DxD : Emiya Shirou

"And why is that Son of Man?" He looking at me strangely, as if he was expecting to see something in particular but found himself being confronted by something else entirely.

"Simple," I jerked a thump at myself, "it's because I'm a hero. The real thing."

...

He just stared at me dumbfound, as if I had grew a second head, eyes wide open in surprise. Then he began to laugh. And I mean really laugh, as in 'he laughed so hard that he had to prop his hands on his knees to keep himself from falling over' kind of laugh.

I felt my cheeks burn as I watched the Angel hyperventilate from laughter. It was not the first time I had someone laugh at my dream, not even close, but it felt different this time. Not sure if it was because I'm a Devil now or because it was an Angel laughing at me but it was embarrassing.

After what felt like hours Kokabiel's laughter finally subsided, though he still let out the occasional chuckle. "Let me say it again," He said all the while smiling at me teary eyed," I can't help but adore your kind. And though our acquaintance may have been a short one. I am truly glad to have met you.

"So I guess this is goodbye Son of-… no. Goodbye Shirou."

"Goodbye Kokabiel." I replied and with one final bow he was gone.

Just the instant before he left I did something that I was always loathed to do, I looked into his soul. It was just for a brief instant but it was still enough for me to get my answer.

Why did Angels fall?

Some fell willingly, others fell unknowingly. I had been told there were only those two reason, yet today it seems I had discovered another.

Loyalty

When I looked into his soul, into the heart of his being that was the one thing that I could see. It eclipsed everything. To his duty, to his people, but most importantly to his Father. Enough loyalty that he had willing Fell to make sure Heaven remained safe.

By becoming a spy in the enemy camp.

Who had ever heard of such an absurd thing? An Angel who fell from Heaven to protect it.

He and all who followed him allowed their wings to be stained black, to be reviled and hate by their brothers and sisters by very people he was trying to protect, and yet he did it all with a smile.

Even after he saw his father, his reason for living, fall and die before him he did not stop. He still fought on, loyal though the one he was loyal to was already gone.

For a moment his back was imposed with that of an archer in red. Even when it betrayed them they still followed their Ideal to the bitter end. It looked like even if I did nothing, he had no intention of breaking Asia' promise. Just like him, Kokabiel will face his end with a smile.

...

Above me the full-moon hung bare in the cloudless night sky. What little stars that could be seen were faded little specks, their brightness dulled and diluted by the city lights. Propping myself up with my arms behind me I gazed onto the moon from the rooftop of my house as I waited for everything to begin.

Moon watching. Kiritsugu used to do it all the time though I never did understand the appeal of it back then, I still don't to be honest. Still, it's not bad to do it from time to time and it's not like I had anything better to do while I waited.

Gasper and Asia were asleep in bed. I didn't want them to get caught up in this mess so I made sure to not let anything slip on what was happening. I wasn't sure I could keep them away if they knew. 

I also activated the defensive Bounded Field that was placed around the house. It should stop anyone from entering or exiting the building, at least for a time, and hopefully prevent the two of them from sensing any magical discharge from the upcoming fight.

Now all that was left was to wait. That was one of the good things about the way I fought, I never needed time to prepare. I was more or less my own walking armory after all. Unfortunately it often left me with a lot of free time before a battle to think.

The Devils guarding the town aren't aware of the upcoming showdown simply because there was nothing they could do to help. If they got in the middle of a fight between Kokabiel and me they'd get slaughtered at best or get in my way at worst. There was going to be more than enough death tonight, no need to pile up the body count even more.

And as much as I trusted Kokabiel to keep his words, I didn't want to risk driving him into a corner. Seeing a horde of Devils converging onto the city might be enough to send him into a panic where he would either enacts whatever plan he has cooked up early or worse, he decides to go with the original plan of using his elite guards to assassinate the girls.

As much as I hated to admit it, I had no way of stopping him if he decided to do that. Those four guards of his, I couldn't keep track of them even when they were standing in front of me. 

They may have not been strong, I'm sure even Kiba can fight probably take two of them at the same time and win, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. It doesn't matter how skilled you are in battle or how much magic you can bring down at an opponent, a knife slicing your throat as you sleep will kill both the strong and the weak just as easily.

That was one of the things I never truly understood about the Holy Grail War. Assassin Class was perhaps the most dangerous of all the Servant Classes despite its reputation as the weakest. 

They can remain hidden whenever you're ready for them and attack when you're at your weakest. No matter how diligent a Servant guards his Master, there is no way they can keep their guard up indefinably. 

I was convinced that the Holy Grail War would have been won long ago if a competent and determined Master had ever summon an Assassin Class servant.

It was good thing that Kokabiel agreed to keep those four out of it. That was actually one of two reasons why I accepted his terms. The second reason was that he had offered me an all or nothing showdown, which was much better than anything I could have hoped for otherwise. 

In war, or even a skirmish, a true victory is a rare thing. Even if you win a battle or the entire war the losses tended to be catastrophic. There are always comrades to bury, friends that were lost.

But here Kokabiel has offered me a chance to avoid that. A way to win without sacrificing anything or anyone. If it meant that I'd lose everything if I was defeated well, how was that different from how it has always been? That has-

A wave of magic crashed over me, interrupting my thoughts. I looked towards the direction that I sensed the magic originate from, or at least the closest one. There were, as far as I can tell, at least a dozen sources and they were positioned all around me.

Most of them were too far out of my range to accurately sense but the nearest one was just close enough for me to tell it was located at the very edge of the city limits. Even from I stood on top of my roof it was still too far for me to see, and I was just as I was about to reinforce my eyes when whatever spell they were casting activated.

A wall of blue light, seemingly made up of a hexagon patterned slabs, emerged from the edge of the horizon. Not just at the point I was starting at but from all around me. They kept rising up like a curtain being raise all while curving inwards until they converged, forming a dome over the city. For a moment the dome appeared to grow brighter before fading away so it could no longer be seen, though I could still sense it was there.

So it looks like it begins.

While I was no expert, it was painful obvious that the dome was meant to keep anyone entering or leaving the city. I guess Kokabiel didn't want anyone interfering in our fight. And from the familiar sensation I'm getting, it looks like the dome blocked all forms of teleportation magic within the city as well.

"Emiya-sama."

I whirled around at the sound, instinctively summoning Kanshou and Bakuya in my hands as I did so. I barely resisted hurling them at the kneeling figure behind me, and that was only because I realized he was unarmed and recognized him as one of Kokabiel's guards.

What the hell were these guys, freaking ninjas? I knew they were good at sneaking around but did they have to give me a heart-attack every time they showed up?

He was kneeling with one fist one the ground while he had his other arm resting on his upright knee. He hadn't shifted an inch even after I had drawn my weapons, just staring at the ground before him as he spoke.

"Emiya-sama," He repeated. He has a surprisingly soft voice, one that belied his appearance. "Kokabiel-sama sends his regards and wishes to inform you that the he will be waiting for you in Kuoh Academy's courtyard. He also advises you to hurry, it appears that some of the Devils have already arrived earlier than we had anticipated."

I was already moving before he finished speak. Dismissing the blades I turned and leapt of the edge of the roof as far as my reinforced limbs would take me before unfurling my wings and flying as fast as I can towards the School.

Even from as far away as I was I could already flashes of light from the distant hill of the school. The battle had already begun.

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