being associated with Devils and cause unnecessary danger or get her involved in this mess.

Asia sat beside me, finishing up her Japanese homework. She looked so concentrated on her studies, I had to resist the urge to pat her head. For someone who couldn't speak Japanese from the get-go with the Devil's cheat-like ability, I had to teach her a bit of magic for her to learn the [Dual Translate] spell.

The girl didn't want to take the easy route and genuinely wanted to learn the language through her own efforts.

What a hard-working little angel~

"Hachiman-san, what does this kanji mean?"

"Hmm, that's 'good luck'"

"Ooh, Kanji is really hard, but I'll do my best!" Asia said as she wrote a few more lines before closing her notebook.

"I'm done!"

"Have you done your math homework?"

"Yes!"

"History?"

"Yes!"

"Great, I'll be back in a bit. Wait for Kalawarna to arrive, and don't leave the room without her or my permission."

The streets were getting dangerous. I was beginning to get reports from Kala about a recent finding of numerous corpses of Stray Devils all over Kuoh. All had died from a holy blade. My initial thought was that maybe Griselda, Xenovia, and Irina decided to spend some time patrolling the town and taking out some of the strays to pass the time.

But these reports dated from before their arrival.

So it was either Kokabiel or a random holy sword wielder who just happened to come to town.

'Yeah, the answer was pretty obvious. Kokabiel would rather keep the Strays around if it meant that it would keep Rias and Sona distracted from his plans.'

Walking through the empty hallways, I made sure that no one remained inside the school, and after a few minutes, I finally reached the abandoned dorm where Akeno and the others were waiting.

I knocked on the door out of courtesy before entering.

"Yo."

The members of the Gremory group were gathered in the club room. On the sofa, Rias with Akeno with Kiba and Koneko standing behind the two and the two "guests" were sitting with one of them giving the rest a hostile glare.

Blue hair, carrying around a sword bigger than her, and a pretty face that was ruined by her scowl.

They came without Griselda like expected, though I would have preferred that she had come along. These two definitely weren't the best at talking, mostly Xenovia.

The other members of the group were sitting in the corner of the room, looking intently at what was going to take place.

'They are tense. Feels like a powder keg ready to blow.'

Of course, they would be, but my observation came more from the holy swords being so close to them than anything else. Their instincts as Devils were probably screaming and alerting everyone that they were in danger.

"Don't mind me. Just continue whatever you were talking about." I said as I sat next to Akeno and let Rias continue the conversation.

"I hope the trip here wasn't too tiring. If you are in need of any assistance, then please, don't hesitate to ask."

"We did not come here for some petty chitchat."

Xenovia just had to ruin the mood.

Sigh, I knew things wouldn't go smoothly.

Everyone was tense, though surprisingly, Kiba looked relaxed and composed.

But not smiling, his gaze locked firmly at the swords behind their back.

He didn't glare at them, just methodically observed everything, and that worried me more as it became difficult to get a read on him. For all I knew, he could just start slashing like a madman at any given point if we were not careful.

'The boy is holding back an immense amount of anger behind those eyes. Like a calm ocean before a tsunami.' Vritra said in my head.

'Is it bad?'

Kiba was fast. If he suddenly went on the offensive, I wasn't sure if I would be able to restrain him before he caused any damage.

'He is not tensing his muscles or channeling any magic to his limbs, nor does he display any killing intent whatsoever. So, I guess he is in the clear, for now.'

My worries were well founded. These people were believers of God and were holy sword wielders, of which Kiba hated both kinds. Everyone in this room, aside from the Exorcists, was aware of Kiba's case.

Now that I think of it, it might be the reason he was standing at the back, with Koneko beside him holding his hand—just in case he lost control of his anger.

For all I knew, Gasper could easily be hiding someone near with his Sacred Gear ready to be used at any moment if he somehow broke out of Koneko's grip.

Irina spoke next.

"Recently, the Excaliburs that were kept by the Catholic Church Headquarters Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen."

"We are aware of the news," Rias answered curtly.

"Ah, I guessed you would since the Black Dragon King already knew about it as well."

Would they keep calling me with that name? It felt like such a super chuunibyou title. A couple of times was okay, but constantly doing so would just give me an aneurysm.

"I rather you call me Hachiman or Hikigaya. Take your pick."

"We would rather not. The last thing I want is to get in any way familiar with a Devil sympathizer and a heretical magician," said Xenovia, her tone cold as she made displeasure known.

"..."

Well, wasn't that rude…

I didn't take her words to heart, she wasn't the first one to speak with me rudely, and she wouldn't be the last. If anything, I found her reaction quite hilarious and naive. Irina acted politely, with her usual bubble self coming on the surface from time to time.

Xenovia, on the other hand, looked like she stood a bit on the extreme side and did not like the Devils and anyone associated with them at all. Not rageful like Kiba, but just a general dislike of an abomination and enemies to the Church.

'The girl is quite prideful.' Vritra came back, 'That will get her killed in the near future.'

'She is, and I would also call her a straightforward kind of girl.'

'That she is, a lot of enemies will be able to take advantage of that mindset… you know she is holding an unusual amount of holy energy in her being. A fine thread of energy, linking her being to an entity similar to the sword behind her.'

Well, wasn't that an interesting information.

'Could she be a holy sword Sacred Gear?'

That made her even more dangerous than I initially thought.

'No, not Sacred Gear. Weird, very weird. I can not identify it unless she calls upon its power. But it most definitely is a holy item.'

Hm, food for thought.

While I was discussing Xenovia's strange power with Vritra, totally unbothered by her attitude towards me—Rias did not seem quite pleased with it. Including the rest of the club's members.

"I rather you speak with my contracted magician with respect. He is under the care of the Gremory and my lover. Any offense will be taken as a direct attack from your faction to our side and will be met with sufficient retaliation."

Rias' tone of voice turned sharp and imposing. I could feel the room getting colder by the second.

Neither she nor the blue-haired exorcist broke eye contact for an entire minute.

"The sword on your back, I believe it is an Excalibur, right?"

Out of nowhere, Kiba started talking.

"And what of it, Devil?" she asked, glaring at the blond with suspicion.

"No reason, really. Just curious about them. It's not every day a Devil like me would find himself so close to such an infamous sword. Its legend is known by all, with the might and power to kill the strongest of Devils. Even if the original sword was broken into seven pieces, I bet it still holds its previous splendor even when divided. So I wondered if you could show me the blade."

He spoke politely and with a smile as well. Having a harmless and curious air around him which was nothing but a facade.

Not many people realized a certain point about the Knight, even his King, could turn into a master liar and deceiver out of every Devil in this room. He could smile, facing the thing that his family got killed for without losing control.

I did not know his motives, but since he wasn't lashing out or anything, I just kept silent, as did everyone else.

"The Excalibur I hold is Excalibur Destruction. It's one of the 7 holy swords that were created. The Catholic Church is in control of it."

The woman with blue hair and green mesh pulled her weapon out, which was covered in cloth, and revealed it to us. What appeared was a longsword.

Whoosh!

Everyone in Rias' group paled a bit when facing the blade. The holy feeling has gotten stronger with the cloth no longer covering the blade. Akeno unconsciously pressed her shoulders closer to mine, wanting to feel safer despite having the ability to wield her own holy energy. She could still be deadly wounded and killed by a holy sword like any other devil.

Rias put up a stoic face but I could see her hand gripping her skirt in anticipation.

If I could describe the blade, it would be a big blade with two axe heads for hand guards and three pointed ends. Despite its legendary reputation, I couldn't help but think just how freaking ugly the blade was. Especially the handguard, one wrong move, and the user could get themselves injured.

It probably was way more efficient in crushing rather than cutting, slashing, and thrusting. Your generic anime sword, which couldn't be as practical compared to a regular sword. But then again, maybe the name 'Destruction' was given for a reason.

Irina also took out something that looked like a long rope. That rope started to move as if it were alive. Coiling like a snake, it soon turned into a katana.

"Mine is Excalibur Mimic. I can change its shape into anything I want, so it's really useful for carrying around. Just like this, each "Excalibur" has its unique ability. This one is in possession of the Protestant Church."

She said it with pride. I could feel the fear of that Excalibur as well. That was also really dangerous to the Devils.

Out of every Excalibur that Kiba and I researched, this sword could rank among the top three swords I actually liked.

"Irina, there's no reason to tell these Devils the ability of our Excalibur."

"Ara Xenovia. Even if they are Devils, we still have to form a trustworthy relationship with them in this situation. Also, even if my sword's ability is revealed, I won't fall behind to the Devils here." Irina said confidently.

She probably had the confidence that she absolutely would not lose to both the Devils and me.

Again, their naivety and arrogance astounded me. Their chances of survival already looked abysmal from my point of view.

"What makes you think that the Excaliburs are here in Kuoh?"

Rias was already suspicious of their presence here in Kuoh, but finding a Stray having died from holy energy cuts didn't mean that the weapon in question could be an Excalibur. There were many other swords who could fill in the criteria. But the timing just didn't help our case and increased it from being an Excalibur shard to a guarantee.

Though that didn't mean that she had to share everything with the exorcists and was just fishing out for more information.

The girl continued to talk with the same attitude, not backing down even in front of an Excalibur. She was holding her ground.

Xenovia continued to talk.

"The Catholic Church was in possession of two Excaliburs, including mine. The Protestant Church also had two. Also, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, there were two as well. The last one went missing in the previous war between God, Devils, and Fallen Angels. One Excalibur was stolen from each Church. The ones that stole them escaped to Japan and brought them to this town."

Rias rested her hand on her forehead and took a breath.

I guessed that bit of news was finally getting to her.

"Looks like my territory is full of incidents. So who are the ones that stole the Excaliburs?"

"Kokabiel," I said immediately, not giving Xenovia the chance to incriminate the entire Grigori.

The latter gave me a squinted glare.

"Do not blame an entire faction over the action of a single being. Kokabiel is already alienated from the inner circle and has been viewed as a hostile entity by Azazel. He has already taken enough measures to restrain the Cadre, but Kokabiel managed to escape before he could be captured and can no longer be traced."

Including a few hundreds of Fallens, give or take.

"Of course, you would defend them, seeing as you work alongside them and the Devils. Just your actions alone speak volumes about your deceiving nature and obvious enmity against the Church. For all we know, you could have aided the Fallen in stealing the swords and played the innocent bystander while secretly being in cahoots with Kokabiel himself."

"Watch your tongue!" Akeno sneered at Xenovia, finally reaching her boiling point with the arrogant women's accusations, "The last thing Hachi-kun would do is betray someone. Don't go accusing people with proof which do not even exist. My lover is innocent."

"..."

It was rare to see a usually calm and playful Akeno burst into anger, so everyone in the room went quiet.

"Wait, didn't you say that he was your lover?" Irina asked Rias, pointing at Akeno and me.

"He is mine." Rias asserted, despite the situation, smiled at her statement.

"Eh?"

Irina now was very confused, looking back at Akeno now.

"And mine as well~."

The confusion on her face was so much that I could see the gears in her head cranking. Xenovia just seemed unbothered by the entire thing, probably not putting too much thought into the matter like her partner.

"It's… a harem?" Irina muttered, unsure about the answer.

I gave her a so-so hand gesture. Some people would argue that a threesome wasn't a harem. But I had already accepted our relationship.

So yeah, a harem.

"Waah! How sinful! Oh lord, please save these po—oof!"

Before she could go any further and accidentally cause some severe migraine to every Devil in the room, I threw one of the pillows at her face without hesitation.

"Oi, don't go praying when near a Devil. Do you want people to get petty and consider that as a provocation?"

She gave me a sheepish face, muttering sorry before we continued the conversation.

"We sent priests, exorcists, to this town secretly, but they kept going missing in action." Xenovia added.

"Our request, No. Our order is to not have the Devils or any third party intrude in the battle between us and the Fallen Angels for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you not to interfere with this incident."

Not possible.

"Such a manner of speech… you've been rather aggressive now that mother Griselda is not here. From your words… Are you thinking that Rias and I are helping out Kokabiel? Let me make this clear, this is all Kokabiel, and neither the Fallen nor the Devils are helping that warmonger out in any way, shape, or form. And shouldn't you be asking for an alliance to make this mission easier?"

"The headquarters think that it might not be impossible."

This conversation was beginning to grind against my nerves. She basically came here and told everyone to not interfere because it was obvious they held all of us accountable.

What was it with the Church making everyone their enemy? It certainly differed with the way Azazel described his siblings to act.

"The higher-ups don't trust Devils, Fallen-Angels, and far less the Black Dragon King. We were ordered that if the holy swords are taken away from God's side, then the Devils would also be happy, right? The Fallen Angels would also profit from it. For those reasons, it won't be weird for them to form an alliance. That's why we are giving you a warning. If you ally with the Fallen Angel Kokabiel, then we will eliminate you all. And that includes you as well, Black Dragon King. Even you will not escape God's judgment."

Xenovia said it casually without caring about having the entire room glare at her and looked ready to put her down.

Irina just looked to be extremely uncomfortable with everything going on. It was hard to tell if she agreed with Xenovia's words or not.

I could see Rias calming herself and trying to go for a more diplomatic approach once again. I commended her for being able to control herself in this situation. Self-control was a crucial trait to have as a leader.

Sadly, I wasn't going to have any of it.

"You are quite blind and delusional with such claims, little exorcist. After our encounter yesterday, what gives you the confidence to hurt anyone in this room with me present? And why are you so against us offering a lending hand? We confirmed that neither I, Rias, nor Azazel are working alongside Kokabiel. In fact, we all want to put him and his plans down, before he causes any more problems."

Things were beginning to get heated, but out of nowhere, Xenovia smirked.

"Our swords were forged to battle beings of great power, dragons included."

No, they weren't.

Those were just lies, shoved down your throats to make you obedient attack dogs.

I could hear Vritra give a mocking laugh at Xenovia's words.

'Those poor imitations could never match the power of the original.'

"And the reason I can't accept your aid is due to the delicate balance put in place by the three factions. Rias Gremory may be the Maou's sister, but you are not a Fallen. You do not have the authority or influence to represent an entire faction. I can not in good conscience take your words as insurance that nothing will happen, and if something were to happen, I would be the one to be hated by my fellow peers in the Church faction."

That… actually made sense, in a way.

But her threat of disposing of both the Devils and me if we interfered still stood.

Rias spoke again.

"So it's just the two of you? You are going to retrieve the Excaliburs from Kokabiel, a Cadre-level Fallen Angel, who was known as 'Angel of the Stars', with just the two of you? How reckless and foolish. Are you trying to die?"

She said it with an amazed voice. But Irina and Xenovia said it with a straight face.

"With mother Griselda by our side, nothing can stop us. So yes."

"I have the same view as Irina. With our mother by our side, we won't die," she spoke with such confidence and blind conviction that it made me wonder about Griselda's power, "But even if she wasn't with us, we would do everything in our power to complete our missions, even sacrificing our lives."

Was she perhaps a Sacred Gear user? But Vritra didn't say anything about her having one. He would have sensed something if that was the case.

"You came here to Japan prepared to die. The belief in your teaching is extreme like always." Kiba said, a mocking tone present in his voice.

"Don't talk ill of our beliefs, Knight of Gremory. Right, Xenovia?"

"Right. The Church decided that it would be better to eliminate all of the Excaliburs rather than letting them get used by Kokabiel's forces. Our main objective is to get the Excaliburs away from them. To accomplish that, it's okay for us to die. The only way to fight against the Excaliburs is Excaliburs. But again, that won't happen with mother Griselda by our side."

Seriously, just who was this woman that these two were willing to face up against a Cadre without fear? Even I wasn't completely sure of handling the guy myself.

Sure, I stood leagues above my past self, power-wise. But we were talking about a Cadre here! Someone who was around during the Great War and led his forces into the battlefield.

'You can always rely on me when the time comes.'

'I know, Vritra. We got each other's back.'

"Aside from Griselda, do you have a secret weapon?" I said, thinking about the thread of holy energy that Vritra talked about.

"Who knows…"

Damn, why did the straightforward girl have to act so mysterious all of a sudden…

After that, the two of them just stared at each other, and the conversation stopped. Shidou Irina and Xenovia looked at each other and stood up.

"Then we will take our leave now. Let's go, Irina."

"Righto!"

Irina once again apologized to me for Xenovia's rude tone in the beginning. I waved it off. Any insult aimed at me just washed over me like air.

I was used to it.

Knock

Knock

The door to the clubroom opened, and to my surprise, a diminutive Asia poked her head slightly inside.

"A-Ano… Hachiman-san, a visitor, has come to meet you. Sh-She said that she won't leave till you m-meet her."

Why did she look so nervous?

Shit, forget that! Both Xenovia and Irina noticed her and grew interested.

"Are you the 'Witch' Asia Argento? I never expected to meet you in a place like this." Xenovia said without remorse.

Asia's body shook after she was called a witch. That word was something painful to her.

"Enough," I said quickly, firmly, not liking where this was heading one bit.

But they didn't listen to me.

"Are you the rumored witch? The former holy-maiden? You are said to have the power that can also heal Devils and Fallen Angels, right? I heard that you were sent somewhere after getting exiled, I didn't expect you to become involved with all the enemy factions of our God."

"Ummmmm…I…I…."

Asia didn't know how to react to Irina and Xenovia's accusations.

"Asia, come here now," I called her by my side. She accepted and hid behind me. I acted as her shield, but that didn't stop those two from further talking.

"Yeah, I'm surprised as well. Becoming a devil would have been sinful enough, but becoming allies with both the Grigori and the Devils while still being a human… isn't that insulting to our Father?"

"N-No! I-I still pray to the Lord!" Asia quickly defended herself.

"And neither Hachiman-san nor Akeno-san are evil! They gave me a home and made my dreams come true. Kalawarna-san always takes ca-care of me like a sister, and I am forever grateful to have the p-people who've given me a second chance!"

Xenovia approached us, her gaze still fixated on Asia.

"So you do still believe in God. I can sense the belief emanating from you, despite the people you are surrounded by. Then again, there must be a reason why mother Griselda is interested in you. Maybe you do have a chance at redemption."

Schwing!

Kiba came in between me and the approaching Xenovia. His eyes were sharp and cold, as he pointed his blade at her throat.

"I'd rather you keep your distance from my friends."

Xenovia didn't pay the man any attention but just continued to gaze at Asia with a particular gaze.

"If you still believe in the words of our Father almighty. Then I offer you two choices; you could be cut down by us this instant. If it's now, I can cut you in the name of God. Even if you have sinned, our God will forgive you for siding with the enemy. Or, leave these people and join us back to mother Griselda."

"..."

'Partner…'

"You dare call Asia a witch?" I said with a whisper, but my words were able to get everyone's attention.

"Yes, I dare. Right now, she is at least fit to be called a witch."

She talked without knowing anything about Asia. Not through the betrayal, she went through, having what she considered her family throw her out without second thought. An innocent soul who just wished to make the world a better place by healing those in need without asking anything in return.

"You people betrayed her. You called yourself her friends and family but abandoned her when she needed you all the most. And now you ask her to choose to return to hell or be killed for being too kind?"

'Hachiman, do not kill them.' the dragon said, his tone neutral.

But even he didn't sound like he meant those words.

"Do you think the Holy-Maiden needed friends? What's important is charity to others. The Holy-Maidens are finished when they seek friendship and love from others. She could have continued to live with only the love of God. So Asia Argento didn't have the right to be a Holy-Maiden from the beginning."

Was this what these people considered a life? Forcing kind souls like Asia to live in solitude for the rest of their lives?

"She didn't ask to become a Holy Maiden. She only wanted to help people and even after everything that happened, she still does. Every day, she helps the people in need all around Kuoh, healing the wounded and providing food and water to the homeless. That's all she wanted. You all have her take the fucking title! Are you truly that blind to not see the folly in the entire thing? Do you not see how she was defamed and exiled for reasons beyond her control? She can't control the nature of her Sacred Gear. It possesses no holy attribute and would have healed the Devil regardless, because all she saw was someone that needed help!"

"Hachiman-san, i-it's okay." Asia tried to dissuade me, but I couldn't just let this woman slander her like that, not after everything she went through because of them.

"God loved her. Her healing the Devil meant that she didn't believe in him enough, holy attribute or not, or her belief was fake. She deserved everything that came at her."

"..."

Everything stopped. None said a word after Xenovia's words.

Even Irina was shocked into silence at her partner's harsh words.

I remember when I first met Asia, at that time, she said something that stayed close to my heart.

'... It's because I didn't pray enough. It's because I'm clumsy. I'm so stupid that I can't even eat a burger by myself.'

'I am a witch. I committed a grave sin, enough for the Lord to abandon me.'

'I am a bad person.'

"..."

It was because of them that she thought like that.

"Hachiman?" Kiba became worried, but I ignored him.

My gaze focused on the woman who was glaring back at me and Asia.

It was people like her who caused so much suffering for the innocent girl. They gave the girl such a large responsibility from the get-go, which she always did her best to fulfill.

But at the slightest sign of trouble, one little mistake from a kind gesture, and they treated her as a witch.

Not even giving her a chance to explain herself and defend her action.

She did not deserve this.

They did not deserve Asia.

.

.

.

I wasn't going to let them take her away from me.

My body moved.

"Argh!"

Crash!

"Xenovia!"

They needed a reality check.

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 2 Fate fics are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.