Chapter 6: The Knight of the Silver Arm

I—Hyoudou Issei—was visited by my childhood friend, Shidou Irina, who had moved abroad long ago.

Apparently, Irina became a warrior for the Church overseas and a Holy Sword user affiliated with the Protestants. I became a Devil, a servant of the Devil King's sister, while my childhood friend worked as a Church warrior and exorcist. I can't help but feel this is a strange twist of fate.

The reason Irina returned to this town wasn't just a casual visit home.

Excalibur, which was owned by the Church, had been stolen by the Fallen Angel organization, the 'Grigori' (Watchers of God's Children) executive, Kokabiel. Irina and her partner, Xenovia, came to this town to retrieve Excalibur.

Right now, we are in negotiations at the Occult Research Club room of Kuoh Academy with Rias Gremory-sama, a High-Class Devil who holds this town as her territory and is my master. No, it's more than just a negotiation. The club room is filled with volatile tension.

Excalibur is an amazing sword that appears in legends, but it was broken in an ancient war. It was recovered by the Church and resurrected, divided into seven pieces. The Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Church each hold two pieces, and the remaining one has been missing for a long time.

The reason Irina and her group contacted us—the Gremory peerage, which controls this town—was the discovery that Kokabiel was hiding here. And it was to order us not to interfere with their efforts to retrieve Excalibur from Kokabiel. I initially thought they were offering cooperation, but it seems the rift between the Church and Devils is deeper than imagined.

According to Xenovia, the higher-ups in the Church suspect that Devils might also be involved in this incident, not just Fallen Angels. Being told not to interfere by the enemy Church and being suspected of having ties to Fallen Angels has made the President (Buchou) incredibly ill-tempered.

The reason Kokabiel caused the incident seems to be related to an agreement concerning strange monsters that appeared in the Underworld. Pillar-like masses of flesh that rampaged wildly in the Underworld and attacked the founding generation of High-Class Devils. It seemed like the matter was settling on the idea that these pillars of flesh were also related to the church attack incident. Since their true nature was too mysterious, there was a movement to form an agreement among the Three Factions to deal with these creatures, which apparently displeased Kokabiel. Kokabiel is a warmonger, they say. I can't understand it; I think peace is the best.

If those monsters that rampaged in the Underworld could be dealt with quickly, the President wouldn't have any issue attending school in the human world. So, I wish they'd defeat them quickly, but it looks like the problem will drag on because of Kokabiel. Irina's group's demands must be a precaution precisely because the agreement was about to be made. They might be thinking, "We really can't trust Devils or Fallen Angels."

In addition to the unwarranted demands from the Church and the President's foul mood, the fact that Irina and her group possessed Excalibur was a problem. Kiba, a fellow peerage member, had a connection to Excalibur and its related past.

In the past, a top-secret human experiment was conducted within the Church—the Holy Sword Project. It was a plan to allow limited individuals to use the Holy Sword through artificial means. Kiba was one of the test subjects, but he was judged incompatible, a failure, and disposed of. However, Kiba was picked up by the President and is now living as a Devil. The President wanted him to forget his hatred for the Holy Sword and live on... but now the real things have appeared. And it's not just the two in front of us. The four pieces that Kokabiel allegedly stole must also be somewhere in this town. It was only natural for Kiba's hatred to resurface. Even now, he's glaring at Irina and Xenovia with intense eyes.

Oh man, no more trouble, please. Please restrain yourself, Kiba. Where is your usual cool self?

Worrying about Kiba, who was overflowing with killing intent, the President questioned Irina's group.

"So, are the two of you the only personnel from the Church?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Several priests should have been dispatched already, but it seems they were taken out by Kokabiel's followers."

"What?! You're going to challenge a Fallen Angel recorded in the Bible with just the two of you? Are you planning to die?"

"Don't mock our faith. Right, Xenovia?"

"Well, yeah. The higher-ups have decided to stop Kokabiel, even if it means destroying Excalibur. Our mission is, at minimum, to prevent Excalibur from falling into the hands of the Fallen Angel. Our lives are not too precious for that. Only Excalibur can defeat Excalibur."

Is this what faith is? Truly, I don't understand it.

"For that matter, aren't there any envoys from the Orthodox Church? Didn't the Orthodox Church have both of its Holy Swords stolen?"

"Ah. They've decided to observe the situation quietly. The Orthodox Church likely has the fighting power to rival Excalibur, but they probably don't want to escalate the damage any further."

Yes, the Orthodox Church had both of its two Excalibur pieces stolen. One was stolen at the same time as the other bases, and the second report came in just before Irina and Xenovia arrived at the club room.

"Targeting the time we arrived in Japan suggests that Kokabiel must be aware of our movements."

"Indeed. The possibility of an attack by a third party, other than the Fallen Angel, at such a timing when you are about to negotiate with me, is too much of a coincidence."

The President said this, acting as if such a possibility was absurd to even consider. Well, at this timing, it could only be Kokabiel targeting the Holy Sword.

"Are you suggesting that information has leaked from us Devils?"

"Ah. You can't deny it, can you? They say the mastermind who attacked the Church rampaged against the 72 Pillars' founders in the Underworld, but that story is also suspicious. They might be setting a trap for us—that's what my superior said. Well, I think it's suspicious, too. If it is the Lord's will, I will obey."

The conversation with Irina and Xenovia ended there, but Kiba was the problem.

After various complications, Kiba fought Xenovia in a secret mock battle. But he lost. He couldn't even touch the Holy Sword he was fated to clash with, and he looked incredibly frustrated.

...I never imagined I'd see Irina and Xenovia begging in the town the next day. Apparently, Irina was tricked into buying some graffiti-like painting. I wanted to hold my head. I ended up treating them to a meal at a family restaurant, and my wallet suddenly felt very light...

Into a lake in England—the promised land of Avalon—a single sword was thrown. The beautifully shining sword pierced the water's surface from its tip as if sucked in. And then, it sank straight to the bottom.

The one who threw the sword was a knight.

His appearance was that of a blonde youth. He was tall and masculine, yet possessed a beauty that could be mistaken for a woman's. His demeanor was gentle, but his eyes held a strong will. What stood out most was his right arm. It looked like a silver gauntlet at first glance, but it was actually a prosthetic arm. A very special one at that.

This knight was the culprit behind the recent attack on the Orthodox Church. And what he threw into the lake was a seized—no, a recovered—Excalibur. If others were present, they would surely have questioned him about what he was doing. But he would proudly reply: This is the correct action.

He was outnumbered. Though he was a Servant possessing strength far surpassing that of humans, facing an entire organization alone was taxing. This struggle was also due to the self-imposed limit of not wanting to needlessly harm his opponents.

Compared to the barbarians the knight fought in his lifetime, this was nothing. The Roman army and the Picts were much more ruthless creatures.

It was fortunate that High-Class Angels and above did not have time to be dispatched. While the 'Solar Knight' or the 'Lake Knight' could have done something, it was impossible for this knight alone to face the monstrous beings written about in the Bible.

The knight, aware of this, let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"Six more to go."

The knight recalled the attack on the Orthodox Church. Judging by the response at the time, the other Excalibur piece that should have been at the Orthodox Church had been stolen by someone else. Not just the Orthodox Church, but the Holy Swords of the Catholics and Protestants also seemed to have been taken in a similar manner. Although he, who was officially considered a thief, might not have the right to say it, what a failure! To brazenly use the King's Sword and yet fail to manage it properly?

The knight merely gazed at the water's surface where the ripples had vanished.

"I must kill my King once more."

The knight's name is Bedivere. He is a Heroic Spirit summoned from another world and one of the Knights of the Round Table who was with King Arthur until the very end. The knight who is said to have returned Arthur's Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake.

The history of King Arthur in this world deviated severely from what Bedivere knew. He heard that the Pendragon family was intact and that Caliburn was also preserved. Moreover, the Excalibur he was supposed to have returned was divided into seven pieces, stored by the three factions of the Church, with the whereabouts of one piece unknown.

It is not difficult to imagine the emotions that must have flared up in his heart when he learned this information.

He understands that this is an overreach. He doesn't know if it's truly right. But any Knight of the Round Table, even if it wasn't him, would have done the same thing if they came to this world. Even the treacherous Knight has that possibility. If so, he cannot afford not to do it.

Though its performance was degraded, that sword was undoubtedly Excalibur. He did not believe the Spirit of the Lake would agree to negotiations with the Church. They do not possess such personalities. Did his counterpart in this world, Bedivere, fail to return the King's Sword? Did he hesitate, just as he himself had on the third attempt? Or did he perish before he could return it? Either way—

“—I will return the King’s Sword to the Spirit on behalf of the me of this world.”

If it was divided into seven, then he would return it seven times. This time, he would not hesitate even once.

"Report from Amon, representing the Nine Pillars of the Observing Star: It is still possible that the being called the God of the Bible is weakened or has perished. Despite the Three Factions attempting to form an agreement to oppose us, there is no movement from God. If God were alive and well, there would be no need for such an agreement. It couldn't even be formed."

"Notification from Goetia: The validity of the hypothesis will become clear upon the conclusion of the Three Factions' agreement or the commencement of war. Any further speculation would be wasted effort. Therefore, the special mission of the Nine Pillars of the Observing Star is canceled. Resume the temporarily suspended work."

"Report from Gaap: The Knight of the Round Table, Bedivere, has been confirmed. It has also been determined that he was responsible for the attack on the Orthodox Church."

"Inference from Malphas: His objective is Excalibur. Given his legend and the current situation of this world, nothing else is conceivable."

"Proposal from Shax: Kokabiel's actions are going according to plan, but the knight's intervention could cause deviation. We should deal with him before he can interfere."

"Rebuttal from Halphas: Kokabiel's value has concluded. The start of the war is only a matter of time. There is no need for us to interfere with that knight."

"Agreement from Uvall: To gauge the response capabilities of the Three Factions, we do not need to intervene. Even if there is a battle with Kokabiel, and even if Kokabiel is defeated, the possibility of deviation in our plan is low."

"Proposal from Gremory: Considering his objective, there is a possibility that I might come into contact with him during the operation. I propose to handle him at that time."

"Decision from Goetia: Gremory will be in charge of interfering with Bedivere. However, the success of negotiations will not be required."

"Proposal from Allocer: Florence Nightingale is performing admirably, but she is deviating from the original purpose. A Heroic Spirit with a more universal perspective is needed. We should begin preparations for the next summoning."

"Concern from Ipos: It has already been decided that a Heroic Spirit is necessary to ensure the success of our plan. However, we should avoid any further careless summoning. It could become a factor in the breakdown of the plan."

"Proposal from Eligos: In that case, we should summon a Heroic Spirit of Wisdom. Even if not to the extent of the King of Mages, there were Heroic Spirits on that planet who had the aspects of philosophers and thinkers."

"Proposal from Hagenti: Since we are saving this era, we should avoid ancient or near-ancient Heroic Spirits."

"Request from Baal: I have a technique I wish to test."

"Decision from Goetia: The next summoning will be based on the premise of summoning a Caster from the Modern or Contemporary era. Baal will be in command of the summoning."

"Goetia, I have something to say."

"...Ophis. As you can see, we are busy. Go practice the Reality Marble I taught you the other day."

"I, Reality Marble, learned. New silence, obtained."

"............What did you say?"

"Hehe."