Gaming Badly in DxD

-Azazel-

I took a moment to sit down, holding my temple and taking a deep breath.

It was long ago when I had to plan a raid like this… and I would have preferred it like that. At heart, I was more of an inventor than I ever was a fighter or a strategist.

‘Father always said so…’ I snorted.

Most of the planning was done. However, instead of the sneak attack that we had gone for before, we deemed the situation too risky for a single-man mission. Not because I feared that the boy would die, but because I knew he would make a mess somehow and alert every other base.

Instead, it will be a full-on attack. Much riskier, but by attacking every base at the same time, there is less of a chance that any reinforcements arrive, and it gives Kokabiel less margin of error.

Vali became crucial in this. In a surprising move, he agreed to take an entire base on his own.

Since his fight with the young Godling, he has been very pumped up. And, as his guardian, I also felt calmer knowing that his state of mind wasn’t gone off the deep end due to a lack of motivation.

All that was left was to get ready. The raid will start tomorrow night. Baraquiel and Penemue already had their instructions, and the next on the list was the brat.

However, when I went to make the call…

‘’…What do you mean he’s not there?’’ I asked over the phone, face scrunching in confusion as I already felt a headache forming on the back of my head. ‘’Where is he, then?’’

A pause. It made me tap my fingers against the wooden desk. My gaze landed on the many reports I haven’t finished revising with this whole mess going on. They were guaranteed to piss Penemue off.

Really, she needed to get herself a man sometime. Loosen up a little. Not like she had a lack of willing men.

‘’He’s away. Some sort of… reality marble—‘’ As in, the one from that one series about heroic spirits? ‘’—Usually, he’s very quick. A few hours tops. We didn’t even know when the raid was supposed to be, either…’’

That was on me; I should have regularly checked the mission state with them instead of spending the time planning and catching up with my daughter.

The last one, I could have even done while informing them of the mission status. A slight on my part, but one that’s easily solvable if the young man comes back in time.

‘And if he doesn’t… We’ll just have to start without him.’ I grumbled, scratching the back of my head. ‘’Thank you, Mittelt. Could I count on your help if he runs up late?’’

Another pause, followed by a confused sound. ‘’Did… Did Funigami not tell you? His devil friends—Kings included—had to be informed. An exorcist wielding an Excalibur attacked a friend of his.’’

The words made me freeze.

‘They attacked devil territory? That—Of course. That would be perfect for their stupid plan. Stealing from the Church, and then attacking the Devils. Satan territory no less.’ My hand clenched tightly against the phone. ‘…I may even need to use that. Even if it’s a prototype.’

‘’I wasn’t informed, no,’’ I replied tightly, cursing the kid mentally. ‘’However, can we count on the Devils help with this matter? Preferably, if we could avoid a direct confrontation, while making our union seem more solid, so as to discourage any sort of war pretension from our side.’’

‘’I understood some of those words.’’ Mittelt hummed in affirmation before an untelligible voice from the other side distracted her. ‘’I’m pretty sure that’s a yes. Let me ask the Grenory chick, though. She and that Sitric one are calling the shots…’’

I resisted the urge to snort at the tendency of my daughter to misremember names. It was a fun little thing, but I was thankful she decided to call me Father instead of something like ‘Zazazel’ or similar.

‘’I can wait. And if you could arrange a meeting with them…’’ I offered apologetically.

‘’Yeah, yeah, old man. But you owe me now!’’ And now her cheerful bargaining made me snort. ‘’I’m serious, you know?! And I know exactly what I want. I’m tired of being the only one without one of those thingies and… Well, only if you can, obviously. Crap must not be cheap.’’

‘’Sure,’’ I smirked, thinking of my recent project.

Just like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I always had an interest in Father’s creations. And, while not entirely the same, I managed to make a few of my own. Giving one to my daughter? Now that would be a way to hurry the testing process along while also making sure she stayed safe.

Not like she was in any danger, in my opinion. Anyone trying to get to her will have to get through the kid first.

And if it happened, I would have front row seats.

‘’Nice. That’s nice. Thank you… father.’’ The way she whispered the last part was incredibly cute.

And because I felt merciful, I would not give her crap for it this time~

Maybe I should try to contact the woman who left Mittelt with us, because she certainly didn’t get that attitude from me. And it would only be the right thing to do to let her know her daughter was alive and well.

‘’No problem, feather of mine.’’ I teased and put the phone away from my ear, saving my eardrums from the barrage of curses coming from it. ‘’Hahaha!’’

It was nice to have these relaxing moments, especially considering that tomorrow would be the deciding factor of the war restarting or finishing once and for all.

‘I hope you hurry up, kiddo.’ I thought absent-mindedly, fiddling with the papers on my desk to serve as a distraction. ‘…But now I’m really curious about what those pocket dimensions are like.’

Curse the curiosity that led to my fall!

-X-x-X-

-Zatren Fumigami-

The first thing I noticed was the smell of ash, rot—No, sulfur. And it was not hard to guess why.

The entire city was in ruins, and what wasn’t burnt and reduced to cinders of its former self was destroyed, run over, punctured, or melted. Not even the asphalt street was safe. To my right, a massive trench of smoking hot, melted slag was carved on the street, having ‘cauterized’ a hole through a nearby building.

It wasn’t even recent; the corners of the trench looked like the material had taken the time to cool down, converting back into a solid, albeit deformed and broken down, street.

The second thing was how… heavy the air was.

‘’The magic in the air is stagnant.’’ I cringed.

‘’Low levels of magic. Though the extra energy residing in the air is like that of a curse.’’ Ayuka almost echoed.

We traded looks, I chuckled, while she merely shook her head in amusement.

‘’Neeerds….’’ Serafall whispered through the silence before frowning and taking a look around. Her hands were twitchy, eager, and her eyes glinted with something dangerous. ‘’In any case. The place looks messed up, doesn’t it? I expected a fantasy world…’’

‘’Indeed. However, this may prove an interesting alternative.’’ As the petite Satan’s mood plummeted, Ayuka’s soared. The smile on her face and the glint in her eye, hidden only by the shine on her glasses, told me that this sort of experience was exactly what she wanted. ‘’Such a complicated structure. No matter how many times I run the calculations. This world is basically alive, and even the math to decipher it is different. My formula doesn’t work, because this world runs on another one entirely…!’’

I was kind of jealous at just how easily Ayuka could decipher the magic. Don’t get me wrong, using math sucks, but magical math is somewhat fun, at least.

‘’Oi…’’ Serafall interrupted Ayuka’s musings. Her face held in a stern frown. ‘’Doesn’t that mean you’re not at full strength?’’

I paused, slowly turning to stare at my teacher. At our combined gaze, Ayuka simply chuckled.

‘’I know. Fascinating, is it not?’’ She confirmed, spreading her arms as she walked into the street, away from the cover that the building behind us provided. ‘’It has been a long time since I felt such a thing. However…’’

The sound of something piercing through the air at high speed reached my ears a second too late.

An energy-made, sword-shaped projectile appeared in the corner of my vision. Its destination was none other than the woman who had just stepped into clear view on the street.

I stared, surprised, as not even my Thought Acceleration would have made me fast enough to put a barrier around the Satan.

The attack collided, and the block in front of us burst into flames. I stared, shocked, not at the destruction, but at what I had seen in the middle of my perception-altering Skill.

‘’Do not confuse matters, Serafall. I may not be at my strongest for now, yet…’’ The Satan chuckled—A bit too eagerly, in my opinion—and stared far into the distance, absolutely nonchalant. The attack had done absolutely nothing but scorch the street and ruffle her clothes. ‘’…That does not mean I am unfit for battle.’’

Ayuka Beelzebub, inside of my perception, had seen the attack come much faster than I had. And, as the projectile approached, she had summoned a green magic circle with a fly sigil.

From it, thin vines spread and wiggled, almost like worms, which did not hesitate in attaching themselves to the magical projectile, penetrating its every essence and tearing parts of it like they were feasting on a dead carcass.

What remained of the attack was nothing more than a light show that lacked the lethality it was supposed to have; turned to nothing by the smartest devil’s formula.

‘…Like it was nothing. She used math to strip away properties from the attack like they were lines of code.’ I paused, feeling a shiver of excitement and fear on my spine. ‘If she had any more time, or we were back home, then she would have done the equivalent of stripping away an app’s back-end. So, the attack still ‘’existed’’ but it would be all a front.’

‘’You know, Ayu-chan…’’ Serafall blinked, not stepping into the street like her fellow Satan, but still frowning and directing a pointed stare at her. ‘’Sometimes, I forget you’re terrifying.’’

I, wisely, used the better choice of words.

‘’I love a woman who can just outright kill me.’’ I smiled, raising both thumbs up.

A pause, silence, an amused chuckle from my teacher, and a stare from Serafall.

‘’What is genuinely wrong with you, Za-kun?’’ The magic girl dropped the cutesy tone. Just staring at me, even approaching and patting me on the sides. ‘’…Must be something on the brain.’’

‘’That includes you, you know?’’ I shot back, wiggling my eyebrows.

The petite Satan scoffed before grinning like a cat. ‘’I know. Now, more importantly… Where are we?’’

Another sound of air getting cut. Another subsequent projectile. Only that this time, the attack exploded mid-air and rained down into a shower of destruction.

I had time to secure us under the power of one of my barriers. The deadly shower of red light slammed against the protective shield. Cracks started to form, yet it held out until the assault of light and explosions died out.

It did little to mitigate the ringing in my ears, though.

‘’Wherever we are, it would be wise to move elsewhere.’’ Ayuka, unbothered, pointed a finger far into the distance. Even with my Skills, all I could see was a blurry tower far ahead. And I meant fucking far. ‘’There sniper is in that tower—Oh, he noticed me.’’

Yeah, that was a good indicator to hide.

-X-x-X-

Quest: The War of the Seven Heroes!

Long ago, seven magi summoned legendary heroic spirits. Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Assassin, Rider, and Berserker. All, to achieve a singular goal: To obtain the Holy Grail.

Like many times before, a city was chosen for this happenstance. In this case, it was the city of Fuyuki, Japan.

However, unlike before, something went wrong.

On the third day of the war, as heroic spirits and magi alike fought tooth and nail, with complex strategies or surprise maneuvers, the Grail presented itself among the warriors… and fused itself with a Heroic Spirit.

The muddled Grail altered any Servant it touched, and not even command seals were enough to stop the rampaging Heroic Spirits—now controlled like puppets—from tearing city, civilian, and magi apart.

Corruption has spread. Well-intended and pure wishes have been tainted over the centuries by the greed and evil of mankind.

Of Seven Servants and Seven Magus, only Five Servants without a Master remain.

Main Objective:

Make the accursed Holy Grail War end, by any means necessary.

Bonus Objective:

[?]

Reward:

[?]

Notice: Rewards are calculated based on your accomplishments when dealing with Epic-tier Dungeons and above.

Notice: Some System Functions have been temporarily deactivated.

[Inventory] has been deactivated.

[Status Page] has been deactivated.

WARNING: This is not a timed Dungeon. As such, the only way to exit is to complete the main objective.

‘’We’re a different brand of cooked.’’ I nodded, turning to my two companions. ‘’As in, not even well-done. Absolutely charred. Smoked. Outright cinders, ate it whole, there’s nothing left. You get me?’’

Ayuka blinked, slowly, from her position on an old couch. On the untouched table rested pieces of parchment she had been using to make calculations, and to say she had done a few would be an understatement.

Serafall, meanwhile, leaned against a wall with a deadpan expression.

‘’Serafall, translation?’’ Ayuka asked, as if I had spoken in some alien language.

‘’We’re screwed, in short.’’ The Satan shrugged, before making an indignant sound and turning her head to the amused scientist. ‘’I’m not a dumbass translator, Ayu-chan…’’

Alright, it was funny, time to get some degree of seriousness here.

‘’Anybody know the Fate series?’’ I asked to the room, but immediately turned to Serafall. Who, to her credit, looked completely proud of having done so. ‘’Great, so, we’re in a Holy Grail War.’’

Ignoring the excited gasp from the magical girl, I turned to my teacher and explained in simple terms. ‘’Basically, it’s a war fought with Seven Servants and Seven Mages. Kind of like a Rating Game… if every King could only take a single piece.’’

A hum of realization went past her lips.

‘’Does each Servant hold a peculiarity, like Evil Pieces?’’ The scientist asked, having already started to scribble on a new piece of paper.

‘’Sabers are mostly swordsmen, but considering how many there are, it's like a jack of all trades. Archer’s have powerful ‘ultimate attacks’—Well, every Servant has one, they are called Noble Phantasms, but Archers tend to have the most powerful ones.’’ I scratched my chin and stopped.

‘Ah, yes… the Archer class that is definitely made of Archers.’ I snorted and noticed that Serafall had kept going where I left out.

‘’Oh, oh! Lancers are all about hit and run. Fast on their feet, and… Well, I remember there’s one guy who is awfully similar to Za-kun here.’’ With the last part came an impish grin.

‘’Oi.’’ I frowned. I was not getting compared to Cu-Chulainn, come on!

Serafall ignored my pointed stare, hands on her hips as she kept explaining with a smile on her face—Ah, the hint of amusement in her eyes and the way she looked at Ayuka, told me that she was happy to be the one to explain things instead of being explained to.

‘’Riders have some really crazy mounts. Like, from horses to dragons, and most of what you can think of in between. Really cool!’’ The Satan paused and pointed at Ayuka with a smile. ‘’Then there are the Casters, who are basically you… But worse. Ah, kind of takes their hype away a bit, but, but! The clothes on some of the girls? Fashion incarnate, I tell you!’’

I blinked, raising an eyebrow. ‘’Isn’t that the case with every female Servant?’’

‘’Shush, you! Cu Chulainn-esque!’’ Serafall blew a raspberry.

So I had to maturely answer with my own.

‘’I see…’’ Ayuka cleared her throat, trying to hide the amusement at our antics before gesturing to me. ‘’There are still two more, so?’’

‘’Ah, right.’’ Scratching the back of my head, I raised a finger. ‘’Then, there’s the Assassin, sneaky lil’ bastards. It’s all about one hit-one kill with these people. I don’t know if it's worse to see them or not see them.’’

‘’And then there’s Berserker!’’ Came Serafall’s excited interruption. ‘’Super strong people that rampage and blow most physical fighters completely out of the water!’’

‘’…In exchange for their sanity and reason.’’ I finished meekly as an afterthought.

During our unorthodox explanation, Ayuka had started filling out paper after paper. One single glance told me she was making a profile for the Seven types of Servants, with theories and speculations of her own.

Of course, I knew there were a few more, but… Well, I didn’t know what those meant, mostly.

‘’In any case…. Right, now here comes the strange part; the magi are dead, and only five Servants remain. One of which has seemed to absorb an insanely high power source that is making them go absolutely batshit.’’ I scratched the back of my head, not paying much attention to Serafall’s pointed stare. ‘’The ‘sniper’ was probably one of them, actually.’’

But I didn’t really remember there being an Archer of such caliber in the game’s first singularity… weird.

The situation wasn’t entirely unknown. I had played F/GO before, and this seemed to be the first ever singularity.

In my head, I was praying to fucking Big G that it wasn’t, because Lev is not someone I think we can take on with a nerfed Beelzebub.

And the Quest didn’t say anything about Chaldea either, so… yeah. I’m kind of guessing humanity’s continuant existence isn’t at risk in this war.

‘’While you were staring very pointedly at the wall, and getting this information from… somewhere.’’ I shrank back at Ayuka’s curious, yet non-pressing tone. ‘’I set a few wards. Mainly, magic concealment and protection in case this… ‘Archer’ finds us again.’’

I hummed, pacing around the room. The Cardinal Spear rested on its White Dragon Emperor Trident form—which right now, I’m seeing is quite the fucking mouthful—and I was honestly ready for action. However, I didn’t know how wise an idea it would be to come out now.

‘’How long until you decipher the… world’s formula, was it?’’ I asked hesitantly.

Mostly because I still couldn’t wrap my head around something that powerful existing in the first place. I, for one, completely believed that if Ayuka had not ascended to Godhood, it was solely for her own decision, because reality and law manipulation were hand in hand with Godhood, in my humble opinion.

‘’Hard to say… The magic in the air is dry. Tasteless, to put it simply.’’ Ayuka frowned, placing her hands back on the table and tracing down a formula. ‘’Come take a look.’’

Serafall and I shared a glance before approaching. There, on the line Ayuka was pointing at, rested a… thing that tried to pass itself as a mathematical formula.

Because if you asked me, I didn’t know where the character for a # was supposed to go in math.

‘’Right here, this is the regular formula back in our world,’’ Ayuka said, and I stared at the unintelligible paper with new eyes. ‘’However, this one doesn’t quite work in here. I had to modify it vastly at the moment to neutralize the Archer’s attack—And even so, it’s basically a poor, unreliable imitation.’’

Besides trying to save a mental image of the paper, I really couldn’t help much here. However, there was one tidbit of information I remembered about fate.

‘’The magic in the series is… weak. When used by regular magus, I mean.’’ I started, gaining the attention of the curious scientist and a look of realization from the magical girl. ‘’As in, it’s incredibly weak compared to our world, and even more so compared to Devils, who can make shit appear out of thin air with enough power and will. Here, most magi take their energy from the ambient magic instead of the inside their bodies.’’

Immediately as I spoke, Ayuka started writing at an incredibly fast pace. Words and equations blurred together, and I had to use Thought Acceleration to even keep up.

‘’I see… and because we, Devils, use a force like Demonic Power, we are not affected by this condition.’’ She hummed, scribbling out some details and replacing them with a few others. ‘’The ‘Heroic Spirits’ probably don’t follow this rule either. Otherwise, if they were only incredibly advanced constructs with memoria pre-saved and re-installed into these forms, they would have run out of ‘magic’, or will eventually, considering the magnitude of their attacks.’’

I did not regret bringing Ayuka one bit. In my informed opinion, I would have started blasting and figuring things out on the fly.

‘’Sooo…’’ Serafall interrupted, clapping her hands with a polite smile that told us she had understood nothing. ‘’That’s… how long until you can basically break this entire thing yourself~?’’

A pause, a frown, and then an answer came from Ayuka’s lips. ‘’…Twelve hours. I’ll say a day, if I need to step back from the table.’’

For some reason, Serafall smiled brightly—No, now that I noticed, she kept stealing glances at me, and Ayuka discreetly did the same. Their hands were twitching, and even my teacher, whom I believed was the picture of perfect composure, seemed… nervous, eager.

And then realization hit me.

These two, besides being incredibly powerful Devils and leaders of their factions, were once warriors.

Battle, bloodshed, fighting, adrenaline. Anything and everything in between; they have experienced. And, like many others before and after them, there were people who enjoyed fighting. Those who liked being in the thick of combat, not knowing if they’ll win or lose.

The literal definition ‘Yes, I’m fucking around, and wish to find out.’

And being Satans, leaders of devilkind, they couldn’t really… challenge other people, who weren’t themselves or their friends. Even so, I haven’t met the fourth Satan, and Sirzechs doesn’t seem like the kind of person who thrives in violence.

The conclusion was like a bucket of ice-cold water to the back.

‘’You guys want to fight, fight,’’ I said, not accusingly. And my only answer was a direct stare from both women.

Serafall was holding her staff tightly, fingers tapping on the sleeve of her magical girl uniform while keeping that polite, composed façade. Meanwhile, Ayuka had stopped writing, formula half-forgotten, and offered an apologetic grin instead.

‘’I knew there was a reason I liked you guys.’’ I breathed out. I could almost shed a tear right now. By the surprised looks I got, they may not have expected that reaction. ‘’Right then, ladies, let’s change the plan…’’

I extended an open palm, the beginnings of a crooked grin appearing on my lips.

‘’Let’s go out there…’’ The two women’s breath hitched. ‘’And let’s Fuck. Them. Up.’’

An eager squeal and polite chuckles filled the dilapidated room. Followed soon after by my own manic laughter. There was no planning, no playing it safe, and no ‘waiting it out’.

We were going there, probably each one by their side.

And fighting to our hearts fucking content!

-X-x-X-

-???-

The moment the city had shifted, I felt it immediately. The light show in the sky only confirmed my suspicions.

‘Archer…’ I frowned, side-glancing the clock tower where I knew that the red-robed man remained vigilant, by my word no less. ‘So you’ve noticed too.’

After all, one would need to be blind not to notice the shift of magic in the air. What was once the molten, destroyed ruins of Fuyuki became ablaze with power near the center. There was no two ways to look at it. Somehow, a Servant, or maybe even more than one, had been summoned.

‘’Ruler…?’’ I wondered for a moment before discarding the notion. If the one who was to serve as mediator hasn’t appeared after four days and four nights, then it is most probable that it would ignore us even now. ‘’Not to mention, the priest has long since perished. There is no mediator.’’

My armored boots clinked against the smooth floor of the throne room. The darkened, regal chair was almost mocking me with how empty and void it felt. The irony wasn’t lost to me; how the mighty had fallen indeed.

Even now, I could hear the pulse from the accursed artifact sealed deep within my soul. Merging in a disgusting coalition of flesh, will, and need.

A need for destruction. Truly, the Muddled Grail could not have chosen a worse wielder, for I was long gone before such a thing could ever darken my path.

‘’It is of no matter. Servant, Master, Heroic Spirit or Magi…’’ I sighed, staring at the reddened sky through the throne room’s open windows, once a beautiful blue, now filled with smoke and the distant groans of the Shadows. ‘’In this war… I have one sole goal, and there is nothing that will stop it. There is no force that could stop a Grail. Many fools have tried and amounted to nothing.’’

The sword at my hip emanated a gloom, thick and dark presence, yet with that faint holy glow so characteristic of it. It was a discrepancy, just like my presence in this war—No, exactly like this war itself.

I clasped its handle, scrunching up my face in distaste at the memory and the influence it had on my once clear mind… Or maybe I was simply frustrated that it had taken me this long to finally have a clear head. The path I previously walked was filled with sorrow and sacrifice. All because of my own weakness.

I had once cursed and killed to alleviate such pain. I left my weakness behind, and with it, any right of Knighthood and Kingship I deserved.

To bring me back and do it all again. Truly, the fates are even crueler than my teacher could ever describe.

With shaky breath, Excalibur settled down. I clasped my left arm with my right hand, and the armored limb was revealed to the light. Pale, previously unblemished skin now carved with red lines that held unpredictable and dangerous power.

The power to make others serve. The power to command.

‘Fitting, for a fallen King.’ My mind mocked mirthlessly. ‘One who cannot rule by word, and heart, shall do so by might and strife…’

‘’Archer, to my side,’’ I spoke, and one of the many dozens of lines disappeared with a faint glow. Yet, even now, I knew it wouldn’t be long until the grail made it appear once more. ‘’We have unwelcome visits.’’

The flash of light was something I had grown used to. And in a moment, a silver-haired man with red robes appeared. His spiritual concealment was broken as my own mana allowed his stay. Or, specifically, the mana from the Grail itself.

His eyes had muddled with the taint of the grail. Previously white sclera changing into completely black, like mud. He was once someone I could deeply respect, and even now, that courtesy was there.

However, no matter how resilient, the Guardian had also fallen to the Grail’s whimsy, as did I.

‘’King…’’ The man crossed his arms, frowning, and I nodded. He huffed, gloved fingers tapping his leg impatiently. ‘’What is your command?’’

I stepped forward, outside of this construct’s ruins. A dark, broken-down castle, with the red-robed guardian at my side. My eyes lingered on his form a little longer than usual, but they looked forward all the same.

‘’Let us test them,’’ I commanded, looking into the far distance, where the magic had sprouted like a tree from an old story. High enough to reach the sky. ‘’Rider and Assassin should be enough for a moment such as this.’’

‘’At once.’’ The man’s gruffy voice, holding that hint of amusement that I relished, followed up. ‘’And what if they make it? What then?’’

…What if they do, indeed.

…

At the entrance of the castle, the two figures stood. The red-robed Counter Guardian behind the fallen King of Britain.

The latter, armored as if prepared to rain death on a battlefield, with pitch black, heavy plate armor adorned with red, glowing lines that flew across it like rivulets of blood covering her body, hiding away her true nature, and serving as an impenetrable barrier.

With the accursed Grail inside her, whoever dared to step forward shall surely amount to the same as exposing their neck to the executioner’s axe.

-X-x-X-

Bonus Scene: Mad Scientist, even Madder Experiments.

-Kokabiel-

As I entered the laboratory, a strong smell of metal and blood invaded my nose, along with the feeling of holy energy radiating off not only the room itself, but from someone.

‘’I suspect everything is going well, doctor?’’ I questioned, glancing at the results right on top of the operating table.

Freed, the madman himself, had his chest cut right open. His limbs were tied to the table, and his gaze was completely unfocused. From time to time, senseless laughter escaped past his lips. The clear results of being under a serious amount of numbing agents. Magical in nature, of course.

‘’As well as we planned, my lord.’’ The portly man replied, shoulders shaking in excitement. He was fully garbed with scrubs, a facemask and was currently holding a scalpel as he dug through Freed’s chest cavity. ‘’Truly, the wonderfulness of the Siegfried is like none other. To survive such repeated and intense surgery… Freed Sellzen may have been a ‘failed’ experiment, but that is only thanks to the fools who misused his potential.’’

On the doctor’s remaining hand rested a crystal, pale blue and glowing with holy power. Turning my gaze to the far end of the room revealed the three Excaliburs we have obtained up until now.

Nightmare, Blessing, and Rapidly. Each one aimed downwards, their blades connected to a machine via magically reinforced extractors, which held no other purpose but to steadily take whatever excess of Holy Energy the swords radiated naturally.

Then, the liquid went through a tube, where it was scorched inside a special alloy of heavy metals and Holy Power, to such high temperatures that even my hands would burn if I were to lay a finger on it.

The final results were crystallized shards of Holy Energy. Ones similar, yet much more powerful than the ones the Church decided to use to create their own Excalibur Wielders.

A single human with a great affinity to the holy and light elements could hold onto one, maybe two of these crystals, before their body wasn’t able to handle it. However, if enough time was spent, the doctor deduced that you could add one additional crystal each decade or so.

If the user was a natural holy blade-wielder, then the limit may even go as far as one crystal per year.

The reason for these crystals being superior was that those fools wouldn’t dare to use their precious blades for such a feat.

That, and the fact that they simply learned the scraps of research information that were left behind in the hunt by my accomplished scientist.

Research that was maybe a prototype of the real thing, while I held the man who created it under my command.

I turned to such a man, staring pointedly at the heart he was holding in his hand. If Freed had noticed his lack of crucial organs, it didn’t bother him any, considering the dopey, blissful smile on his face.

‘’Hahaha…. Filthy devils… sinners… I’ll k-k-kill them all~’’ I paid little attention to his confused, blissful hallucinations.

‘’How many Holy Shards has our dear compatriot taken now, doctor?’’ I mused, approaching the table. At this point and time… I would even claim that Freed’s aura was almost a one-to-one copy of the Excalibur Fragments. ‘’Seven? Eight?’’

‘’Twelve, my lord.’’ The doctor corrected easily, not taking his gaze away from his work as he cut Freed’s heart open and placed another Holy Crystal deep inside it. Then, a white magic circle appeared in his hand, and the cut heart mended shut. ‘’And with that… It’s number thirteen. He is absolutely ready. Any more than this, and even my specialized equipment will shut down at the excess of Holy Power.’’

A chuckle escaped past my lips, as did Freed’s when his chest was being sewn shut by magic. If it was because of his currently blissful and unaware state of mind, or because he somehow understood the power he now carried inside himself, that was to be seen.

‘’Great job, doctor—Truly, you have gone above and beyond what was asked of you. Though most of this won’t have been able to happen without our companion here.’’ I smiled, placing a hand on the doctor’s shoulder.

‘’It was my pleasure, Lord Kokabiel, kukuku… As long as I can keep my research going, you’ll have an ally for life.’’ Even with the face mask on, it was hard not to imagine the man’s crooked, disgusting smirk.

‘’Splendid.’’ I dismissed as I walked to the door once more. Not before turning around and staring pointedly at the man, amusement gone, replaced with a heavy demand. ‘’Now… Start the main project as soon as Freed is patched up. The men in robes keep patrolling around, and knowing that old fool? I know the Grigori already has their sights on us.’’

‘’At once, lord Kokabiel.’’ The man shuddered, and I turned away.

Walking into the hallway, I took a deep breath, feeling the cold, clean air being blown out of the ventilation systems in this base. Finally, the fruits of hard labor. This is what it was always meant to be.

And once those little exorcists bring the remaining Excaliburs to my door… The Reforging Project shall be complete.

Finally, I’ll have what always should have been mine. Bloodshed and carnage like none other. Proud warriors clashing against the pure light of our foolish brethren and the disgusting darkness of the devils below!

‘’It will be a massacre!’’ I shouted into the hallway, uncaring of any eavesdroppers, with a satisfied, toothy grin.

Soon, very soon, the Fallen will rise once more, and my comrades will see that retreating back then was the worst mistake our race has ever made.

So what if our numbers were fewer? A warrior’s death was more noble than running away, tails between our legs as the forces of God and the disgusting Hell Deus battled it out until death did them part!

If there was a single thing I envied about ‘’Father’’ and that disgusting man disguised as an Angel, it was the fact that at least they mutually annihilated each other.

‘’And soon enough…’’ I chuckled, shoulders shaking as I made my way into my office, ready to plan our attack. ‘’We shall join them. Better, stronger, and with the glory of finishing this war once and for all…!’’

-X-x-X-

.

.

.

Author's Note:

And this marks the start of this story's small crossover with another Fandom: Fate!

That is to say, don't expect the fusion of these two worlds. Not at all. The duration of this crossover would be until Zuzu, Levi-tan, and Scientist Mommy Ayuka clear this dungeon. Don't worry, though. As you saw at the very start and ending of this chapter, things are still going on in the DxD world, meaning that time is not frozen or any of that. Shit's still going on.

And it's going, apparently.

Also, wonder just how intrigued the Gods watching over Zuzu would be, considering the sudden world-hopping. Shit's probably a blast and a half, kek.

For anyone asking, this is what I meant by the previous poll (This poll was made on my Discord and QQ). Remember, the waifu options were Saber Alter, F!Gilgamesh, F!Gojo, F!Sukuna, F!Blade, and F!Mydeimos? Well, you guys chose Saber, so what we got is a dungeon into a fucked up Holy Grail War without any Masters or end, hooray!

I have 13 more chapters of this fic on my if you wish to support me.

Discord Link: .gg/92Yt5wxeWN