The Holy Man of The Church Creek

7

The way his ears had turned as red as his hair was something she couldn't help but find adorable while she looked up at his face from her position pressed to his chest. In fact, not only did Shirou's face flush upon hearing Mother Griselda's question, but his body had also tensed too. In which case, the arms that he had had tentatively wrapped around her before seemed to press her even closer to him.

Not that she was complaining.
The fragrance of morning oak still lingered on his clothes, but that was reasonable as he had not had the time to change attire since arriving. Yet, somehow, the sent was enough to reassure her that he was really here, and not just some fabrication formed from the Holy energy of both Durandals.
Yes, indeed.
In the time that Shirou had yet to appear, she had been comforted by the images of him returning within her mind in a sense. As she was the inheritor of Durandal, it was the sword that had been the one to recognize her as its wielder. Thus, it could sense her mental state. In which case, the Holy Energy emitted from both Durandals had been used as a conduit to try and alleviate her pains.
Holy Energy, was the power of the Heavens, and thus naturally exhibited a calming aura which was directly opposite to the destructive tendencies of Devil energy. Thus, all that both the Durandals had done was concentrate said Holy Energy entirely around her. However, no matter how relieving the energy was and the images it produced, they would never last; which was what happened moments before Shirou had returned. This had caused her to disregard etiquette of any kind drilled into her by Mother Griselda, and reach the present situation because of her own anxiety.
Still, it was a good thing that her hood was up, as she didn't want to be in a similar position as Shirou who had his features exposed. Although she knew she was thick-skinned, even she had a breaking point. It would be a lie to say that she was unaffected by what Mother Griselda had said. As a matter of fact, it greatly resonated with her, but she was always a straight forward person.
It was how she was raised.
She pulled her hood down further over her face as she contemplated, hiding the growing redness of her cheeks as she blew out a breath. A baby? Picturing a pint-sized brat calling her mommy sent a warm feeling across her chest that made her body tingle. Even more so when she realized the potential of child whose blood was related to that of a Holy man. Although she didn't have the exact mindset as her mother Griselda, she did inherit a significant portion of her world views. Thus, it was impossible that her mind wouldn't drift to the potential of her own child. Yet, staring up at Shirou once more, it made her thoughts simply vanish.
If she could describe what she was feeling right now, she pressed herself even closer to him before closing her eyes and burrowing her head into the crux of his shoulder, it was simply content.
But the moment had to be ruined by the interjection of the Head Priest coughing into his hand.
She couldn't help but release a genuine glare, and it wasn't an expression that could be misinterpreted.
Fact is, even Griselda could not hold back a glower.
As to why Griselda would glower at the Head Priest who was just trying to return the situation to normal, only Griselda would know.
Suddenly feeling pressured, the Head Priest quickly began talking in succession, attempting to defend himself against the stares that apparently weren't just coming from Griselda and herself. The whole crowd of examinees and even the younger priests and nuns were giving him looks of disbelief and outrage as if he had been the one in the wrong. As a senior of near a hundred years in age, he could not understand what it was that had caused such a detrimental effect, and could only chalk it up to the younger generations foolishness.
In this regard, the Head Priest could only turn and speak to the only person who had become just as flustered as himself.
"What is going on?" The Head Priest couldn't help but ask indecisively.
Shirou shook his head.
As the room fell into a tense silence of wordless interaction, it was the Twelve Winged-Sentinels that broke it.
Floating half of a foot off the ground, they moved in a hovering motion to stand beside the church's altar where they took a knee towards the cross and remained frozen.
Still, it was because of the Winged-Sentinel's movement that finally allowed the Head Priest the momentum necessary to move out of the unexplainable atmosphere and into a more curious one.
Because of this atmosphere, she was reluctantly inclined to separate herself from her hold, standing to the side of Shirou as both the Head Priest and Griselda stood in front of him.
"What exactly happened in there?" The Head Priest asked. It wasn't hard to hear the excitement in the priest's voice as before it was actually quite gloomy after the breaking of the artifacts. The contrast between then and now was too large for others not to notice. Even Griselda couldn't help but release a wry smile.
Shirou began to recount what happened under the attention of everyone present. He first started with what everyone had already explained, the malfunction of the Dimensional Cross and the subsequent actions of finding everyone. While listening to Shirou's accounts, more and more of the clergy began to stare at the other Durandal in a new light. Although Shirou had not said anything about miracles being stored within the blade, he did disclose the pivotal role the blade had accomplished.
This, along with the natural suspicion of what the clergy had heard from the examinees, proved a single fact.
There truly was a second Durandal.
Not only was this piece of inferred information shocking, but the sword's origin was utterly ground breaking.
As Shirou was elaborating further, he did not say how the second Durandal came into creation, and this inadvertently sent a silent message to those who had seen him create the sword from nothing to keep quiet. In fact, even those who had once told their respective clergy elders about Shirou producing the blade were now claiming denial, greatly frustrating their elders who wished to verify. Even if the examinees were inclined to speak the truth, they wouldn't dare to after what Shirou had done for them. In fact, if they had done so, she probably would have had been the first to 'educate' them on how to properly express their gratitude.
Still, seeing all the examinees that she had travelled with for several months unwilling to sell out a comrade, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of unity. A bond between brothers and sisters forged through the temperament and threat of death. Such ties were the hardest to destroy.
However, even if the examinees were quick to deny, it couldn't be helped that some of the clergy still had their doubts. It was at this point that Shirou finally got to the part where he was explaining what happened as everyone was evacuating from the Dimensional Cross one by one. He spoke of how he, Xenovia, and Irina were the last to leave as they defended everyone else, and what happened after Irina left.
To Irina and the other examines who had left before herself and Shirou, they did not know what had happened to cause Shirou's delay in returning. All that they knew was that they had seen her return quietly by herself, a despondent expression on her face.
"I-It was my fault," she admitted just as Shirou was about to speak about what had transpired before she left the Dimensional Cross. "I, I was too over confident of my own abilities, and," she paused, recalling her own foolishness before she pursed her lips and bowed her head. "It nearly cost him his life."
Her answer was met by the silence of the crowd, yet before the silence could continue, Shirou had pulled down her hood and spoke while shaking his head.
"You have no reason to hide, nor feel as if what happened to me was entirely your fault," he spoke placing his hands on her shoulders.
She did not know why he had pulled down her hood, but his intentions were quite clear in that he only wanted to reassure her. Frankly, it worked as she could tell upon seeing it in his eyes that Shirou never blamed her. Her features softened at that moment, her complexion seeming to shine.
However, it was then that she truly realized that her hood was down and that Griselda was staring intently at her face. Mortified, she steeled her expression lest she make a scene of quickly pulling her hood back on. However, no matter how hard she tried, or how blank her expression became, she couldn't will away the soft pink undertone near the top of her cheeks.
This reaction however, only caused Griselda to nod in satisfaction.
Finishing what he had to say to her, Shirou then got to the crux of the matter, and took out a black feather.
Griselda's calm look shifted into one that became quite attentive as soon as the feather came into her gaze. She and the other clergy were no different as they knew what a black feather symbolised especially when it came from within a Heaven made object.
"Fallen Angel," the Head Priest couldn't help but mutter. "That, that could explain everything if the functions of the Dimensional Cross were tampered by their kind."
An array of expressions seemed to filter across the gathered crowd.
"Where did you find this feather?" Griselda asked after a moment of waiting for the crowd to calm down. "For the Fallen to have tampered with the Dimensional Cross, it has to have had been from the very center of the relic, its control station. Such a place should've been heavily guarded regardless of tampering."
"Indeed," Shirou acknowledged. "After being struck by the Twelve-winged Sentinel's explosive lance, I was lucky enough to survive the attack and ended up near the central area."
"Lucky?" One of the clergy spoke in disbelief. "You endured the attack of a Twelve-winged Sentinel and only call such a feat luck? Do you not understand their power's equivalent?"
Shirou shut his mouth at that moment, as if thinking about something.
Instantly, she began to harbour dislike towards the clergy member that spoke. Why question Shirou's means of survival? No matter how reasonable the clergy members question was, to her and a few others of the examinees, it sounded as if the clergy had already written Shirou off as good as dead.
Indeed, both Griselda and the Head Priest also had displeased looks, but even so they were curious as the clergy member did bring up a valid point.
Shirou seemed to hesitate over something before he glanced down at himself before coming to a conclusion. "May I borrow one of those wooden swords?" He asked, pointing to the far side of the room where the church kept its training equipment.
Surprised with the sudden change in topic, one of the clergy still ended up bringing a wooden sword over.
Taking the sword into his hand, Shirou closed his eyes as the room was suddenly bathed in an instance of some sort of energy, mana to be precise. Moments afterwards, Shirou then gave the sword back to the clergy member who had given it to him. "What do you think?" He ended up asking.
Stunned, the clergy member was about to say something but froze as soon as he and everyone else saw the wooden sword cut through its previous storage container.
"W-What is this?" The clergy member couldn't help but mutter as he once again picked up the wooden sword.
Giving it a few swings, it was evident for others to see that not only had the sword become sharper, it had also become more durable in that not even a light sword could cut into it.
As everyone was contemplating this phenomenon, Shirou opened his mouth to speak.
"My father was a magician before he passed away at an early age," he said.
His words were met by several surprised faces. In fact, it was something the voice inside the necklace had predicted when he had discussed a believable excuse as to how he was able to survive the attack of a Twelve-Winged Sentinel. Matters became even more believable as he also spoke the truth.
Whether to reveal the capabilities of the voice inside the necklace, or to reveal a portion of his own magecraft, he had already discussed the outcomes of both with the voice in the necklace. Elaborating on the necklace's capabilities was not something in his best interest as it would draw too much attention, and the voice in the necklace itself said it would do no good. Because it would simply be too shocking for others to realize that the voice within the necklace was able to control the Twelve-Winged Sentinels. Even more so when the full extent of the necklace's capabilities was still unknown even to himself. Thus, when the necklace had described the counter part of a Magus in the present world, Magicians, the explanation had become the most suitable for his situation.
By admitting that he was once trained by a magician, he was admitting to knowing a bit of magic, but also admitting to not being taught fully. Therefore, others could understand that he could use magic, but was still generally unfamiliar with the workings of the magical society of the current world.
"One of the magics I know is called Reinforcement, and lets me like the name implies, reinforce objects and even myself," he explained. "When I was struck by the Twelve-Winged Sentinel's attack, I immediately reinforced my body enough to endure a blow that would have had been fatal."
His explanation got a round of nods as many turned to the reinforced wooden sword still in the clergy member's hand. Even under the attack of a light sword, the wood that made up the wooden sword did not even splinter nor crack.
From there, he then went on to explain how he had obtained the feather, omitting how he had walked past a literal encirclement of Winged-Sentinels and straight into the control room. Instead, he just said that the initial momentum of the explosion caused by the Winged Sentinel's lance launched him directly into the control room where he found the feather and made his way back to the present.
Although it sounded unbelievable, it was still enough of an explanation. With that said, he was then left standing under the scrutiny of the Clergy before Griselda gave a nod and immediately dismissed everyone in the room.
The only individuals that remained were himself, Griselda, the Head Priest, Xenovia, and Irina who was prompted to stay.
The Head Priest gave him a questioning look as it appeared the Head Priest still had some doubts, yet he didn't dare vice them, and instead turned excitedly to examine the Winged Sentinels once again.
Griselda's gaze at that moment made Xenovia, Irina, and even himself stand in line as she scrutinized them while pacing.
She then stopped directly in front of him.
"Although I wish to ask the full extent of your magic and which association your father may have belonged to, I can tell that you yourself wish to keep your own secrets, and that you may not even know the answer. Thus, at this moment, there is only one thing I have to say to you," Griselda spoke humbly.
Her next actions even caused Xenovia's eyes to widen. The Head Priest simply acted like he wasn't there in respect for Griselda who had bowed her head down completely.
"Thank you, for saving my daughter," Griselda spoke with gratitude. "She may not be the brightest, nor the most skilled with her blade, but I love her all the same."
In the face of Griselda's words, Xenovia could not maintain her composure and turned the other way when Irina's eyes glanced in her direction.
He could not understand her embarrassment though since he never recalled what it was like to have a mother worry over him in front of others. The closest he could relate to was when Taiga would come for the school hosted Parent-Teacher days in Kiritsugu's stead and would embarrass him in one way or another.
Still, it would never be quite the same.
"There's nothing to thank me for," he spoke earnestly as it was his true opinion. "Even if the situation were to occur again, I would still do the same," he admitted.
Griselda then lifted her head and stared at him oddly.
His answer though prompted Irina to speak. "Then," she began doubtfully. "Don't you cherish your own life?"
The question was asked with a bit of uncertainty, but it didn't take away from the effect it had on others. Everyone waited for his answer. Even the Head Priest who was examining the Winged-Sentinels near the altar perked his ears up to listen.
"Even with my life," he began. "If I could save another, then that in itself is a good enough cause," he ended truthfully.
His answer stunned those present aside from Xenovia who had long since figured out his own selflessness. It was probably why she didn't question him at the time he had pushed her out of the attack range of the Twelve-Winged Sentinel. Still though, not everyone was Xenovia.
An contemplative look appeared over both Griselda's and the Head Priests faces. They were completely stunned to the degree of selflessness he had admitted to. In fact, if not for the importance of completing the Holy Sword Trial, they might have had opened a bible to verify something that flittered across their minds.
Back to the point of the matter though, they had to finish the trials. Putting the matter of the second Durandal, and even the Twelve-Winged Sentinels aside, Griselda put on an imposing air.
"From your previous explanation, it can be inferred that you've fixed the problem with the Dimensional Cross?" Griselda began.
"It has been fixed," he verified.
Griselda nodded her head as the Head Priest approached her side.
"Because of that act, regardless of how many points you were able to earn in the Dimensional Cross, your actions proved your own contributions, and as such you are worthy of wielding a fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur."
With the end of the Head Priest's words, a magic array hovered above the palm of his hand. From there, another larger magic array opened from atop the alter the Winged Sentinels were bowing towards.
The Head Priest then raised another hand and looked expectedly at Irina.
"Irina Shidou, despite being sent towards another dimension far more dangerous than the initial grounds, not only were you able to stay alive, but you gave up your safety to aid in the survival of your fellow brothers and sisters. Although you are weak now, you will grow into a fine wielder of the second fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur," the Head Priest concluded.
With the Head Preist's words said, Xenovia had a look of realisation on her face. She did not qualify to attain one of the two fragments. It was a heavy blow, but Griselda knew her daughter and hastily began to explain.
"Xenovia," Griselda began. "You of course are qualified to wield one of the fragments, but this situation is one where you are overly qualified," she explained. "Besides, the reason I had you participate in the trial was because of the sheer difficulty of learning to control the power of your Durandal, but now the situation has changed."
Griselda's and Xenovia's eyes moved towards the other Durandal, a silent exchange occurring between the two of them. Xenovia's eyes lit up in understanding.
He didn't understand the significance of the exchange, but Griselda did.
With the other Durandal he had traced, Xenovia's control over her own Durandal had improved to the point that she no longer needed to seal her own sword.
In this way, she no longer required Excalibur Destruction, the fragment whose properties were similar to Durandal in releasing a massive influx of Holy Energy. Excalibur Destruction was supposed to be used as a training tool to condition her to better wield Durandal. This purpose could still be implemented, but it was not necessary nor efficient anymore.
Instead, with the Second Durandal on hand, her training and progress would greatly increase.
Naturally, he was inclined to allow her to strengthen herself. Not just because he understood the decision of the Durandal he traced, but because Xenovia was someone he wished to see grow. It was a feeling he couldn't completely understand, but even still he was adamant about his own decisions.
Thus, he would leave the other Durandal in Xenovia's hands. This in itself was an equivalent or greater boon than obtaining a fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur.
That matter aside, after Griselda had spoken with Xenovia, it was Irina who stood with a blank face in response to the current situation. She obviously couldn't understand it.
How it was that she was the one other than himself to obtain a fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur. It was truly surreal. Not only did she not believe that she had performed better than Xenovia, but she didn't feel as if she deserved it as no matter how the Head Priest had put it, she had only been stuck hiding within a separate dimension. And even then, she was only rescued through the efforts of others, only contributing at the end.
Regardless, she had attained a Holy Sword fragment? It was kind of hard to understand.
Noticing this, the Head Priest elaborated further before he could speak himself.
"Even if you think you are undeserving, what you have right now is courage and heart. In the face of a closing path of escape, not only did you not prioritize herself like many of the others did, you had chosen to defend them with what strength you had," the Head Priest spoke calmly with a nod of approval from Griselda.
When comparing someone truly powerful to one who was only moderately so, the same feat of defending against unbeatable odds would, in turn, have different meaning. Someone who was greatly powerful could be expected to somehow pull off the impossible and in turn gain the further recognition of others. However, in doing so, the opinion of the majority of the people would simply be 'as expected.' In this regard, someone who was only moderately strong and managed to pull of such a feat would be regarded as a hero. Over coming the impossible with what meager strength one had, it was evident which of the two was more impressive.
With the Head Priest's words and Griselda's approval, the hesitance in Irina's eyes wavered before fading as even Xenovia gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"I, I," Irina couldn't settle on anything to say, and in the end, could only speak a meaningful "thank you."
With Irina's troubles dealt with, the Head Priest continued in the use of the complex magic arrays he had on top of his palms.
Soon, the magic array on the altar expanded and two swords began to manifest overtop of the array. One of them was shaped as a battle axe from the hilt down, the hilt itself formed with the sharp edges of an axe's blade. Even the shaft appeared sturdy. This sword was Excalibur Destruction, the fragment of Excalibur recreated into a sword that matched the destructive capability of the fragment.
The other sword was golden coloured, and resembled the shape of a French knife or katana with thick steel at the blunt end of the blade, and thin steel at the edge. Excalibur Mimic, the fragment of Excalibur recreated into a sword that matched the elusiveness of the fragment.
The two swords shone with splendor, a radiance incomparable to that of even the brightest of light swords and even the strongest of refined ones. After all, they were fragments of the world's strongest Holy Sword.
As soon as the two swords had entered his eyes, a life flashed before his eyes.
A man stood atop a hill overlooking the ruins of an army, clouds blotted the sky, and blood ran freely from a wound on his chest. Off to his side was an armoured knight that lay dead with a spear run through him.
The man's position interfaced with a person he knew quite well.
Saber.
Thinking of her caused him to grip his hands into fists.
The man in front of him was near identical to her from his attire, down to his hair and eye colour. If not for the man's gender, then he would have no doubts that Saber was truly in front of him.
What startled him then, were the figures floating high in the air. Some had black pinioned wings, others with wings like a bat. Subconsciously, he realized that he was staring at Fallen Angels and Devils.
From what the Church had explained, King Arthur was a warrior that fought for both the church and Heaven, and was one of the greatest enemies of both the Fallen Angels and Devil factions. Thus, he realized that he was probably glimpsing the final moments of King Arthur. The figure of Camelot behind him was also something he could never mistake after undergoing the dream cycles with Saber.
Arthur opened his mouth to speak to the Fallen and Devils, yet he could not hear his words, rather, all he could do was watch.
Finally, after Arthur said his piece, he raised his sword into the air, and forced himself to his feet. As a boy, he had become a King. As a King, he had lead his people to a time of prosperity. And now as a man, he would die with no regrets.
The images disappeared as Arthur had swung his blade, and in its stead, was a white world devoid of anything except for two swords. Excalibur Destruction, and Excalibur Mimic.
They hovered just about a foot off the ground, a light breeze emanating with them at the center.
"This was the place of their creation," the voice inside the necklace spoke. "A world of white devoid of any impurities to construct a Holy Sword that would be unmatchable. Yet there was something neglected in the process. A person such as yourself should understand the true meaning of what it was that was missed. The difference between the Excalibur in your memories, and the Excalibur created in this world."
That was,
The crystallization of mankind's dreams, hopes, and desires.
A sword of man created without the concept of humanity who would one day wield it.
Although a good sword, it would never become that which would be as unbreakable as the eternal wishes of mankind.
"Precisely," the voice in the necklace verified. "Without this principle of humanity, the sword created through a perfect concept would forever be flawed despite its brilliance, but," the voice in the necklace paused. "You can change that by altering the concepts of reality. Just as the blacksmith hammers out the impurities of a sword and refines them, you are that blacksmith."
"To judge the concepts of creation.
And Hypothesize the basic structure.
All the way up until the reproduction of its growth and manufacturing process, you are the only one capable of this task in this world."
A faint glow came from the center of his chest, small fine particles of light surrounding him and taking shape into a Sheath. Avalon of the Ever-Distant Utopia, and Sheath to Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory.
Its appearance signalled its approval to the voice in the necklace's words. Looking at the swords hovering in front of him, any feelings of conflict against not being worthy of such a sword instantly vanished. This wasn't about him, nor was it about anyone else. All that mattered was the simple will of the blade prompting him into action.
Almost as soon as this concept of completing the blade took root in his mind, both Excalibur Destruction and Excalibur Mimic began to blur, becoming indiscernible as they shot towards Avalon.
Slipping directly into the sheath the two blades combined to form a single hilt restrained by four seals. Almost as soon as this process occurred, the white world around him began to fade as the voice in the necklace spoke a single sentence.
"This time, for sure."
With that said, he was no longer staring at a world of white, but rather at the wide-eyed expressions of everyone in the room, making him greatly self-conscious. In fact, more than wide-eyed, it was the uncontainable gleam in both Griselda's and the Head Priests eyes which spoke volumes.
What, what did he do this time?
Just as soon as he was going to ask, he then felt an odd weight in his hand. Turning towards said hand, he couldn't help but gawk as he saw Avalon with a sword sheathed inside it identical to the one he had seen in the white world. Similarly, the four restraints were also there, preventing him from drawing out the sword to inspect it.
Still, what exactly had happened?
In the time that he had been temporarily in a daze in Xenovia and the others perspective, a sheath had suddenly manifested in his hand from glittering lights that came from his chest.
Neither Xenovia nor Irina could identify the sheath, but Griselda and the Head Priest had their suspicions. Said suspicions were only further solidified as the two fragments of Holy Sword Excalibur shot out towards the sheath without warning and combined to form a single sword restrained within the sheath.
The ramifications of such a scene was not something missed by either of the two for it signalled the re-creation of Holy Sword Excalibur.
Yet those were their thoughts, and something he wasn't privy to, so all that he was able to discern was the increased attention on his being.
However, he could do nothing about it for wherever he would go within the Church, everyone would recognize him. He had become too famous as a result of his participation in the Holy Sword Trials, and now that he'd somehow combined the two fragments, he could only imagine the outcome.
"Not one word leaves from this room," Griselda spoke gravely after collecting herself. "Doing so would not be in our best interests."
It could be inferred from Griselda's words that she wished for the fragments of Excalibur to be completed without alerting others to prevent future troubles.
"But Griselda, this matter-"
"Is not something that should be spread around to the other factions let alone some of the more vile from the Vatican," Griselda interrupted. "I'll handle this matter personally," she concluded. "Do all of you understand me?"
Xenovia, Irina, and the Head Priest nodded their heads. As for him, he would not be publicly speaking of this anyway. Hell, he might even get away from an explanation by simply saying he was a magician who possessed a certain type of magic. This was also a benefit of claiming himself a partial magician in this world.
"As for the matter of the other Durandal and what's held within, yes, Xenovia informed me," Griselda gave a quick explanation while the Head Priest was left confused. Still though, Griselda continued. "Those matters will also be classified."
Griselda's eyes then turned toward the Winged Sentinels, her action causing a great anxiety to form within the Head Priest. Previously, two relics of the church had been destroyed under the supervision of the Head Priest. Said relics were irreplaceable, and as such, it was understandable that the Head Priest wanted to make it up somehow. The arrival of the Winged Sentinels was the answer, and now Griselda may very well deny the Head Priest the ability to inform.
This was the cause of the Head Priest's anxiety. Luckily, that wasn't the case.
"We must inform the Heavens at our quickest behest, but we are not to explain how they had come to the mortal realm," Griselda raised her finger as the Head Priest opened his mouth. Apparently, Griselda had already predicted what the Head Priest would say, answering "You can tell them a simple truth that the Sentinels had come as a result of the examinees returning in an unorthodox means."
Griselda's piece said, the Head Priest was quick to shut his mouth and leave to report, lest Griselda take back her words.
From there, the matter was concluded in secrecy as Irina was gifted her own Holy Sword that wasn't quite on the level of a fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur, but was strong in and out of itself.
A year had passed since the Holy Sword Trials, and the funeral for all those who had passed away was held in accordance. Over the course of said year, Griselda had been personally keeping his existence secret from the world, and at the same time training him diligently with Xenovia.
Speaking of which, both Xenovia and Irina had somehow been placed in a mission's team that underwent tasks for the Church in recent months. Both of them had been doing well, and had become well versed in their respective sword arts.
Xenovia, on her part, with the Second Durandal flourished in one hand, and her own Durandal in the other, had made leaps and bound in her progress with the blade. However, for some reason her sparring opponents, all without fail, had the impression as if they were facing a bull. Her attacks were not refined, nor did she display frightening technique, rather, she relied completely on overwhelming her opponents with the sheer power of utilizing two Holy Swords. It wasn't that the energy was hard to control, making it impossible to direct it accurately, but rather, her style really was to focus completely on attack.
This made him worry about what would happen one day when she met an opponent who far surpassed her in strength. This was something he didn't have to worry about with Irina as she was well balanced in her sword skills.
Griselda didn't admonish Xenovia's behaviour as of late ever since she discovered the first time that he had decided to give Xenovia pointers. From then on, he somehow ended up trying to correct Xenovia's fighting style on behalf of Griselda who watched from the side.
Similar situations would also continue to occur as Griselda manipulated things from the background to give Xenovia as many opportunities with him as possible. Of course, he didn't know of such things and earnestly just wished to help Xenovia lest she run into any danger in the future. Unbeknownst to him, that earnesty and concern for her well being greatly moved Xenovia even if she didn't voice it. As a result, the words Griselda had once said at the end of the Holy Sword Trials continued to float around at the foremost point of Xenovia's mind.
Other matters that occurred within the past year was the collection of the Winged Sentinels by Heaven's representatives. He was not able to catch a glimpse of them though as Griselda had instructed him to remain in his room, but he had still heard of their astonishment. Very quickly, the Sentinels were taken to the Heavens where they were placed in a secured location. As the Sentinels obeyed no one but one individual, to transport the Winged-Sentinels, the Angels had to manually do it. Recalling what had happened in the Dimensional Cross, he wasn't sure if the Sentinels would still obey his commands, but he wasn't in the position to test it anyway.
The more important matter concerning himself was the odd silence of the voice in the necklace. Ever since the end of the trials and the merging of the Sword Fragments, it had not spoken to him once. Rather, he could tell even without Structural Analysis that the necklace was gathering power in a form of hibernation. The answers he had hoped to attain after passing some sort of trial issued by the necklace were frustratingly put aside. He only hoped that whatever form of hibernation the necklace was in, the voice in the necklace would wake up some time soon.
Presently, he was on his way to a meeting Griselda had called him for. His attire consisted mainly of a long white cloak fashioned to fully conceal the sword and sheath fastened directly to his side. Said sheath was Avalon, and the sword was the two Fragments of Excalibur.
Like mentioned before, ever since witnessing him merge together the two Holy Swords fragments, Griselda had been training him non-stop. Similarly, she had begun inquiring about the present statuses of the other fragments of Holy Sword Excalibur. This action was understandable as she wished to completely reform the blade.
Still though, as a result of Griselda's training, he could not deny the effects of it. His swordsmanship had greatly improved.
In training, he was only able to use a standard sword as he was unable to draw out the merged fragments due to the four restraints that appeared with the merging and the sheathing process within the white world.
As he had just woken up in the morning, he was sure that Griselda's summons would involve another training session as normal. However, for some reason or another, she had decided to call him to the Church's back yard.
Xenovia and Irina as her partner, would normally be accompanying him at this time, but the both of them had been called for a mission by the church to work in some remote part of Italy. they would be back within the month though.
As he was in the process of laying low as a direct result of Griselda's orders, he unlike Xenovia and Irina was exempt from missions in favour of training.
Yet somehow, he knew that today was going to be different.
This assumption only deepened when he saw Griselda sitting at the terrace of the backyard sipping idly at a cup of tea.
Telling him to sit first, Griselda offered him a cup of refreshments in which he politely refused. Based on how Griselda had even singled him out from both Xenovia and Irina who were considerably prominent in the younger generation of Church operatives, he could tell the gravity of the situation.
His assumption was correct since Griselda didn't even bat an eye at his refusal for refreshments because it was simply a formality anyway. Besides, Griselda wasn't one to beat around the bush. In fact, Xenovia got her straight forward personality from Griselda.
After sitting down, he waited patiently for Griselda to speak her mind under the tranquility of the scenery. The backyard of the church faced a small pond with vegetation growing on either side. Small fish swam just beneath the pond's surface with growing water lilies and aquatic plants near the edges of the water.
Finally, Griselda spoke after a moment of time.
"What do you know of the Holy Maiden?" She asked out of the blue.
The Holy Maiden was an idol within the church and even to the common people for her compassion, reverence to God, and her ability to heal the poor and wounded with a miraculous light. A Sacred Gear named Twilight Healing. Because of this ability, she was held in high regard by all the church authorities.
"The woman who helped a devil?" Was his response after thinking on the matter.
In recent months, word had travelled within the Church community about the Holy Maiden aiding a Devil. To some, it wasn't much of a big deal and could easily be put aside, but somehow, the matter had been blown completely out of proportion to the point of exiling the Maiden. From another perspective, things had concluded way to fast to not harbour any doubts about the ruling. Even he had his own reservations on the matter.
"Precisely," Griselda nodded her head before staring out towards the pond in silence.
She didn't speak again until the cloud up in the sky began to part and reveal the light of the sun. Turning to face him, her calm face shifted into one of expectation.
"What if I'm to say I have a mission for you?" She asked.
He simply raised a brow in response as she began to elaborate.
"Normally, I would be against sending you out for any mission at the moment as I'm more concerned about raising your strength. You have no idea the effects you would have should anyone know of your abilities, and the sword locked within that sheath," Griselda spoke with caution.
"Then why send me?" He asked.
Griselda didn't respond right away, and took a moment to place her cup down.
"You should know how I've been inquiring about the status of the other fragments of Holy Sword Excalibur," Griselda stated.
He nodded his head.
"Well, let's just say I've heard some troubling rumours," Griselda said cryptically. "Undoubtedly, you will have to go on this mission as it would prove vital to the completion of Excalibur."
"And that would be?" He asked curiously.
Griselda shook her head. "I can't say without definite proof, but sending you to the general area should not be something detrimental to you, but rather it will depend on the political balance."
"Political balance?" He asked. He really felt like he was just parroting, asking question after question, yet he really did not know what Griselda meant.
"Your mission places you in a territory controlled by Devils, and as such you may run into them. Just don't be too reckless and they shouldn't attack you lest they break the peace treaty of the factions," Griselda then seemed to recall something. "Oh, and you might want to switch your attire away from anything that would associate you with the Church. It will simply be easier for you that way as you're not required to act unless the situation calls for it."
"Then what does this have to do with the Holy Maiden?"
"That is your mission," Griselda said as she handed out a piece of parchment for him to read.
The mission required for him to investigate the circumstance of the Holy Maiden, and look out for her long enough for Griselda to investigate the circumstances of the Holy Maiden's exile. The mission itself was issued by Griselda.
"The mission is only the cover," Griselda explained after a moment. "The true purpose of your presence there is to verify something else, and by then, you should understand everything on your own."
Griselda then elaborated further.
Near the end of the conversation, he realized one thing though.
He would be going to Japan.
And more specifically,
He would be going back to school.
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