Chapter 4

Originally posted on 19/5/2018.  

"Sooo..." Roxas remarked, as Sirzechs and Grayfia took seats on his sofa, and he walked over to the kitchen part of his house. "Want anything to drink? Sorry, but I've only got water." 

"That would be welcome." Sirzechs replied. "And I'm okay with water." Grayfia added that she would be okay with water as well, which Roxas nodded to. 

The silver-haired Nephalem got two glasses, filled them up with water from the tap, and grabbed himself a can of Coca-Cola. Holding the can up behind his back with magic, in a similar way to telekinesis (he'd recently started learning how to apply his Demonic Magic in a telekinetic way, but could only do it to a basic level), and holding the two glasses with his hands, he walked back into the living room, and handed his parents the glasses of water. Grayfia took a sip, and smiled. 

"Thank you, Roxas." The maid said. "I must say, it's nice to see you're being hospitable to your parents, after two centuries." 

"Mmmhmm." Roxas replied, moving the can of soft-drink out from behind his back, catching it, opening it, and half-emptying it down his throat. Sirzechs was the first to notice, and spoke up. 

"Hey, Roxas! I thought you said you had water!" 

"Yeah, I did. And I do." Roxas replied, calmly. "For parents who rudely teleport through wards, and essentially break into their son's house." 

Roxas took satisfaction in the fact that Sirzechs and Grayfia had it in them to look slightly awkward, and a little ashamed of themselves. 

"We're sorry, Roxas." Grayfia replied. "We were just so overcome with wanting to see our oldest son again, that I and your father would go through any lengths to do it." 

Roxas sighed. 

"Whatever." He replied. "Doesn't change the fact that you're here, and will probably come back after a while if I sent you away." 

"Yeah, we probably would have." Sirzechs replied. As Grayfia glared at him, he hurriedly added. "Or at least, I would have." Grayfia just sighed. Evidently, that wasn't the right thing to say. "Anyway, Roxas, I must commend you on the layers of your wards. It took Ajuka, someone who was responsible for breaking through the wards on the Valefor Castle, an act that essentially won the Anti-Satan Faction the Devils Civil War, 24 full hours, without sleep, with his Queen's help, to create a transportation-circle that broke through them." 

Roxas shrugged. 

"Okay." He replied. "Anyway. What are you doing here?" 

"What kind of a question is that, Roxas?" Grayfia asked, slightly intensely, and quicker than she meant to, in reply. 

"The kind that, a) wasn't meant to attack or hurt you in any way, and b) the kind that you're supposed to answer without doing a Shakespeare, Mom." Roxas replied. 

"Well, Roxas, we just want to know..." Grayfia trailed off, before looking down at her knees, sighing, and looking back up at Roxas. "Why?" She asked, with more confidence and emotion in her voice than ever. "Why did you just disappear on us, for two centuries, without giving us any reason or warning? What excuse have you got for putting us through that kind of hell of thinking that you were dead and gone ever since 1812?" 

"Heh. Direct as ever, Mom." Roxas replied, sitting down. "Well, there are a couple of reasons I left, but can I first start by saying, hand on heart, that I had every intention of returning to the Gremory family?" 

"I sure hope you did." Sirzechs replied. "Before you tell us, Roxas, can WE start by saying that no matter what you tell us, we won't be angry with you. We, as your parents, can understand, and after we've cleared this business up, we can return to the Gremory Manor. Reunite with the rest of your family." 

"Hmm." Roxas replied. "Well, Dad, you kinda landed on a large part of why I left in the first place. The House of Gremory itself." 

Sirzechs blinked. 

"I'm sorry?" 

"Did I stutter, Dad?" Roxas asked. "You heard me right." He sighed, and sat down, opposite his parents. "If I had a penny for every time I heard the words 'House of Gremory' when I was a child, then I could probably bribe my way into becoming the President of Russia. And that's with all the money I would have earned before I turned 18." 

"What are you talking about, Roxas?" Sirzechs asked. 

"What I'm talking about, is that the House of Gremory was all that ever WAS talked about, at least where I was concerned." Roxas replied. "Ever since the start, all my upbringing, how I appeared to the outside, everything I had to do, everything I was taught, was all in the name of being a perfect future Head of the Gremory Clan, while everything else was second priority to Zeoticus and Venelana. If it was a priority at all, that is." 

Sirzechs and Grayfia looked at each other, then back at Roxas, understanding what he was talking about. 

As Sirzechs was the current Lucifer, in the opening decades of the era of Devils under the rule of the Four Current Satans (being himself, Serafall Leviathan, Ajuka Beelzebub, and Fianna Asmodeus) he would be too busy to be a father to Roxas, and Grayfia, as someone who worked a job as the Head Maid of the Gremory Clan, a job that required 12-17 hours a day, 6 days a week, of making sure that the Gremory Manor was taken properly care of, would suffer a similar fate, Sirzechs had requested that Zeoticus and Venelana Gremory, his parents, be the ones to take care of Roxas, which they, along with Grayfia, had agreed to. 

Grayfia had only agreed on the condition that she be able to see her son at least once a day, which Zeoticus and Venelana had agreed to. Sirzechs also made his best efforts to see Roxas whenever he could, though there were times where he was unable to, given that he was... well, I don't like repeating myself, so I won't. 

"While I know that my grandparents, who were the ones to bring me up, really..." Roxas continued talking. "I never felt like my voice was being heard, and I had no choice to do anything. Even in what food I ate. What the fuck is up with that?" 

Grayfia opened her mouth to admonish her son for using such bad language, but shut it. She didn't want to interrupt her son as he talked. 

"Well, anyway, though I acknowledge the time I had away from that with you, Mom, and sometimes you as well, Dad, as the only times I could think I was being listened to, even if you were both incredibly determined to make sure, ten thousand times over, that I was absolutely safe... sorry to sound selfish, but it wasn't enough." Roxas kept talking. "I looked on the few Low and Mid-Class Devils that lived outside the jurisdiction of the 72, or rather, 33, Pillars, and felt jealous at the freedom they had. I was jealous at how no-one really told them what to do, and upon seeing that, I started resenting, then hating, then outright loathing the entire concept of being the Heir to the House of Gremory, if I couldn't have the freedom that others were allowed to have." 

Roxas downed the rest of his drink, as he continued. 

"Well, like the Low-Class Devils had, I started craving my own life, one that I had my own say, and 100% choice in how it went, not one that was planned out by my grandparents. I didn't want my entire life to be dictated: who I got with, how I was taught how to fight in battle, how I should approach certain situations, and so, after managing to circumnavigate yours, Zeoticus', Venelana's, Serafall's, Ajuka's, and even Fianna's, to an extent, efforts... I left. So... you asked." 

Grayfia and Sirzechs were both silent as Roxas finished his little speech, and both were having certain feelings. 

Grayfia, on one hand, felt both a sense of finality, as she'd FINALLY gotten the reason of Roxas' leaving out of him. And she, one hundred percent, believed him, as though he was a lot of things, he was NOT a liar. The Ultimate Queen also felt immense internal joy, as she'd just found out that, contrary to what she herself believed, Roxas DIDN'T leave because he hated his parents! 

"I- I understand, Roxas." Grayfia replied. "I'm deeply sorry that you thought that we were being overbearing on you, but you have to appreciate that this was our first time being parents to a child, and-" 

"And I do appreciate that." Roxas replied. "I forgive you, Mom." 

"Hmm." Sirzechs 'hmmph'ed. "So you left because you didn't appreciate mine and Grayfia's best efforts to be there for you when we could, Roxas? You sound like you're ungrateful for all we tried to do for you." 

"Sirzechs..." Grayfia spoke, with a warning tone. "Weren't you listening to anything Roxas said? There were reasons beyond us that Roxas decided to leave us. And besides, we're doing a better job of being parents to Millicas, so there's no chance of it happening again, right?" 

"Right." Sirzechs replied, taking a breath and looking up at Roxas, who still looked between Grayfia and Sirzechs, his calm expression still on his face. 

"It's fine, Mom. I understand Dad's way of thinking. In fact, I'm honestly surprised that you aren't coming to the same conclusion that he did." He then turned to Sirzechs, and focused on him. "Dad. I've said it before, I'll say it again. You're not the only reason I left, and though you are a part of it, I don't hold anything against you as a person. I still acknowledge that for the small part of your life that you were able to see me, you were a great father." 

"I see." Sirzechs replied, nodding. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I have a question for you, Roxas." 

"Yes?" Roxas replied. 

"Well, now that we know why you left, would you mind telling us what you were doing while you were gone?" Sirzechs asked. "You seem extremely different from before when you left. You're a lot taller, and more muscular, too. Have you been working out?" 

"Well, in a sense." Roxas replied. "I much prefer to call it 'training', but to each their own, I suppose. Apart from wanting independence from a Clan that was far, far too strict and organised in bringing me up as the Heir to a Clan, and not a powerful Devil. Again, sorry to sound selfish, but it's true." 

"No, no, we understand, Roxas." Sirzechs replied, holding a calming hand up. "Devils are selfish by nature, so we understand your wishes." Roxas grinned. 

"Alright, then." The silver-haired Nephalem replied. "Though, there's something else that's happened while I've been on my travels. Something you might want to know." 

"Okay..." Grayfia replied. "What is it?" 

"Well..." Roxas replied, slightly guiltily. Now that he was about to tell his parents, it seemed to have suddenly become a lot harder for him to do so. "I'm... married." 

Two glasses shattered at the exact same time, from Grayfia and Sirzechs having dropped them at the exact same time. 

The Crimson Satan and the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation stared at their son, in abject amazement, while Roxas waited for his parents to recover from the obvious shock by idly looking up at a poster on the wall that depicted a certain greatest drummer of all time doing his thing, with the simple caption of 'foREVer' written on the bottom, while also waving his hand to pick the broken pieces of glass up, and mend them back into normal glass cups, clean up the water spilled, and return the glasses to the kitchen. 

Roxas looked back at Grayfia and Sirzechs, who looked like their brains had done a full factory reset, but didn't mean that they were no less shocked. 

"M-married?!" Grayfia stammered, in shock. "You? Really?" 

"Yeah." Roxas replied, seeing no reason whatsoever to sugar-coat it. "I'm married." 

"But... but..." Grayfia composed herself, then walked over to Roxas and grabbed his ear. 

HARD. 

"How could you have gotten married without us being there?!" Grayfia asked, a dark killing intent seeping from her body. "Didn't you know that it was the greatest desire of our lives, to see our firstborn son getting married to the woman he loved?" She shook Roxas' ear slightly as she held it in an iron grip, while infusing some of her demonic power into it to make it hurt more. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" 

"Y-yes, actually." Roxas replied, through the pain, and focused a small, but potent, light-spell into his left ear (the one that Grayfia was holding onto), making his mother hiss slightly in pain and let go of his ear. Roxas then rubbed his ear, and stood up. "I wanted to invite you to my wedding. Believe me, I did. But I decided against it because you two, amongst others, would have tried to drag me back to the Underworld, where I 'belonged'. And another thing, Mom." Roxas opened a magic-circle with his hand, reached into it, and began to rummage around in it for a second. 

"I know it's in here somewhere..." He muttered, reaching deeper and deeper into the circle, before he triumphantly crowed "Here we are!" And pulled something out: a memory stick. "Here you go." He tossed the memory stick to Sirzechs, who caught it. 

"It's got the video that I put together of my wedding on it, in case you ever came asking for it." He remarked, before his voice became slightly sardonic for a moment. "Maybe you can make a reaction video on YouTube about it, Mom. It'd be bound to get popular for... certain reasons." His red eyes flicked to his mother's ample figure for a second, before looking back at her face. 

"I see." Grayfia replied, either having missed the meaning of Roxas' remark entirely, or showing no reaction to the fact that she HAD gotten the meaning of Roxas' remark. "Thank you, Roxas. I'll make sure to watch it." 

"I will, as well." Sirzechs added, smiling. "Thank you for thinking of us like this." 

"Hmm." Roxas replied, shrugging, as Grayfia put the memory stick in her own magical storage space. "Anything else you want to ask?" 

"Oh, yes." Grayfia replied. "Roxas, who are you married to? I-I'd love to meet her, if you wouldn't mind." 

"Oh, I wouldn't." Roxas replied. 

"Is this girl a Devil, Roxas?" Sirzechs asked, slightly excitedly. "What's she like?" 

"Well, she-" Roxas began, but at that exact moment, the door to his house opened, and Palutena stood in the doorway. She seemed to be in the process of magically changing her clothes back to her signature white dress. Roxas noticed that she seemed to be changing it from a red crop top and jeans. 

"Oh." She said, noticing the scene before her. "Am I... interrupting anything?" 

"Not at all, Palutena." Roxas replied. "In fact, you're right on cue. Where's Asia?" 

"Oh, I just teleported her back to your room." Palutena replied. "So she could try on some of the clothes we brought." 

"Fair enough." Roxas replied, as his green-haired wife walked into the room, and sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulders. Roxas then looked up at Sirzechs and Grayfia. 

"Well, you asked. And here she is, my wife. Only known Christian-Greco Deity to date, daughter of Hera, present Queen of Olympus and Greek Goddess of Marriage, and the Biblical God, Yahweh: Palutena." 

Palutena (who had to suppress a snigger at the looks on Sirzechs' and Grayfia's faces, which were those of shock) gave a calm, kindly smile to Roxas' parents, and her parents-in-law. 

Grayfia recovered first, and spoke to one of the few female beings she knew of who she, the sole daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, was guaranteed to lose against if she were to fight them, one on one. 

"I-I see." She took a breath, as Palutena looked calmly at her and Sirzechs. "Palutena, I hope my son hasn't caused you any trouble." 

"Oh, Roxas hasn't caused me any trouble at all, Grayfia Lucifuge." Palutena replied, with her smile taking on a more humorous tint. "I must say, it's rather ironic for the daughter of the Biblical God himsel, and the grandson of the old Lucifer, who is also the son of the new Lucifer, to get married, isn't it?" 

"Y-yes, it is." Sirzechs replied. "Well, I don't think I have any more questions for you, Roxas." 

"Good to know." Roxas replied, calmly. 

"But I'm quite sure that your grandparents will." Sirzechs replied, leaning forward, a slight smile on his face. "Hopefully, you can come with us back to the Gremory Manor, and talk things out with your grandparents. Maybe, you can even re-take your place as the true Gremory Heir, as you never truly surrendered the title to Rias." 

"Oh, but I do." Roxas replied. "One. I don't care who takes the title of Gremory Heir, but I don't want it to be me. Two. Didn't you hear that I hate the idea of being the Heir to the Gremory Clan, due to how Zeoticus and Venelana chose to raise me? And, finally, three. Be realistic, Dad. Who do you think Zeoticus and Venelana would accept as their Heir? Their daughter, my aunt, who loves the idea of being the Gremory Heir, and is perfectly content with keeping that title? Or their grandson, who loathes the idea of being the Gremory Heir, and..." 

Roxas then stood up, and spread his ten pure-white Devil wings, making Sirzechs and Grayfia gasp, in unison. 

"...Who just so happens to be a Nephalem?" 

Palutena couldn't take it. She burst out laughing at the looks on Sirzechs and Grayfia's faces, which were even more shocked than when Roxas had revealed the identity of his wife. 

"I-" Sirzechs tried to speak, but seemed to have forgotten how to. "Roxas, how- why-" 

Roxas swore that he could see smoke rising from Sirzechs' head, as his brain began to short-circuit. Grayfia was having an easier time of processing the fact that Roxas was the first Nephalem, the species that had perfect control over both demonic and angelic powers, along with the potential to become more powerful than either species, and possibly to power levels attained by Gods, or God-Class beings. 

And given that Roxas possessed TEN wings, the same number of wings as Grayfia herself, it definitely seemed that he'd hit such a level. 

"You're not upset, are you?" Roxas asked. 

"Oh, no!" Grayfia replied, standing up, walking over to Roxas, and enveloping him in a caring hug. "It's just... it's a lot to take in. That your firstborn son, who you've been looking for, for over two hundred years, is so different from when you last saw him." She looked longingly into Roxas' face, which looked like a perfect, yet male, carbon copy of her own. "Just... how did you become a Nephalem?" 

"I'd like to know that myself." Sirzechs, who seemed to have also recovered, replied, as his eyes shifted from his wife and son, to Palutena. "Though I think I have a feeling that I know who is responsible for this." 

Palutena calmly shrugged. 

"Guilty as charged, Sirzechs." She remarked. "Yes, I was the one to turn my husband into a Nephalem. Though it was a bit different from what I originally wanted to turn him into." 

"So, you're saying that you wanted to turn my son into an Angel?" Grayfia asked, her voice neutral, but killing intent slowly seeping from her. 

"Originally, yes." Palutena replied. "However, it was only the second time I had tried to use the power I'd inherited from my Father, and Create a being, and the first time that I'd tried it on an already-living being. And, as you can see, the Creation went slightly awry, and I ended up with a Nephalem for a then-boyfriend instead of an Angel." 

"Mom, Dad." Roxas cut in, before Sirzechs and Grayfia could speak. "I know what you're thinking. I was angry with Palutena for doing something like trying to change the species I belonged to without my consent at first, but I know that it came from good intentions, and it also fit in with my want to become stronger, and not be seen as just the son of the Crimson Satan and the Strongest Queen. After I realised that, I forgave Palutena, and even if I have to meditate every once in a while, I'm happier than I was before with who I am now." 

Sirzechs' response to what Palutena said died in his throat as he heard Roxas' speech, and he took a breath to calm himself down. 

"Alright." He relented. "If you're happy with who you are, Roxas, then I'm happy too. And I'll support you." The Crimson Satan then proceeded to give a slightly goofy, yet no less fatherly, smile. 

"Thanks, Dad." Roxas smiled in reply. "Mom?" 

"I concur with your father, Roxas." Grayfia replied. "I'm happy with who you are, and I'll support you, no matter what." 

Roxas smiled. 

"Thank you, Mom." He replied. "Now, I'm gonna go get a drink. My throat's real fucking dry from all this talking." The four beings all laughed, and Roxas went into the kitchen, as Grayfia and Palutena sat down on the sofa and started talking, Roxas pulled out another can of Coca-Cola, opened it, and drunk a bit. 

Turning around to go back into the living room, he saw Sirzechs standing in the way. 

"What is it now, Dad?" He asked. Sirzechs looked slightly awkward for a second, before speaking. 

"Roxas, I know you threw away your ability to be Heir of the House of Gremory, thanks to becoming a Nephalem" he spoke "Which I support, by the way!" He quickly added, as Roxas looked sharply at him. "But, will you at least temporarily come back to the Gremory Manor, only for a night or so, just to let your family know that you're alive? If not for them, then for Rias, and for Millicas?" 

"Millicas?" Roxas blinked. 

"Your little brother." Sirzechs replied. "I'm sure your aunt and your little brother would love to meet you." 

"Disregarding the fact that Rias and I have already met, and exchanged words..." Roxas muttered, under his breath. "Sure." He shrugged. "It can't be worse than the time Palutena and I went to Olympus. But I'm only going under two conditions." 

"Name them." Sirzechs said, instantly. He was extremely anxious to see Roxas come back to the Gremory Manor, and was willing to meet almost any condition that his eldest son could think of, if it meant that he could meet his family, which the Crimson Satan thought would be good for him. 

"One." Roxas held up his index finger. "Palutena is coming with me. She's my wife, and deserves to come with me on such an important occasion." 

"Fair enough." Sirzechs replied. "I can arrange that. What is your second condition?" Roxas held up his middle finger, as well as his index, and spoke. 

"If Venelana or Zeoticus start speaking about the Power of Destruction, I'm in my full right to leave, and no-one will be able to stop me." 

"Why?" Sirzechs asked, not antagonistically, but curiously. 

"Do we have a deal or not?" Roxas asked, his red eyes meeting Sirzechs' blue ones in a glare that was VERY similar to the one that Grayfia would give him when she wanted something. 

Sirzechs sighed. 

"We do." He replied. "Will you be able to come this time next week?" 

"I think so." Roxas replied. "Though any times I visit the Gremory Manor beyond that will be my choice, and my choice alone." 

"Very well." Sirzechs replied. He turned to leave the kitchen, but stopped, and turned back. 

"Even if it's extremely surprising, some of the things I've learned about you today, Roxas..." He said, quietly. "It's been really good to see you again." 

"Good to know." The silver-haired son of Sirzechs replied, accepting a hug from his father. "Won't you be getting off, soon?" 

"Yes, hopefully." Sirzechs replied, as he and Roxas left the kitchen. 

Fifteen minutes later, Sirzechs and Grayfia were standing outside Roxas' house, with Roxas and Palutena in front of them. 

"Goodbye, Roxas." Grayfia smiled at her son, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "It's been great to see you again." 

"Right back at you, Mom." Roxas replied. "But one thing, before you go." He reached into his pocket, and passed Sirzechs and Grayfia a sheet of paper, with the sign of the Gremory crest on it. 

"In case you ever come and visit me again." He explained. "I don't want you sneaking through my wards again. Even if today's reunion was really nice." 

"We'll make sure to use it." Sirzechs nodded. He made to activate his transportation-circle, but stopped himself. "Can we make copies of this, in case others want to come to your house and speak with you? I can think of at least three people who would want to see you again." 

"I know which three people you're thinking of, and yeah, sure." Roxas replied. "Just try and ask Serafall to tone down her love for me when she inevitably comes." 

"No promises." Sirzechs sniggered, as he activated the transportation-circle, and he and Grayfia disappeared. Once they were gone, Roxas and Palutena re-entered his house, and sat down on the sofa. 

"You know, Roxas?" Palutena asked, her kindly smile still on her face. "You have really, really nice parents." Her expression then became slightly more melancholy. "Especially your mother." 

"I know, love." Roxas replied, wrapping an arm around his wife and giving her a comforting hug, which she gladly returned. "I know." 

Line Break  

"Come on, you lazy little shits!" Roxas shouted, sword made of light in hand, to a group of fifteen or so Exorcists (only two of which were still conscious), in the field behind a large Church, all of whom had their own swords made of light (It was a surprise that George Lucas hadn't sued the shit out of the Church yet) in hand, and were circling around Roxas, trying to find an opening to attack the Nephalem. "I've seen snails move faster than you! I've seen elephants with better use of a sword, and- that's more like it, Xenovia!" 

Xenovia Quarta, one of the Exorcists that Roxas was training, and one of the two Exorcists that were still conscious, given the training he was putting them through today, had dashed forward with her own light-sword, with surprising speed, and tried to slash Roxas' face with it. 

Xenovia was an attractive young woman with chin-length blue hair (that had a dyed green fringe on the right side) and brown eyes. She, like the other three female Exorcists that Roxas was training today, wore a black, skin-tight short-sleeve unitard, with pauldrons, matching fingerless gloves that extended to her biceps, and thigh-high boots, all of which were adorned with straps. 

It was definitely attire that Roxas would appreciate a woman wearing while in the bedroom with him, but this was the Church, so he had to try and show SOME restraint. 

Roxas quickly raised his own light-sword to block Xenovia's attack, easily overpowered her, pulled a quick movement with his sword that sent Xenovia's spinning from her hand, and grabbed her face. Roxas then proceeded to lift Xenovia into the air and slam her into the ground, face-first, rendering her barely conscious, but unable to move. 

"Though you really should work on learning how to TAKE attacks." Roxas remarked, lightly rolling his neck around his shoulders. "If I were a Stray Devil, or not holding back, YOU would be dead and your soul would be made into Hades' personal bitch." 

"XENOVIA!" Irina Shidou, another of the Exorcists that Roxas was training that day (Irina's and Xenovia's boss, Griselda Quarta, had received an offer from the Seraph Gabriel to join up with her Brave Saints, so she couldn't be here to train these Exorcists. Therefore, Michael had had to call Roxas and ask him to fill in for her at the last moment), cried. She, with slight more caution than Xenovia, tried to rush at Roxas as well. 

Irina was an attractive young woman, with chestnut hair, and violet eyes. Her hair was tied into twin-tails, held with a blue scrunchy. She wore the exact same attire as Xenovia. 

Roxas, without even looking, as Irina was running at him from behind, leant over backwards with such speed and agility that Irina didn't even know that her sword had missed Roxas until he pulled a backward somersault, propelling himself into the air. 

Roxas then delivered a mid-air kick to Irina's head, sending her sprawling into the ground, as Roxas landed lightly on it, and sniggered. 

"Honestly." He remarked, slightly mockingly, as he dispelled his light-sword. "I'm quite surprised that fifteen Exorcists, the so-called 'Agents of the Wrath of God', couldn't even land a scratch on a so-called sinner like me, in two-and-a-half-hours of light training. It's quite pathetic." 

"Y-you'd know a lot about being pathetic, wouldn't you, Nephalem?" Xenovia asked, shakily getting to her feet and trying to walk, but stumbling. 

"Says the person who can't even walk right now." Roxas retorted, as he heard two people walking towards him, and turned. "Oh, hey. Didn't expect to see you back so soon, Griselda. And Vasco's here, too." 

Griselda Quarta, one of the Top 5 Female Exorcists, was a very pretty woman in her late-twenties or early-thirties, with straight, shoulder-length golden-blonde hair, and blue eyes. She wore the same attire as the three female exorcists that Roxas had wre- I mean TRAINED, though it was under a white, hooded cloak. 

Vasco Strada, the Strongest Exorcist of All Time (he had only attained this title weeks ago, as the former Strongest Exorcist of All Time, Dulio Guesaldo, had been turned into an Angel by Michael) was a 2-metre tall elderly man, 87 years of age, to be exact. He had white hair that had wrinkles on it, similar to that of a normal elderly. His body, despite his age, was extremely muscular. He had a thick neck, thick chest, thick arms and thick legs. If Roxas were to make an educated guess, he would say that Vasco had twice of his own muscle mass. Vasco also wore priest vestaments. 

"Hello, Roxas." Vasco politely greeted his friend, and the man who had trained him when he was a teenager and young adult. "Or should I say, Silver-Haired Prince of Twilight. I hope you're doing well." 

"Very well, Violence of Heaven." Roxas replied, walking over to Vasco and shaking his hand. "Still keeping strong despite your age?" 

"I would think so." Vasco replied, kindly smiling down at the being who, despite appearing to only be a quarter of his age, was actually nearly 7 times his age, as well as the man who had trained him. "Did you get my call about Asia?" 

"I did." Vasco replied, nodding. "I'm glad to know that she now has a good home, with you and Palutena." 

"Yeah." Roxas replied. "Good to know that you trust me and my wife, since you're the only really high-ranked member of the Church that does." 

Roxas and Vasco both shared a chuckle, before the 

"Hey, Griselda." Roxas greeted the blonde. "Did you take that offer to become an Angel?" 

"I did." Griselda Quarta replied, revealing six pure-white Angel wings. "I'm now the Queen of Lady Gabriel." She looked at the Exorcists that she was supposed to be training, and sighed. "You broke them, didn't you?" 

"Maaaaayyyyyybe~" Roxas replied, grinning at the dark expression on Griselda's face, and then shrugging. "Okay, maybe a little." 

"That's what I thought." Griselda muttered, as she looked back at the Exorcists, who were trying to bow to her, as an Angel, and Vasco, as the Cardinal Priest of the Catholic Church, but couldn't, as Roxas had rendered them entirely incapable of doing so without falling over. 

It was quite comical, really. 

"Anyway." Roxas remarked, looking at Vasco. "Fancy having a spar, Vasco?" He asked. "I didn't even break a sweat after training these weaklings for over two hours, and I know that you can match me in a fight." 

"Very well." Vasco replied, calmly walking forward, and cracking his knuckles, as Roxas removed his leather jacket, and dropped it on the ground beside him. "Swords or Fists?" 

"Fists." Roxas replied, getting into a battle stance. "Though if you fancy pulling out your Holy Sword during this little bout, I'll be happy to pull out mine." 

"Ah, I don't think that would be necessary." Vasco replied, as he got into his own battle stance, and disregarded the gazes of the other Exorcists, who were getting to their feet, and looking upon their Eminence, getting ready to fight. 

"You little babies might want to stand back." Roxas remarked. "Things are about to get fun." 

After about five seconds of the Nephalem and the Exorcist circling each other, Roxas was the one to dash at Vasco, his fist raised. After a second, Vasco dashed towards Roxas as well, his own fist raised. 

When they reached each other, Roxas and Vasco swung at each other at the exact same time, and their fists collided with their faces at the exact same time. 

Neither Roxas nor Vasco flinched from the other's punch, and neither moved from their position until Vasco pulled a quick move, ducked down, grabbed Roxas by the leg, and flung him bodily into the air. Roxas righted himself just in time to raise his hands in order to block the follow-up punch of Vasco, who tried to jump up and attack him. 

The two combat masters landed on the ground, face to face (or rather, neck to face, as Roxas only reached Vasco's chest, in terms of height), and started dashing around the field. 

When they stopped for the first time, Roxas tried to throw a punch at Vasco's midsection, but he blocked it, and threw a punch at his face, which Roxas sidestepped, and tried to punch Vasco in the side, which he took without flinching, and dashed off, with Roxas in hot pursuit. 

None of the Exorcists watching the bout had a chance of seeing Roxas or Vasco as they moved around the field at top speed. Even Griselda's eyes had a hard time keeping up with them. 

Roxas reached Vasco, who had stopped moving, and tried to throw another punch at his mid-section, which Vasco blocked with his arm, but didn't see coming the other fist that Roxas threw, knocking him slightly off-balance. Roxas then swung at Vasco's face with his leg, and crashed against it, knocking Vasco flying, but the huge Exorcist righted himself in mid-air, and landed on the ground. As Roxas dashed at Vasco again, and threw such a powerful punch that a sonic boom was heard going off for miles around, Vasco, in the nick of time, had pulled out a sword. 

When the smoke cleared from the sonic boom that Roxas had caused, he got an eyeful of it. 

It was a uniquely-shaped broad-sword with a blue blade and golden edge. The sword had a semi-circular guard on the left side of the handle, that extended to the bottom just above the pommel, with a small extention on the right side of the handle. The blade looked rather small in Vasco's hands. 

This was Durandal, or, to be more specific, a replica of Durandal, that had only 20% of the power of the orignal sword. Vasco had been given the replica of Durandal by the Pope, as he was the original, and strongest, wielder, and the Church (according to Michael) had faith that Vasco would be able to draw out its maximum potential, to cut everything without exception, and attain much greater strength than was intended for the replica of one of the Four Great Christian Holy Swords (Excalibur, Durandal, Ascalon and Caliburn), around 80%, if Roxas had to guess himself. 

"Alright, so you decided to pull out that sword of yours." Roxas remarked, jumping back as Vasco got into a battle-stance with his sword. "Well, then. Time to pull out mine." 

Roxas, to everyone's surprise except Vasco's, grabbed his golden hairband, and pulled it out of his hair, letting his silver hair fly free in the wind. While holding it in his hand, the hairband turned into a sword. 

The sword had a long, silver blade, just over a metre in length with a middle-part that faded from blue to silver. It didn't have a hand-guard, instead, the sword's blade widened out slightly. There were blue designs at the bottom of the widened-out part of the blade, and the handle was the same blue colour. 

This was Excalibur Galatine, a Holy Sword created by Palutena for Roxas' personal use, based on the legendary Holy Sword, Excalibur. The sword possessed approximately all of the powers of, and approximately 75% of the strength of the original Excalibur, though like Vasco, Roxas was able to draw out the potential of his sword beyond its intended potential, and attain strength closer to 90% of the strength of the original Excalibur. 

"Alright." Roxas grinned, getting into a battle-stance himself. "It's time that this battle started for real." 

Vasco and Roxas both jumped at each other at the exact same time, and landed within feet of each other. Vasco swung down to attack Roxas, but Roxas blocked his attack with his Excalibur, and made to swing around Vasco, but the replica of Durandal got in the way, so Roxas had to change course and backflip away from Vasco, landing to the other side of him. 

Roxas swung at Vasco's legs, but his attack was blocked, and when he jumped into the air to try and perform a flip-attack on his former protégé, he was blocked again as he landed back on the ground. 

Roxas and Vasco continued to exchange blows, at blistering speed, with the younger (in terms of physical appearance, which gave him an edge over Vasco) and more acrobatic Roxas jumping and flipping around, Yoda-style, to either dodge Vasco's powerful swings, attack, or give himself a future opening to attack, even if his attacks would be blocked, sometimes narrowly, sometimes easily, by Vasco. 

As Roxas came out from another of his flips, and landed behind Vasco, he swung downwards at him, but the white-haired Cardinal Priest turned around and swung in turn, with the two Holy Swords clashing with one another. 

Neither swordsman let up, neither were willing to let the other come out on top in this clash, but after fifteen full seconds of pressing against each other, without either moving an inch, Roxas was the one to slowly overpower Vasco, and push his sword aside. 

The two opponents swung at each other, and as they clashed again, Roxas suddenly became invisible. 

'Transparency... he's using one of Excalibur's seven powers: to allow the blade and its wielder to become invisible.' Vasco thought, as he stopped, and cast out his senses, hoping to catch a feeling of Roxas' magical signature, as that would tell him where he would come from next. After a second... above! 

Vasco looked up and swung the Durandal Replica in a wide arc, letting out a huge holy aura that impacted Roxas, and surprised him out of invisibility, and forced him backward. He landed on the ground, and Vasco noticed that instead of one, there were five Roxas' rushing at him. 

'Nightmare...' Vasco thought, as he readied himself. 'Another of the seven powers. To create illusions and manipulate dreams.' 

As far as he remembered, the illusion-versions of Roxas wouldn't be able to hurt him if they hit him, as they were just that, illusions. Vasco pulled the same trick he'd done before with his Durandal replica, and sent a huge Holy wave at the four clone-Roxas' and one real one, hoping that he'd be able to weed out the real Roxas, so he could attack him. 

Four of the Roxas' were able to dodge the Holy wave, either jumping over it or sliding beneath it, but one of them was not. He disappeared. 

'One down. Three to go.' Vasco thought, as the four Roxas' came from four different directions, and attacked Vasco at the same time. 

Vasco, in a surprising show of agility, jumped into the air, dodging all of the Roxas', and noticed that all but one, the real one, had disappeared. 

He landed on the ground (with such force that he made the ground shake slightly), and began to swing downwards at Roxas, who, in his state of ducking, swung upwards at Vasco, at the exact same time. 

Both swords were milliseconds away from hitting their opponents, when Griselda called out. "ENOUGH!" 

Roxas and Vasco both stopped at the exact same time, and at the exact same time, they looked at Griselda, who had stepped forward. 

"If the two of you keep going, you're gonna destroy this entire field." Griselda admonished Vasco and Roxas. "Look at what you did earlier!" 

She pointed, and Roxas followed her finger to see that the part of the field that he'd punched the Durandal Replica (the part that he'd caused the sonic boom in) had been almost entirely uprooted. 

"Ah... heheh." Roxas shrugged. "Sorry, Grizzly. Accident." 

"Ugh..." Griselda facepalmed as Roxas used the nickname that she hated. "Anyway, you'll also end up killing each other if you keep going for long. And I VERY highly doubt that my King would like the second-highest official in the Church, as well as her future husband, getting themselves killed in a simple spar." 

"Whatever." Roxas replied, shrugging, as he turned Excalibur Galatine back into a golden headband, and re-tied his hair up, returning it to his preferred style of a ponytail. "Also there's nothing certain about me becoming the husband of the Angel who currently holds the title of 'Angel of Death'. Speaking of that, I would LOVE to see her reaction to the song of the same name." 

Griselda, Vasco and the other Exorcists had no reaction to this (Griselda and Vasco because they were probably too busy thinking about how Gabriel WOULD react to the most controversial track that the American thrash-metal band Slayer had ever put out, and the other Exorcists because they probably had no idea what the hell Roxas was talking). 

Roxas, however, shrugged, and created a transportation-circle. 

"See you later, Vasco, Grizzly." He bade Vasco and Griselda (who growled) goodbye, and activated it. 

Line Break  

Roxas appeared back in his home, in the foyer of his house, yawning slightly to himself. From where he was, he was able to see the silver hair of Valian, his first cousin once removed, draping over the back of the sofa, as she watched Bojack Horseman on TV. 

"Hey, Val." Roxas remarked, as he walked into the house. "Good to see you're back. How was your mission?" 

"Same to you." Valian replied, as she heard Roxas walking towards her, while not taking her eyes of the huge TV. "My mission was… interesting." 

"In what way?" Roxas asked, before speaking a second later. "Eh, whatever." He walked past Valian, looking at her. "You can tell me what happened… later…" 

Roxas trailed off as he looked past Valian to see a new woman lying lazily on the sofa. 

The woman was certainly beautiful and attractive, with a voluptuous figure on a similar level to Valian's, long black hair that was tied up, with split bangs, and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. She wore a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and an ornately detailed headband. The kimono featured a red interior, and was open at her shoulders, giving view to her very large breasts. A more exotic feature of this woman was that she had a pair of black cat-ears on her head, and two black tails growing from her back. 

"Valian." Roxas said, his voice slightly forced. "Care to explain. Why there is. A Stray Devil. In my house?" 

Valian sighed, and swivelled herself around on the sofa to face Roxas. 

"You want the long version or the short version?" She asked. 

"Short." Roxas replied, instantly. 

"Very well." Valian replied. "Called out to mission. Found Kuroka. Brought back. Was questioned and placed into my custody. I brought her here." 

"Hm, that WAS short." Roxas replied. "You even made like Genos and shortened it to below 20 words, too." He sighed, and looked down at Kuroka, who looked back at him with interest. "Kuroka, was it?" 

"Yup." Kuroka replied, sitting up. "I take it you're this Roxas that Val's been talking about, nya?" 

"Yes." Roxas replied. "I'm gonna allow you to stay here, because you don't look like the type that's gonna try and kill us when our backs are turned, but be warned." His red eyes glared straight into Kuroka's golden ones. "If you misbehave in here, or try anything on anyone who lives here, I will look past the fact that you're in Valian's custody and under her command, and I'll kill you like the Stray Devil that you are. You have one chance. Don't waste it." 

"I won't, nya~" Kuroka replied, as Roxas walked off to get himself a drink, and then to go and meditate. As she watched the Nephalem leave, the black-haired Nekoshou felt her primal Nekoshou instincts stirring. 

'My, my.' Kuroka found herself thinking. 'I can tell from just a glance. That Roxas definitely seems to be powerful~ I wouldn't mind having lots of babies with a man of that strength...' 

Kuroka subconsciously licked her lips and let out a soft "nya", as Roxas left the room.