Rise Of Strongest Dragon Emperor - Chapter 32

Lucifer`s Estate.

Arturia dispelled her armor, storing it away in the micro dimension, created as storage for all her Sacred Gear, Infinity Forge. As for her Divine Excalibur, she kept it near of her, still being weary of the Exorcists in the estate, just like everyone else here. Pendragon clearly saw that the rest of Nephilims were in combat alert state, being ready for things to go south in a moment`s notice, along with get a move on things. After the reveal of information about Kokabiel and his presence here, Alex went into his commander mode, right after his conference and right before the duels. Arturia currently saw how her friends were doing their things, at which they were best at: Cu Chulainn and Scathach were writing their tracking runes; Archer went to his own room, where he set up a control chamber with surveys and access to the satellites; Medusa was out in the city, looking out for Kokabiel and any possible friends of his; Raynare and Ravel were looking out for Illya and Sakura, helping out Grayfia a bit; Medea was doing a spiritual scanning of the area, looking for any magical distortions and anomalies around Kuoh and in the city; Kuroka was also in town, only she was on patrol of the school area, where her sister was and heiresses of Devil families. Everyone was doing what they had to, as it was the best way to get away from the thoughts about their friends being traitors, for it was really hard to process for everyone. Arturia was also among them.

Back in the Grigori`s Special Operations Division, as it was officially named, operatives had to deal with all kinds of missions and operations. For the purposes of best utilizing the abilities of each and every member, Alexander and the commanding stuff had to split the Division into several of sections, all led by their respective commanders and having people best suited for the jobs. Alongside with hero descendants, there were a very large number of Sacred Gear users, professional monster hunters, witchers and all other professional personal with various abilities and strengths. Arturia herself used to serve in Western Europe department, as a monster hunter and exterminator, while also partaking in missions of other regions. That department was formerly led by Arthur, then it was in Arturia`s hands, and now it was in hands of the other operative. Special Operations Division had a very strong diversity, but the organization was very high and it`s hierarchy was very well structured, with all commanders of departments reporting directly to Alexander, as the commander-in-chief, or his second-in-command, now a current commander-in-chief.

Arturia still recalled that ice lady and how Alex had to prove to her that he had what it takes to lead people. That proving resulted in a 3 hour long sparring, border-lining insane duel and battle, during which Alex had broken 4 ribs, had fractured his right arm in 5 different places, damaged his left eye and had a one of his knees pierced right through. As for the contester, she didn`t get out of the duel unscathed, having a broken nose, left leg broken and a minor damage of the spine. How the hell did Alex even manage to beat that lady, when Arturia herself had only managed to get a tie, was a mystery, as Alex`s opponent simply forfeited. Shocking, especially considering her overwhelming strength, power and will to battle till the very end. And that is not taking into account her Sacred Gear and the level of mastery she had back then, which today seems like a novice level, but back then, it was enough to keep at bay even 6-winged Fallen Angels. After that, she and Alex worked quite well and without any serious argument. Hell, they are really great friends, with lady actually being infatuated with Alex. Heck, even Scathach admitted that they are really close, both as friends and colleagues. And she led by serious commanding presence and charisma, like Alex, only he always had something inside him that made people follow him willingly, while his XO was more of pure charisma and fear.

As it was apparent, there were some really difficult or complicated missions. And the worst case scenario was always the betrayal of the operatives, when people went rouge, deserted or, even worse, killed their own comrades. These types of missions were the worst and there was no one in Spec Ops who would be glad to kill a former colleague and possibly a friend. And these cases did happen; only it always was single deserters. There were only 6 deserters in total, and 5 of them were quickly apprehended and dealt with. Unfortunately, the last one was also the worst of the entire bunch, as she went as far as tokill7 agents and operatives of the Spec Ops, right after she was considered mentally and psychologically unstable and put out of the action by Alexander`s personal order. It was about 2 years ago and ever since then she was on top of Spec Ops` hit list and targeted by top elites from Spec Ops. Alex`s XO personally went out and searched out for this damned traitor with her hunters. Still, up to this day, 7 agents remain not avenged, unfortunately.

With the thoughts of her brother and close friends being traitors, Arturia left the living room and went directly to Alex, wishing to talk with him, eye to eye and without anyone interrupting. She left the Exorcist trio not without an eye to watch them, as Fenrir has decided to ‘babysit’ those ladies. Devils have decided to leave to their own businesses and Nephilims were left with Exorcists. Arcanna was with the children, specifically with Illya, as she seemed to have taken a serious interest in little white haired girl. At least, Arturia and Alex knew that girls were protected and that was something that could count as a reassuring for Alex, as he held his girls were close and dear to his heart.

Arturia came close to his room and knocked, but the answer didn`t follow. Arturia decided to look inside the room and stepped in there. She saw Alex sitting in the chair, eyes closed and a right arm at his temple, as if rubbing it, but it wasn`t moving. Arturia actually saw that Alex`s breathing slowly and his body wasn`t even moving an inch. Arturia clearly understood that he was in a state of trance, or a meditation. She simply decided to wait for him to wake up. And after several minutes, Alex moved his hand and opened his eyes, looking as serious as ever. Lucifer looked up and saw that Arturia was standing here and looking at him. He spoke up.

“Arturia, were you waiting long?” Alex asked her, shifting a little in his chair.

“No, only a couple minutes.” Arturia assured him. “Mind if I ask you, were youconversingwith your grandfather?”

Alex has informed his friends about Lucifer being his spiritual guardian and that he very often spoke with Alex, often of casual stuff, but there were instances when they had some serious discussion about serious stuff. Right now, it could`ve been just the case and Arturia did wonder if Alex and Lucifer talked about this situation.

Alex sighed and spoke.

“Yeah, he had some serious stuff to tell me.” Alex spoke.

“Pardon my curiosity, but does it has something to do with our mission?” Arturia asked him.

“Unfortunately it does, but what Lucifer told me has very little to do with what we are facing currently.” Alex spoke, looking up to Arturia. “Arturia, remind me, did your ancestor possess any other weapons, aside from Excalibur?”

“Well, he did, of course.” Arturia said flatly. “Aside from Excalibur, it is recorded in my family`s archives that he also had Clarent, model of your Clarent Avenger, dagger Carnwennan, granting him the power to become invisible.”

“Was there a spear among those weapons?” Alex asked seriously.

“Hm Now that you mention it, there was a mention of Arthur possessing a spear in the earliest records, but there were no specifications.” Arturia said. “There was no name of that spear and almost nothing to it. Why did you ask?”

“Just to confirm.” Alex answered. “I`ll tell you more about it later, if you don`t mind. Now, is there something you want to talk about?”

“Yeah, there is.” Arturia spoke, sitting in the chair next to Alex. “It has something to do with what those Exorcists said. About our friends being supporters of Kokabiel”

“You too, think that this makes absolutely no damned sense?” Alex asked her tiredly. “Because, to be honest with you, I hardly can even think of it to be true. These people, my men For them to be traitors I can`t imagine it being true.”

Arturia nodded to that one, sighing as she shared the feeling and was aligned with him on this one. For Alex, his people were the closest and very important for him, just as family. And to hear, that they were siding with a maniac Arturia may`ve preferred to see Alex acting as he usually does, but she knew that even he has his moments. And this one was going to be the worst yet.

“Glad to know that I am not the only one to think so.” Arturia admitted. “I am sure as hell that the rest of our team thinks the same way. Cu Chulainn especially.”

“Of course he would.” Alex chuckled a little. “He and Diarmuid aren`t just cousins, but they were always like brothers. Heck, and I was always acting as their mature older brother, while Cuhullin was a middle, sharp-tongued bro, and Diarmuid was that righteous and do-good little bro. Man, I still shudder at the memories of how they always managed to lend themselves in the worst shit possible. Remember that mission in Monaco?”

“As if I could possibly forget that one.” Arturia laughed, recalling it. “Just out of blue, Diarmuid and Cu just went into the top casino and entered a poker tournament, just to see which one had the best luck. Good think that Archer was there as well, because otherwise, those two idiots would`ve left us with no budget money. Those two have the worst luck in card ever recorded in human history.”

“Worse luck even than their own ancestors.” Alex laughed up a little. “Thanks for that one, Arturia. I needed this.”

“Yeah, me too.” Arturia chuckled and looked at him. “So, let`s be serious. Do you think that therereally isa possibility of them being traitors?”

Alex rubbed his chin, recalling something and then spoke up.

“No, not a chance. I`ve worked with all of them and I know how they would act and react.” Alex stated. “You yourself know that Arthur and Jeanne would never even think about siding with Kokabiel, and Sieghard with Atalanta aren`t kinds of people to side along with maniacs.”

“However, what could possibly even compel them to side with Kokabiel, in theory?” Arturia asked him. “Blackmail, mind-control or”

“Or magic” Alex said, looking at Arturia. “What if Kokabiel`s first target wasn`t a Church`s Excalibur, but one Excalibur that wasn`t in their hands, but in ours?”

Arturia`s eyes widened as she realized it. She immediately understood what Alex meant by these words and that there actually was one way for Kokabiel to gather all those supporters. Pendragon Family possesses not only Caliburn, the legendary sword in the stone, but also the core piece of Sword of Promised Victory. The most powerful Holy Sword to hold the name Excalibur.

“Excalibur Ruler” She muttered. “Kokabiel must`ve came after Arthur first because he knew about Ruler. But, if he did come after Arthur, then that means that Le Fey is” Arturia`s hands began to shake at the thoughts of her little sister being possibly hurt or worse.

Alex saw it and immediately went to Arturia and held her hands in his own, calming her down. He knew that this was her own version of a nerve ticking and that she only did so when scared and seriously nervous. And when she got like it, she could go one for hours like that and it would only get worse. Back in the Church, it did happen a lot and Alex was basically the only one to calm her down and reassure that everything will be alright. And it helped her and was still helping her. As strong as she was, everyone had something that could break them internally and it was in times like these that both Alex and Arturia sought the comfort of in each other. They didn`t push their relations past deep connection as friends and shared a spiritual connection, when one comforted emotionally another one. Just like now.

Alex caringly rubbed her hands and then caressed her cheek, smiling to Arturia and speaking in calm and strong voice.

“Le Fey is fine, I`m sure of it, Arturia. She is a smart, brave and strong-willed girl.” Alex reassured Arturia. “Even if something happened to Arthur, I am sure that he would never let Kokabiel or anyone to hurt Le Fey, not even with Ruler`s power. I`m sure, once we find Kokabiel, we`ll get you your family back, Arturia.”

Queen of Knights actually tear up and smiled to Alex, feeling that she had his support. She was dependent on him and it was true, she wasn`t bluffing and lying on that one. If it wasn`t for him she wouldn`t actually be able to get out of the Church and have a life. But with him, it really did happen and she was here, all thanks to Alex and his support through all these years. He was her true defender and a symbol for better to come. Arturia could never even consider a life without Alex in it and the life she wanted was one where they were always together, not simply as friends, but as ones that pledged their lives to one another. She knew that Alex`s heart was too great for simply one girl and that there were others that were very close to him and were already his wives, and with each and every one of them, he was as affectionate and loving as one could be. With Kuroka, Alex found peace and simple pleasure of quiet listening to her breathing and heartbeat, along with purr, when they were sitting together. Shirone, unlike Kuroka, was more passionate and not holding on her love, as she clenched to Alex the closest and made sure that Alex would have a good view of her and her assets, along with caressing her body. With Scathach, Alex was loving and caring, but also in hands of a woman who cared even more about him and seemed to protect from anything, even world itself. And then, there were Sona and Tsubaki, with whom Alex haven`t fully cemented their relations as spouses, but it was clear that they were loving each other, even with Sona and Tsubaki also being involved with one another. And Arturia wanted to be among them, to be his and only his.

Without even thinking things through, Arturia leaned and within the seconds, she ended up kissing Alex, with him recuperating it and caressing her cheek. Lucifer had strong feelings to Arturia and wasn`t going to push her away from himself. And so, he ended up not regretting a single thing and kissing her. Their kiss was one of care and sympathy, having more of spiritual meaning instead of simple physical passion.

After a couple of minutes, the two finally pulled away from one another, blushing. Alex was the first one to speak up.

“Feel better?” Alex asked caringly.

“Yeah.” Arturia nodded. “Thank you.”

“I am always here for you, Arturia.” Alex promised her. “If you ever feel bad, don`t hesitate and come, alright?”

“I will, don`t worry. And I`ll always be there when you need me, Alex.” She promised back, leaning to kiss him again

“Alex!” … only to be stopped by sudden shout from Medea, coming from the hall.

Both Nephilims stood up and looked at the closed door. Alex and Arturia exchanged looks and nodded to each other. After silently agreeing on not speaking up about their moment of weakness, Alex turned and spoke up.

“Come in, Medea.” He spoke, as the door opened up, revealing the hooded sorceress.

“Am I interrupting something?” She asked casually.

“No, we were discussing the situation, regarding our friends and how they could possibly end up in Kokabiel`s control.” Arturia answered for Alex. “We came to a conclusion that Kokabiel has gotten his hands on my brother`s Excalibur Ruler.”

“A sword that compels any living creature under the thralls of absolute obedience.” Medea remembered the power of Ruler. “Yes, that would be the only possible way for Kokabiel to get so many supporters. However, there is one aspect that doesn`t add up yet. Arthur was a former agent and he had no idea of locations of others, and Kokabiel got Sieghard, Sasaki and others. They worked in pairs or solo, not all together. There is no chance of them knowing the locations of other agents.”

Alex nodded to that one, seeing the logic of Medea. It was a common strategy of fragmentation of the information, restricting it and giving the agents only the certain piece that they needed to know. A safe way of keeping the vital and crucial information from getting into enemy`s hands in case of failure on a mission. No agent and operative knew more than the other one, and none of them most certainly knew of the missions and locations of other agents on missions. Common policy of safeguarding their lives and identities. Also effective when the system gets compromised and a traitor or spy gets into organization, preventing them from getting the most vital information and crucial data about operatives and agents. And in all of Spec Ops there was only way to actually learn of disposition of agents, as there were only two people that knew it, commander-in-chief and his second-in-command. And right now, there was only a commander-in-chief, which meant

‘Oh shit’ Alex cursed in his own mind. ‘That`s why she and her unit weren`t in Zurich when I was there. That ‘extermination mission’ was all, but a ruse made by Kokabiel. And with Ruler’

“Unless he learned their location from directly from the commander-in-chief.” Alex concluded. “That explains why she wasn`t in Zurich and her unit was also away on some random extermination. Dammit, if Kokabiel really got his hands on her, he might as well have more than half of the entire division in his hands.”

“And that`s not to include all our secrets and locations of families of our operatives.” Arturia added up, turning to Medea. “That explains how he found Sasaki and Atalanta and others.”

“Yes, that is a very good explanation.” Medea agreed. “Anyway, Archer and I have found something. We may`ve pinpointed the area of where he and the others are.”

Alex and Arturia glanced at each other and immediately followed Medea into the living room, where most of the Nephilims and Exorcists already were situated. The only missing were Medusa and Kuroka, so Archer projected their holographic appearances, so they were also a part of this conversation. Grayfia was also here, glancing at Exorcists just in case if they were to start up trouble. Once everyone was there, Archer projected the holographic detailed 3D map of the entire area of municipal region of Kuoh. Medea started up.

“As most of you know, after coming in this area, I have placed several powerful magical sensors in the city, creating a sonar-like zone of locating and disposing off any dangerous or unusual anomalies of magical nature. This allowed us to find and kill 7 Stray Devils that were hiding for at least several months.” Medea spoke up. “Sensors` range covers not only the entire town, but also all of area in 15 kilometer radius, which should alarm us of any incoming threats.”

“Meaning that if Kokabiel was nearby or in the town, we would`ve known about his presence.” Cu Chulainn.

“Or your sensors are simply broken.” Xenovia bluntly suggested, getting a glare from everyone in the room.

Then, Grayfia has decided to speak up.

“Lady Xenovia, with all due respect, I highly recommend you to refrain from offending anyone in this room, including Lady Medea and her expertise in magical area.” Grayfia ‘suggested’. “These people are highly-trained and experienced professionals of their area of expertise in dealing with critical situations and preventing them from escalation.” Grayfia explained, looking at Medea. “I apologize from speaking out of line, Lady Medea. If you do not mind, would kindly tell us if there is a reason as to why Kokabiel has managed to stay hidden from your sensors?”

“Yes, my gratitude for your support, Lady Grayfia.” Medea bowed to the Devil. “Now, let me ask of you, how does the magical sensor works, exactly?”

“Via sending out an energetic impulse, covering a certain area dependent on sensor`s power output and the presence of any anti-magical obstacles.” Raynare spoke up, surprising Exorcists. “It is the basis for energy sensing of living and non-living things.”

“Yes, and after recalling this principal, I`ve looked all over the map of the area, but I still haven’t found anything.” Medea admitted. “That is, until Archer reported something interesting to me.”

“I`ve had a theory about Kokabiel concealing his presence, so I`ve decided to look up to the town`s history and it`s infrastructure and I`ve managed to find out something.” Archer spoke up. “Before becoming a vital trading point in Japan`s internal economy in 1970s, Kuoh was during the years of World War II one of the suppliers of galena.”

“Galena? What is that thing?” Irina asked confused.

“A natural mineral ore, vital in production of silver and lead. It is also a natural mineral form of lead sulfide.” Alexander said, recalling the chemistry and alchemy. “As scientifically stated and proven, lead is a light metal with unique characteristic of containing the radioactive elements, like uranium or francium and others. However, what many do not know is the fact that lead also possesses a very unique ability to negate energy and disrupt it, though not nearly as powerfully as dimeritium. In some alchemic processes, lead is capable of serving as replacement of dimeritium, but it needs to be put in very large proportions, as lead has a far lesser affect then dimeritium.”

“Yes, but there is an effect, of course.” Archer noted, placing his finger on one of the sensors and virtually activating it to send out the wave of energy. “When the energy wave is sent out, it eventually loses its initial density and the particles become more and more scattered, and once the particles reach a certain point, their effect is absolutely minimized. So, after studying that and the entire infrastructural and geological map of the region, I`ve managed to find something.” He moved the map closer to the forest area, where a couple of production faculties were placed, only they weren`t functioning and long have been forgotten. “This is an old abandoned lead refinery factory. It was closed up 26 years ago after the company bankrupted and far more profitable sites were discovered. Underneath the soil of these forests remains a certain portion of galena, scattered and in enough proportions to cover up the forest, as the energy particles would be very scattered by the time they reach this place and due to the concentration of lead, they would be totally ineffective in locating anything within this forest. A perfect spot to resign and not be found by Devils or us, especially.”

“Why so?” Xenovia asked.

“Kokabiel knows how we operate and others also know our standard issue protocols when camping or residing. One of our first things to do is to set up sensors.” Alex explained, looking at the map. “Unlike Gremory, we prefer to know what is going on in the town and it`s neighboring areas. Let`s us to act far more effectively and react to threats far better. Kokabiel must know it and because of that he has chosen the area which is filled with anti-sensor material. Clever, I`ll give him that.”

“What are your actions then, Alex?” Grayfia asked him.

Alex rubbed his chin and thought about it, before giving his strait answer.

“We can`t simply go out there and launch a full-scale attack. This will only play in his own favor, as we have no idea of total number of his supporters, what defenses they have and just simply where exactly they are situated.” Alex explained, thinking this through. “Plus, attacking a Cadre-level Fallen Angels is a really risky idea in itself, especially with all the factors I`ve just listed. This means that attacking him would only mean a failure in trying, at least, not before the reinforcements from Heaven and Grigori arrive. Until then, however, we can actually do something about all this mystery.”

“What do you have in mind, Lucifer?” Griselda asked him.

“We can launch a stealth reconnaissance mission, to find our opponent and gather as much information as possible.” Alex suggested. “As long as we do not possess the full information on Kokabiel and his forces, I am not going to blindly attack him on his grounds, but with the information on our hands, it would make our job in the future far easier, as we would be prepared and combat ready to defeat him when all our forces are gathered up here. I believe that this is the proper course of action to take right now.”

Everyone in the audience agreed, save for Irina and Xenovia.

“Wait, but isn`t it would be more cool and heroic to go and attack them? We servants of our Lord never would resort to such underhanded tactics, for justice must be served up close and swiftly!” Irina sprouted out, drawing most of Nephilims` attention.

Alex was the first to speak up.

“You know, Irina, you`ve just reminded me of a certain girl that also know.” Alex spoke up. “Come to think of it, you do look a bit alike her and you also sprout out all these speeches of serving the Lord and now about justice, just like she loved to do.”

“Oh, really? And what happened to her?” Irina curiously asked.

“You wouldn`t believe it, but she ended up killing 7 of my operatives after I`ve put her out of the missions, when I`ve found out that, despite all that idealistic talk about justice and serving people, she caused more deaths to the innocent and used some tactics that even I find most disgusting. Currently, she is the number 1 target for all of Spec Ops to find, dead or alive.” Alex said flatly, turning back from paled Irina to the rest of the group. “Alright, here is the plan. Archer, Medusa, Arturia and Kuroka will teleport to the northern part of that forest and search it out from there. Raynare, Ravel, Scathach and Griselda, you will operate from the western part of that forest. I, Cu Chulainn, Irina and Xenovia will take the eastern part of the forest. Medea will be operating outside the forest and serve to get us out of there if we are in a mess. Grayfia, you`ll stay here and provide protection to kids and inform the heiresses of the plan and order them to have their forces on standby here. And contact Issei and bring him up to speed, for we will need all the firepower we can get now.”

“Understood, I shall get to it right away.” Grayfia went to contact the needed people.

“Alright, 15 minutes to prep up and meet up in the courtyard.” Alex commanded and everyone went to prepare for the mission.

Forest near of Kuoh Town. 17 minutes later. Early nightfall.

Alexander and his designated group left the portal, but instead of finding themselves on the outskirts of the forest, instead, they ended up being right in the middle of that. It was decided to teleport outside the tree line, as to avoid any possible trouble due to all distortion in this area from the anti-magical material. However, instead of the designated point, Alex and his team were where they shouldn`t be. And that was always bad news, as Alex summoned up his Clarent Avenger and Cu Chulainn his Gae Bolg. He was the first to speak up.

“Why the hell are we in the middle of the forest instead of its border?” He said quietly, getting in the combat mode, turning to the girls. “Ladies, get those swords out now. We are in trouble.”

Xenovia and Irina simply decided to follow the command and got their Excaliburs ready. Alex spoke up, having understood what happened.

“Damn it, I should have guessed that they would use an old trick.” Alex cursed, getting ready. “Alchemical properties of materials can be enhanced through basic Strengthening magic. When such trick applied to something like galena and lead, it can create a minor dimensional distortion, which messes up with teleportation spells and they always end up placing teleporting in the wrong place. In other words”

“You`ve all gotten into a trap~!” A familiar to Alex and Cuhullin sing-song voice said, as the feminine figure revealed herself from the treas. “It has been quite some time, Commander Alexander. I am happy to report that I am still serving the justice and continue to spread it throughout the lands, sir!”

Just as Alex had recalled that damned traitor and there she comes, along with that damned beast that he and his men have failed to kill. One that has also devoured those 7 agents, as she saw them as villains and herself as a hero. While it looked like any typical plushy toys that could be found in stores, this one was a beast in disguises, responding only to the commands of this auburn haired lady with amber eyes. Alex scoffed as he looked in her smiling face and spoke up.

“Seryu Ubiquitous.” Alex looked at his former Eastern Europe agent. “Why I am not surprised to see you here, of all places?”

“Wait, do you know her?” Irina whispered to Cu Chulainn, who nodded.

“Yeah, that`s the traitor Alex talked about earlier. And be ready for anything and don`t let your guard down, as she has more tricks then I jokes about you Exorcists. And do not even think about turning your back on that thing, Koro, because it will kill you without a second thought, if she commands it to.” Lancer said serious, looking at his former colleague. “So, the crazy-assed bitch has finally revealed her true colors and sided with a freaking war mongering terrorist. Should`ve known that you would end up like that eventually.”

“Aw, Cu Chulainn, your words hurt me, especially considering that they are all filled with lies and poison.” She said, smiling as a psycho. “No, I am only serve true justice and through my service to Lord Kokabiel, I shall rid the world of all its evil and injustice! That is my truest goal and one that I shall complete by defeating you here!”

Alex and the others got in the battle position, as Lucifer spoke again.

“Even with your beast out here, we still hold a significant advantage over you.” Alex said confidently. “But I am not going to turn down an opportunity at finally disposing of you, traitorous filth.”

“Oh, don`t think that it will be this easy~!” She said in cheerful voice, and then blew a whistle in the air.

And in the very next moment, Cu Chulainn and the others were forced to evade the incoming attackers from the sides. The team quickly got separated as 4 different opponents attacked them all at once, forcing each to go into the defenses and respond accordingly.

Alexander moved far to the left and his Clarent clashed with a long great sword, with silver and black features, wielded by a familiar looking young man, possessing long white hair, bright green-blue eyes and dressed in draconian armor and holding the weapon with ease, pushing Alex with tremendous force. It didn`t take too long for Alex to recognize legendary Balmung, sword that creates whirlwind and hurricanes, along with its wielder, half-human, half-drake and descendant of both Siegfried and Fafnir, Sieghard.

“Sieg! What are you doing?!” Alex shouted out to his friend, but he didn`t respond, as his face was neutral and devoid much emotion. “I know that you can hear me, so snap out of it!”

However, instead of listening to Alexander, Sieghard simply pushed Alex with his Balmung and charged him right away with his great sword. Lucifer had very limited options, but to defend himself with Clarent. Balmung went from above on Alex and was sending a powerful wind with him, which at the contact blasted away the trees and ground with his force, but Lucifer managed to maneuver to the right and readied his sword to strike at Sieg`s exposed shoulder. However, Sieg`s reflexes were better, as Balmung clashed with Clarent Avenger, when Sieg moved his sword left and blocked the upcoming strike, breaking Alex`s attack and forcing him into another retreat. Lucifer moved again, but then he sensed another threat coming upon him, as he turned his frame around and in one motion cut through the massive monster that attacked him from behind. Lucifer`s attack managed to set this beast off its trajectory and it slammed into Sieghard, knocking him off his feet and itself falling on the ground. That was none other, but Koro, that dog-like creature, turned bulked up living bulldozer, engineered by Church as a powerful beast against its enemies, only for it to rebel and kill everyone on its path to freedom. It only responds to Seryu`s commands and none others, for some reasons. Deciding not to contemplate any longer, Alex prepared to face this beast and his friend in battle

As his body was suddenly blown away by the incoming valley of missile and high-caliber rounds. Lucifer was hit by them and sent flying through the woods, smashing into the large tree and breaking it in half, as he was finally stooped. Alex stood up and wiped away the blood, dripping from his mouth and several wounds on his torso and legs that were inflicted by the barrage. Lucifer took a quick glance, noticing that those rounds fired at him were the shrapnel ones, which wasn`t really good for him and anyone in this sort of situation. He had almost forgotten about the fact that this damned bitch Seryu is actually a cyborg with an abundance of weapons, including rockets and anti-tank cannon, which just hit Alex pretty hard. He saw how Sieghard and Koro were coming at him, with Seryu behind them and prepared to fire another barrage at him. Clenching his sword, Alex applied his Flames, healing the damage and destroying the shrapnel stuck in his body, made by the girl and ready to do battle against 3 powerful opponents

He only hoped that his friends were faring a little better.

Gae Bolg`s tip clashed with another red spear`s bone and moved it away from the strike, with Cu evading the golden blade of another spear, as he knew that it would be a grievous wound if it were inflicted by this spear. He jumped right away from the attacker, gaining some little distance as he looked at his opponent and not believing his own eyes. Before him, stood young looking man, with black hair and dressed in green vest with armor plates on shoulders, with ember eyes and black hair, with a small spot on his face, a curse of his family that makes weak women fall for the men with this spot. In his arms were two powerful weapons, two spears that belonged to the family of legend. Gae Dearg, long red spear that dispels all magic, and Gae Buidhe, short gold spear that inflicts wounds that can`t be healed by any magical spells or unless the spear is destroyed. And their owner was none other but Cu Chulainn`s cousin, one man he wished not to fight today.

Diarmuid O’Dyna, descendant of Diarmuid of the Love Spot and one of the best lancers in the world. Cu Chulainn pleaded to his brother`s sanity.

“Diarmuid! What the hell is this madness?! Are you truly letting some damned crow to command your every move?!” Hound of Ulster shouted to his brother-in-arms. “I plead to you to stop! We are family, not sworn enemies! Do not make us do one mistake we all shall regret!”

But all pleas to Diarmuid fell onto the deaf ear, as he vanished from the spot and Cu Chulainn had to immediately move his own spear to the left, as Gae Buidhe attacked him, revealing the falling lancer. Cuhullin moved to the right, pushing the golden lance away and letting the knight land on the ground, with his red spear already heading for Cu`s head. Hound`s Gae Bolg interlocked with Gae Dearg and pushed it to the ground, giving a single opening, which he exploited, through kicking his opponent from his position and out of balance. Cu pressed on and slammed into distraught opponent pushing him off the slope and watching him fall on to the ground, stumbling and grunting. Fortunately for Hound, Gae Dearg was on the ground after it interlocked with Gae Bolg and Cu picked it up, as he finally had the chance of at least a small victory and bringing back his cousin. He knew of Gae Dearg`s power and that not even Excalibur Ruler was powerful enough to withstand it` attack. Now, all he needed is just to braze him with it and

“AAARGH!” Cu Chulainn, Knight of Lucifer, screamed in extreme pain, as Gae Buidhe pierced his left knee and made him stumble and fall with a thrown javelin sticking out with a bleeding knee.

Diarmuid must`ve recovered quickly and sent it right up here, piercing his brother`s flesh and bone with the deadliest spear one could find in this world. This was something that Cu simply couldn`t afford, for to heal this wound would require a very powerful magic and there weren`tthatmany mages or potions that could heal it up. Mustering up enough strength, Cu grabbed the Gae Dearg on the ground and looked up, seeing his cousin already grabbing the golden spear and pulling it out. Another scream echoed through the night and Gae Buidhe was in the arm of Diarmuid, only to go again its target that was Cu Chulainn`s head

“Wow, this must be my lucky day, because I get to slice off an Exorcist`s bitch head off~!” Xenovia was forced to listen to the rambling of a mad dog that attacked her, using the Excalibur Rapidly, moving at the lightning speed and getting away from the range of her attack.

Just like now, when she prepared to attack with Destroyer, that mad dog disappeared and full charged attack went into nowhere, destroying the nearby night`s flora and trees. Xenovia panted looking for her attacker and seeing him incoming once again from above. Quarta had just a couple of seconds to maneuver and she jumped away, leaving her initial position on the slope and down on the ground.

“Hey! You were supposed to stay still and let my fancy Excalibur pin your pretty head on to the ground!” Freed Sellzen, former Exorcist and ex-communicated battle-maniac, shouted at her. “Now I will just have to slice you up and **** your fucking corpse off!” And with that, he charged at Xenovia once again and Quarta gripped her sword.

As Freed was closing on her, Xenovia prepared for a full out battle, but then, suddenly, he vanished for her sight. Quarta stood there aloof and not understanding what the hell happened. But then she realized what it was, as a curved blade of Rapidly struck at her left shoulder and nearly chopped off an arm, if Quarta hadn`t moved Destroyer at the side and blocked this attack. Freed jumped away, seeing by a dust cloud. Taking a moment, Xenovia looked at her shoulder and saw that she had really bad wound there and lost a use of an arm. She was bleeding and limb was going numb already. She had to have known that Sellzen would actually use not just one, but two Excaliburs if he had the chance. And now, he used both Excalibur Rapidly and Excalibur Transparency at the same time. To think that these scared weapons now serve in the hands of a maniac and a traitor to the Church. The mere thought of it was infuriating Xenovia and reignited her will to battle and kill this traitor.

However, she suddenly fell on her knees, feeling incredible weakness and numbness in the entire body. It took her a few seconds to understand what the hell it was: a poison. Sellzen must`ve used a poison on Excalibur Rapidly and now it was coursing through her veins. It wasn`t a deathly one, but now she was slipping out of reality. The last thing that she was able to witness was Sellzen`s cannibalistic grin and then a large explosion with Irina

Irina`s Mimic was tested out by a fancy, French-like sword, as it was going up against hers. Twin-tailed girl was forced into defending herself as her opponent was moving akin to fencing ballerina, with grace and style, with its own beauty in movements. And Irina knew this style of combat and the fencer. She was up against the master of fencing and dueling, holder of Sacred Gear Blade Blacksmith and Heiress to Joan D`Arc herself, Jeanne D`Arc, whose long blond hair were tied up in a French braid and whose blue eyes looked loveless and without emotions.

Irina decided to press on the attack, moving her katana against Jeanne`s torso, but blond girl easily deflected the strike and moved her blade away to the left, exposing the entire right part of Irina. And in the next second, in Jeanne`s left arm appeared a complete copy of her fencing sword and it was now moving for Irina. Shidou was moving fast and in one pirouette moved her leg and struck at Jeanne, freeing herself and breaking the lock between them and giving Irina a chance to reshape her blade into another form, one of a string with sharp edges. Irina began to attack her former friend with it, moving the string akin to the whip and trying to keep her at bay and inflict serious damage. Jeanne seemed not fazed by the change of pace and pattern of attack, as she casually and without any difficulty blocked and deflected all of the string`s attacks, using her weapons to the best advantage and moving as in waltz. That continued for a couple of minutes, until Irina decided to launch the final attack, sending her Mimic at Jeanne, splitting the weapon in mid-flight and shaping them as blades. And in the next second 6 blades crushed into the ground, creating the cloud of dust and covering where the girl was. As the cloud dispersed, Irina, much to her own shock and scare, she saw that the place where Jeanne was supposed to be was empty and her blades pierced the soil. She shaped her weapon back into katana form and prepared for another assault, looking around and hearing the sounds of gunfire, rockets, screams and grunts and seeing the flashes, but nothing in her close proximity. She knew that her attacker was closing on her, but she couldn`t tell where the strike would come.

And that paid off to Irina, as she suddenly felt how her right arm was pierced right through by a narrow blade and Irina saw Jeanne`s emotionless face. With a scream of pain, Irina released her grip on Excalibur Mimic and dropped it on the ground, stumbling to the soil as well, as Jeanne`s sword left her arm and she was covering away in fear, seeing how the girl was coming for her with both blades ready and waiting. Once Irina hit the tree behind her, she knew that this was going to be the end of it and as the blades went directly to her, she silently began to pray for the salvation of soul and rest in God`s care only to receive none of it, as a familiar frame shielded Irina and interlocked his sword with Jeanne. For a moment, Irina believed that she was God himself protect her, only to later realize that it was in fact Lucifer that was defending her. Talk about an irony

Alex`s Clarent moved Jeanne`s Orleans` Graces away and pushed the girl away from himself, only to then interlock his blade against Sieghard`s Balmung and being nearly pushed to the ground and giving up the remains of his strength, but Alex grit his teeth and head-butted the drake, causing a minor distraction in his face. Using this small window Alex moved to the left and without second thought, casted Devil Flash in his left arm, pointing at Sieghard and sending it his way. The white beam struck Sieghard and pushed him off the ground and right into the deepness of forest, destroying the trees and local area, making it look even more akin to French forests during the World War I. Using the moment, Alex turned to Irina, grabbing her wounded arm and healing it up with his Flames. After that, he grabbed the Mimic and looked at Irina.

“Irina, grab Xenovia and get the hell out of here. Find Cu Chulainn if you can or anyone and tell them to get clear out of here! I`ll hold them off. GO NOW!” And as a charm, Irina actually followed this command and got clear of the area.

Just in time for Koro to crush in here and began his new assault on Alex, with his claws clashing into his flesh and tearing it up. Moving away, as the Flames were once again regenerating the wounds, Alex was then met with Jeanne`s Graces and he blocked them with Clarent. With a thought, Alex reshaped Mimic into a gauntlet that covered up his left arm and used it to parry the Graces and using the grip of Clarent to strike at Jeanne`s head and knocking her out. Next up, Alex had to reshape Mimic in copy of his Lunari and cut right through charging Koro, slashing his way through that bloody monster and, after getting through body of that monster and being covered in blood, Alex was yet again met with the barrage of rounds and rockets, evading as best as he could and getting to the cover. But the Alex`s left shoulder got a direct hit of anti-tank round and it almost completely blew away the arm with a shoulder, leaving it connected with just a string of flesh. With a low growl Alex regenerated this wound and got cleared out of the way of barrage. Without even a second to rest up, Sieghard`s Balmung sliced up the tree and left Alex without cover and blocking another barrage of strikes from Sieghard, as he moved his Balmung with a speed equal to that of Arturia. Mimic and Clarent blocked all of them, but Alex was still forced to the corner and as the situation looked like Balmung was going right at his head, Alex jumped right up and into the air, using his 8 wings to fly.

Alex saw that Sieghard`s blade struck at a tree and it was his single chance. Changing Mimic into a string and tying it up on his arm, Alex casted up one of the more dangerous projections that he created just for such dealings. Aside from Lunari, Alex knew that he would need a weapon powerful enough to stop a very powerful opponent in one going. As the silver lance formed in Alex`s hand, he prepared it and then in one going, with Annihilation energy coursing through the bone and blade, Alex called upon his weapon.

“Gae Morana!” And with that, he threw his weapon at Sieghard.

Gae Morana, based on the Gae Bolg, was Alex`s secret weapon to deal with powerful opponents from the long range. Infusing it with his own powers and Flames, Alex created a powerful lance, equal in power to Gae Bolg and once impacting the ground, it created a powerful explosion, enough to obliterate entire armies. Or to stop an incredibly powerful opponents, akin to Sieghard. As Gae Morana reached the ground, the small area where in center was Sieghard, was engulfed in flames and explosion, destroying almost everything in 100 meters or so, leaving only a burned out ground and two knocked out heroes, with Jeanne being wounded badly by the attack, but Sieghard and his powerful armor and skin could tank this. Alex flew closer to Jeanne and hastily healed her up from any serious injury and leaving only bruises, as he wasn`t able to do more, as he was forced to block another barrage from an opponent he didn`t expect to have escaped the blast.

“You motherfucking cunt!” Freed cried out to Alex. “I was just about to **** that blue haired bitch, but then that twin taile-” Sellzen was cut off by Lucifer`s head-butt, forcing Freed to back down.

And as he lost his focus, Clarent moved from right and in one going, as Alex pushed forward, cut off Freed`s head off. As the severed part of Sellzen hit the ground, Alex saw that Koro was coming closer to him and that, despite all the powerful blasts and attacks, that beast still healed up like it was nothing to him. Such damned creatures had only one weakness- they couldn`t regenerate from nothing. That meant that Koro could be killed only through one-blast attack. And fortunately, Alex had just that right now. Gripping Clarent, Alex felt that the sword absorbed more than enough energy for its trump card to be revealed. Safety guard moved from the blade and the dark energy was released from the weapon. Shifting it up, Alex then moved his weapon down.

“CLARENT AVENGER!” And the weapon moved down, as energy poured out in explosive form of pure destructive energy.

And in one going, as Koro was about to run at its target, he hit the full might of Clarent Avenger and was trying to tank it, but he couldn`t even stand it, as the dark energy engulfed him completely and destroyed without a trace left. That was the power of Clarent Avenger, erasing all its opponents without a trace in existence left. This attack created another ruckus and destroyed already ruined place even more, but that wasn`t what he was thinking. Now, he had just one thing left to deal with, as he flew upwards and spotted Seryu with all her weapons. Casting multitude of Lunari, Alex sent then all down at her, as they`ve pierced the ground and her flesh, legs, arms and weapons. Screams of agony were heard and Alex descended down and with both Mimic and Clarent, he in one swift motion cut off Seryu`s arms up to her shoulders and then her legs nearing her hips, still leaving her pinned with several Lunaris in shoulders and stomach. And with that, Alex moved his swords to her neck and prepared to get what he needed, as suddenly he felt as a bullet hit his left eye and his head down, as if he was killed. Seryu`s final trump card, a gun in her mouth did its job Only that it wasn`t as effective as she hoped, for Alex quickly regained his composure and looked at Seryu with his all his two eyes, as his regeneration healed up the wound and restored the vision completely. He spoke with growl.

“That wasn`t very nice.” He said. “Now, I am going to hear all that I want from you and if you decide not to comply, then I`ll make your death so painful, that Hell will feel like a relief! Now, where is Kokabiel and how did you get the information about agents?”

“Why don`t you ask your second about that yourself?” Seryu grinned, as Alex suddenly felt how the entire area became cold as in winter.

Next moment, he was forced to jump away from Seryu`s pinned body and evade the incoming ice spike, destroying those that were the closest to his head with Mimic and Clarent. Once he reached the ground, Alex screamed, as his right foot was pieced in 4 places by ice spikes, incapacitating him from moving. Lucifer knew too well this style of fighting and who was using the cold and ice to such extent. He looked at the new enemy and growled, as he recognized her long blue hair and those cold, yet alluring blue eyes, only they didn`t display any emotion as they usually would. One of the strongest members of Spec Ops, user of high-tier Sacred Gear Demon`s Extract and the single person that was capable, aside from Alex, to lead Grigori`s Special Operations Division.

“Esdeath.” Alex greeted his former second-in-command, as he broke free of the spikes and healed the leg with his remaining energy he had in him.

The real battle was only about to start for Alex.

And it will be the hardest yet