"Where are we?" Saji asked.

The group that consisted of Saji, Tsubasa, and Yuuto had arrived at an abandoned manor on the outskirts of the city. "Me and the others in Buchou's group fought a stray devil here not long after Izuku, Ibara and Momo joined," Yuuto explained. "There's a chance that they could be here."

They walked towards the building but stopped that instant when a chill ran through their bodies. It was killing intent, and it was aimed at them. No one made a sound, as they looked around with the greatest of caution. The only sound to be heard was the wind and the rustling of the tree's leaves.

Saji looked around, before looking upwards. That's when he saw the source of the killing intent. "Up there!" He shouted, pointing up. When they all looked up, they saw a familiar white-haired boy priest falling down with a long sword.

"YAHOOOOO!" Freed shouted in murderous glee.

Yuuto quickly summoned his demonic-sword out and blocked Freed's slash. The white-haired boy then jumped and flipped backwards, before landing on the building. "Well, what do we have here? Some maggot devils playing dress-up?"

"Freed!" Yuuto growled.

Freed blinked a couple of times before he recognized Yuuto. "Oh hey, I remember you! You're one of the Shit Dragon Emperor's pals, right? Where's the midget and that glasses-wearing blond?"

"They're not here," Yuuto replied, creating a demonic sword. "And I don't need them to beat you!"

"Oh, really?" Freed asked. "Ya know, I caught you all at a great time. I just got back from a boring night of priest hunting and I need some fun!" He laughed, brandishing his weapon before the three young devils.

Saji and Tsubasa felt chills run down their spins while Yuuto's eyes hardened at the sight of the bright holy aura the blade was producing. "That light… There's no mistaking it!"

"Oh shit!" Saji cursed, readying his Sacred Gear.

Tsubasa didn't waste any time in sending a text message to Izuku along with their location. She just hoped that he and the others get here soon.

*ring ring*

The sound of Izuku's phone ringing caught everyone's attention. Quickly taking it out, Izuku saw that Tsubasa had sent him a messaged, accompanied by a GPS map location.

Tsubasa: We found him! Get here quickly!

"They found Freed!" Izuku exclaimed.

This caught Raynare's attention. "What did he say?"

"You know him?" Higuchi asked.

Griselda gritted her teeth. If the other group did indeed locate Freed, then they need to hurry. But first, they needed to get away from these Mafiosi. Griselda's hand began to glow. "Cover your eyes!" She yelled, several small spheres sprouting out of the palm of her hand. The group did so, tough the devils wondered what Griselda was planning.

As were the Port Mafia. "Huh? What are-?"

*FLOSH!*

Higuchi's question was cut off when the spheres suddenly exploded, filling they alleyway with a blinding light.

Higuchi and Raynare screamed as they shielded their eyes, Akutagawa's Rashomon shielding his. Soon the light faded. When it did, the group was gone.

"They're gone!" Higuchi said.

"I'll get them!" Raynare was about to fly after them, but Akutagawa stopped her.

"Stop, Raynare," Akutagawa commanded. "Let them go."

"We're just letting them get away!?" Raynare hissed.

"Of course not," Akutagawa replied. "From the sounds of things, it appears that they're looking for the same prey as us. If that is the case, then it would be best to follow them for now. Eventually, they'll lead us straight to the rabbit."

At the old manor, the sounds of metal clashing against each other rang loudly. In a bright flash of sparks, both Yuuto and Freed reappeared in the middle as the collected rain poured around them, both of them trying to overpower the other with their blades. Freed cackled with his tongue hanging out as Yuuto glared with his teeth gritted.

"So you're not a little scrawny ass shitstain anymore, I see," Freed laughed. "But up against my little Excalibur…" as soon as Yuuto came down with his sword, Freed swung hard and shattered Holy Eraser to bits.

"Gah!?" Yuuto gritted his teeth.

"…Your demonic swords ain't nothing to write home about!" Freed grinned menacingly.

"Damn!" Yuuto frowned as he backed up, another Holy Eraser already forming in his hand, "I'm not done yet!"

"Already up for more, bitch?" Freed laughed, planting his sword on the ground in front of him. "Go ahead! I'll bust all the swords you throw at me!"

"Not if I can't help it! Absorption Line!" Saji pointed his gauntlet at Freed and shot his rope. Freed twisted around and swung his sword to cut the rope, but it looped around him and wrapped itself on his leg. It glowed blue right away.

"What the shit!? This stupid rope is draining my energy!" Freed exclaimed, attempting to cut the line again to no avail.

"How do you like that!?" Saji exclaimed, holding onto the line tightly. "My Sacred Gear will drain you until you're out cold!"

"I fuckin' hate dragon types!" Freed screamed, doing his best to cut the line, to no avail. "Where's an ice or fairy type when you need it!? Still, it doesn't matter in the end," he licked his blade before charging at Yuuto. "Your weapons are still no match for my holy sword!" He raised the Excalibur high above his head, his sadistic smile returning to his face. "Now…DIE!" he bellowed as he brought it down fast on top of Yuuto.

*CHING!*

The sword was intercepted before reaching it reached its target by a certain blue-haired Holy sword user who seemed to appear out of nowhere and blocked the potentially fatal blow mere inches from striking a downed Yuuto.

"You are a traitor to the church Freed and shall be punished accordingly," Xenovia hissed with utter contempt for the insane man before her as she continued to hold back Freed's blade before he jumped away.

"Where'd she come from!?" Saji exclaimed.

"Hey! Are you guys alright?" Milia called.

"Guys!" Yuuto was pleasantly surprised by everyone's arrival.

"We got your message, Yura-san!" Izuku greeted.

Tsubasa smiled, but then her eyes wide in shock. "Midoriya, what happened?!" Tsubasa exclaimed upon seeing Izuku's damaged wing.

"We'll explain later!" Griselda said. "Is Freed secured?"

"For now!" Saji answered. "I'll try to weaken him so you guys can finish him off!"

"I'd rather destroy the Excalibur. But as much as I hate to admit it, Saji has a point. Freed's far too dangerous," Yuuto created two different demonic swords, both charged with demonic energy.

"Hmm. Sword Birth huh?" Another person spoke up. When they all looked in the direction of the voice, there stood was an old man wearing priest clothes. He had gray hair, a mustache, black eyes, and wore glasses.

"…Is that you, old-man Valper?" Freed asked.

Yuuto's eyes widened in both recognition and rage. "Valper Galilei!"

Griselda's eyes narrowed. "That's him…" she growled.

"Freed. What are you doing?" Valper asked.

"This guy's weird lizard tongue is making it hard for me to kill these cockbites!" Freed snapped, trying to cut the Absorption Line again. "And these shitty devils teamed up with hunters from the Vatican and they're giving me a hard time!"

"Still immature in using Excalibur, I see," Valper sighed. "Just imbued your sword with the holy factor that I've granted you."

"Yeah, yeah," Freed grunted in understanding, getting some distance to focus on his sword. As the sword started to glow in brighter golden energy, Freed grinned in anticipation. "Oh, so I do it like this?" Freed cut through the Absorption Line with ease.

"I won't let you get away!" Yuuto charged at Freed, swinging both swords at the insane exorcist.

Freed easily blocked Yuuto's attack. "Sorry, Pretty Cockbite, but you'll have to do better than that!" Freed proceeded to push Yuuto back. "Now, how about I-!"

Suddenly, several black blades shot out of the ground, each aiming at Freed. Within a couple of seconds, they had skewered him… or at least the coat Freed was wearing.

Yuuto gasped. "What the-!"

"Holy FUCK! That was close!" Freed breathed heavily, landing on the roof not far from Valper, sporting a couple of scratches and torn clothing. "Who nearly ruined my perfect face?!"

"If you ask me, it would've been an improvement!"

Izuku shivered at hearing the voice. Turning, he and the others saw Akutagawa, his Rashomon still embedded into the ground, Higuchi and the source of the voice, Raynare.

"What the- They followed us?!" Irina gasped.

"Oh hey! It's my old boss!" Freed laughed. "How've you been? I heard you became someone's dog. Kinda disappointed that you're fully dressed and not begging on your knees."

Raynare's eye twitched.

"Tell me… Are you the ones who stole the Excaliburs?" Akutagawa asked.

"Uh, duh!" Freed mocked. "What's it to you?"

"Rashomon: Murakumo!"

Freed's eyes went wide as Akutagawa's coat created a giant clawed hand, which was currently heading straight for him. He jumped out of the way right as the clawed hand hit. It easily tore through the manor's structure before retreating back to Akutagawa's coat.

"Who the hell are they!?" Saji exclaimed pointing at the three Port Mafiosi. "And why are they so scary!?"

"They're with the Port Mafia," Izuku answered. "And the black-haired woman is a fallen angel."

"What?!" Saji started the shed tears of fear. "Why are they here?!"

"We'll explain later! Focus on the heretic!" Griselda yelled.

"Fuck and piss!" Freed shouted as he found himself bombarded by blades from Xenovia, Irina, and Yuuto. Even with the Absorption Line wrapped around his leg, Freed didn't have much of a problem fighting them off.

ROAR!

That is until he saw a giant black maw rushing toward him. Freed jumped into the air to avoid the attack, which nearly hit the two exorcists and Yuuto. Freed would've laughed at them had two more black streaks attacked him. Freed managed to deflect one with his Excalibur but had to use the blade to block the other one.

"FUUUUUUCK!" Freed cried as Rashomon's tendril smashed him into a wall.

Freed growled as he got on his hands and knees, holding his stomach with one arm. He glared up at Akutagawa in fury. "You fucker!" Milia, Koneko, Saji, Tsubasa, Xenovia, and Irina surrounded the two excommunicated priests, not allowing them a chance to escape.

Freed stood up again, getting ready to fight. "You're done," Valper told him, puzzling the boy priest. The old man looked at him with a smile. "All you have to do was get rid of the vermin from the Church. Easy." Valper looked at the odd group before them. "But you're outnumbered, and I wasn't planning on them working with devils or for the infamous Port Mafia showing up. Time to pull back."

"Fine!" Freed huffed but obeyed nonetheless, pulling out a small ball. "That's all folks! SEE YA!" He threw it down, which turned out to be a flashbang.

When then the ball hit the ground, it caused a large bright light that covered the whole area and blinded everyone's eyes. By the time they regained their sight, Freed and Valper were gone.

"Damn it! After them!" Griselda cursed. "They couldn't have gotten far!"

"Right!" Xenovia and Irina said as they followed the older exorcists.

"I'm going to find Valper!" Yuuto decided, jumping over another building.

"Wait, Yuuto-san!" Izuku called out, but Yuuto ignored him as he ran after the exorcists.

The three Port Mafia members silently followed, ignoring the remaining devils for the most part, but Raynare spared them a glance before following.

"We totally lost Kiba, didn't we?" Saji asked.

"The exorcists are gone too," Koneko added.

"And the Port Mafia's in the city also," Tsubasa said. "This just got more complicated than needed."

"What do we do now, Midoriya-kun?" Milia asked.

Izuku opened his mouth to answer… and quickly froze as he felt a foreboding presence behind him. From the way the others reacted, they felt it too.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

"Izuku, Koneko… what are you doing here?"

"Saji, Tsubasa, please explain…"

Their masters had arrived.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Ravel exclaimed. The second Rias saw Izuku's wing, she had Ravel come as quickly as she could with a Phenex Tear. "How exactly were you going to explain this, huh?!"

Izuku only hung his head low as Ravel dripped the Phenex Tears on where his wing had been ripped off.

Once the area began to glow pink, Ravel gently placed the decapitated wing back where it belonged. Within a second Izuku's wing was whole again, but the area where it was severed had a long scare along where it happened, and the membrane of the wing had tiny holes.

"It didn't heal fully?" Koneko asked.

"I was afraid of this," Ravel explained. "If the Phenex Tears were applied right away there wouldn't be any problems, but because this happened several minutes ago, it wasn't able to heal properly."

"Still, to do something like attempt to destroy Excalibur behind my back…" Rias shook her head in disappointment. "And to top it off, Raynare's back and the Port Mafia are in the city. And now Yuuto's missing. Do you have any idea where he's at?"

"He went looking Freed, along with the three exorcists," Izuku replied. "The Port Mafia followed."

"Why in the world would you do this?" Rias asked.

"I just wanted to help," Izuku answered.

"And what about you, Koneko?" Rias continued, looking over at the girl in question. "Why did you agreed to this?"

"…I just didn't want to lose Yuuto-senpai," Koneko admitted meekly.

A downcast look appeared over Rias' face, fully understanding where she was coming from. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," she said, kneeling down before them. "But there could have been very serious consequences if anything went wrong."

"We're… sorry, Buchou," both Izuku and Koneko apologize as they hung their heads.

"I'm sorry Kaichou…" Saji's face became so blue that it was dangerous. He was truly scared.

"I'm sorry, too," Tsubasa said, more accepting of her punishment.

"I'm so sorry," Milia said.

SLAP!

The sound caused Izuku to look at the direction it came from.

Saji was on his hands and knees, getting his butt spanked by Sona, while Tsubasa stood next to them, looking a little scared. However, Sona's hand was going off a blue glow. "Looks like you need to reflect upon your actions," the young bespectacled woman said, before spanking her Pawn's ass again.

"Uwaaaaaaan!" Saji cried out in agony. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

"Not yet. Not until both you and Tsubasa have received 1000 spankings."

All color began to drain from Tsubasa at Sona's statement.

"Well now, what to do with you," Kudelia hummed in thought. "Should I follow Sona's example? Or…" she smiled devilishly. "Should I do that?"

Milia's jaw dropped. "Nono! Not that! Anything but THAT!"

"Spankings it is~!"

SLAP! SLAP!

"Kyaaah!"

Izuku flinched with each spank that echoed in the building. By the looks of it, it seemed quite painful.

"Hey," he heard, feeling his cheek getting pulled by Rias, who gave him an annoyed glare. "Don't look away from me."

"Zarry!" Izuku apologized.

Rias let his cheek go with a sigh. "But seriously, though," a smile appeared on her face. "You both really are troublesome. Making me worry like that." She pulled both Izuku and Koneko into a hug, pressing their heads against her bosom, "I've already sent devils from my Household to find Yuuto. Once he's located, we can retrieve him."

"Y… yeah," Izuku blushed, entranced from the softness of her breasts.

"Hai… Buchou," Koneko smiled softly.

Ravel silently stood by fuming.

"You have got to be kidding me! Why are they getting off so lightly?! OW!" Saji whined over his punishment.

"Rias has her ways, and I have mine," Sona replied coldly. "Only 980 more to go. Then we move onto Tsubasa."

SLAP!

Izuku couldn't help but feel lost in the warmth and softness of his master.

"OK, Izuku, Koneko. Stick out your butts," he heard her suddenly say.

"Huh?" Izuku blinked as he and Koneko backed away. The mood in the atmosphere had suddenly become… unpleasant. "But… I thought…"

"It's still the duty of the master to discipline her servants," Rias said as her hand glowed in a red aura, a dangerously sadistic smile on her face, "That'll be one thousand spanks for both of you! Oh, and since all this was your idea, Izuku, you get an additional thousand spanks."

"Two thousand spanks?!" Izuku gulped.

That day, Midoriya Izuku's ass died.

Irina, Xenovia, and Griselda hurried after the stray exorcist and priest. They had lost sight of both Yuuto and the Port Mafia. Their search soon led them to the front gate of a park. A really, big park.

Before them, there was a small parking lot, an even smaller restroom building, a picnic bench, a moderately impressive sign, and then a forest. Though the word didn't do it justice. Endoru Forest Park had been an industrial park about forty years ago.

A group of ecoterrorist villains decided to destroy all traces of industry. While the heroes at the time managed to stop them, the buildings were all damaged beyond repair. In the end, another group bought the land, removed all traces of industry, and brought in people with plant Quirks and similar abilities, turning the park into the recreational area it is today.

The park itself looked as if a section of the old California Redwood Forest had been transplanted to Japan. And it was unspoiled, cleaner than almost any other Japanese park. Though given its history and who managed it, Endoru did not get a lot of visitors, and the ones who did were more respectful than average.

In short, it was the perfect place to hide. Almost eighty square kilometers of woods where anyone can hide without notice. "You think they ran in here?" Irina asked, breathing heavily from all the running.

"This is where they were heading, and I saw Kiba run in," said Xenovia. "They have to be here."

"Stay close," Griselda went into the forest, Xenovia and Irina close behind. They walked through the woods for what felt like hours, each tree they came upon looking the exact same as the one they passed.

Eventually, the three exorcists stopped. "Where are we?" Irina asked.

Xenovia looked at their surroundings, noting a small hill to their north and a creek next to the trail they're on. "Everything here looks the same. If it wasn't for this trial we would be lost by now."

"Hold on," Griselda sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"

Sure enough, a faint stench was being carried by the wind. It would be unnoticeable to anyone else if they kept going. "What is that?" Xenovia asked.

Griselda, however, narrowed her eyes when she realized what that stench was. She had smelled it before, usually when she was assigned to kill a stray devil: rotting flesh.

"Stay behind me," she ordered. The two girls nodded as they followed Griselda, following the stench off the trail. Soon they came across a cave, far off from the trail. The overwhelming stench was coming from here.

"Ugh! What is that?!" Irina gagged. "Does this have to do with Freed or Valper?"

"I don't know," Griselda readied an arrow. "Stay here."

Xenovia watched as her guardian move closer until she was in the cave. She didn't like the idea of being left behind like this, but she trusted Griselda. So, with reluctance, she stayed behind with Irina and watched as Griselda entered the cave.

The two young exorcists waited for their superior, holding their breath. Eventually, Griselda stepped back out, but something was wrong. The elder exorcist actually stumbled out of the cave, almost in a daze. "Griselda?" Xenovia and Irina ran towards her in concern. It was obvious that Griselda wasn't hurt, and no sound came from the cave indicating a struggle. So then why does she look so… terrified?

"Miss Griselda?"

"Griselda!" Irina and Xenovia's calls brought her back to reality. "Griselda, are you okay? What happened?"

Griselda's eyes, once the shock was gone, were filled with rage. "I know who's been hiding out in this cave," she grimaced. "You two keep going after Freed and Valper. Don't wait up for me."

"What? Why?" Xenovia questioned, having never seen Griselda like this before.

"Miss Griselda, if something is bothering you, maybe we can help," Irina offered.

"No, you can't! Not against her," Griselda hissed.

"…Her?" Xenovia repeated.

"Just go!" Griselda told them before glaring into the forest. "This is something I gotta do," Griselda ran further into the forest, following some sort of trail.

Xenovia scowled as she and Irina watch Griselda disappear into the woods. She had an idea of who this 'her' is. But that didn't give Griselda the right to ignore both her and Irina.

"Xenovia, what do we do?" Irina asked.

Xenovia looked back at the trail, then looked to where Griselda had gone. A part of her knew that the mission to retrieve the Excaliburs came first, but an equal part of her wanted to help Griselda. Then she remembered how the Red Dragon Emperor helped her earlier, saying that he acted without thinking. With a determined look, Xenovia began to go after Griselda. "Come on."

Irina nodded, following Xenovia into the forest.

Griselda followed the trail as fast as she could. She knew that she had to do this by herself. A part of her did feel bad leaving Xenovia and Irina behind like that, and she knew that they weren't helpless. Xenovia and Irina were strong, but they were still inexperienced. No match against someone like her.

Speaking of, her tracks were still fresh. She couldn't be far. Griselda's target was definitely somewhere within these woods, no question. If she doesn't know that Griselda was here to, maybe it would be her chance to get the drop on her. The hunter would become the hunted.

As Griselda walked, she heard a strange sound and turned to look in shock, almost horror, at the sight of a tree being melted away by some form of acidic substance. The sight made her recall events she'd rather forget.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO

The village was practically destroyed. There was nothing left of it but the foundations and a few still standing walls. But an 18-year-old Griselda kept calm and confident as she ran by, contacting her fellow exorcists.

"Griselda here. Can anyone hear me?"

"{Griselda, you lost again? Your sense of direction could use some improvement.}" Her friend and mentor teased over the radio.

"So does your aim, Christos." Griselda teased back. "If you had taken care of those fallen angels back at the mine, I wouldn't have to break rank and engage the enemy hand-to-hand."

"{From the sound of things, I'm guessing you ran into some trouble?}"

"Nothing I couldn't handle. Try waiting up this time and I'll give you the play-by-play." Griselda responded as she took cover behind a wall. "What's your position?"

"{About half a klick north of the village, near a grotto,}" Christos responded. "{Think you can find it, sister?}"

"Trust me, Christos. My navigation skills are…" Griselda didn't get a chance to finish as she was suddenly pinned to a nearby wall by some form of web-like substance. She struggled but couldn't stop another patch of the same stuff from being shot to cover her face.

…

The next thing she knew, she was strung up by her arms via some webbing with her ankles webbed together. She struggled in her bonds, but they wouldn't budge.

And she wasn't alone. There was a woman as well; a spider-like woman. She walked around her captive, almost as if she was toying with her.

"Piece of advice, make yourself comfortable." Griselda's captor told her. "You're going to be here a while." She slowly traced her finger along Griselda's cheek, leaving a burn mark.

Not far away, the very same spider-woman that Izuku and the others faced several nights ago stalked the forest. Silently, she approached a small campsite, the light from it's dying fire still visible even from over 15 meters away, thanks to her enhanced eyesight. She could tell that whoever was at the camp was asleep. She didn't know who they were or why they decided to camp here. What mattered to her was that they were prey.

She inched closer to the camp, her spider legs carrying her over the forest floor without making a single sound. She knew that Kokabiel won't be happy she left her post, but she didn't care. The only reason she was even working with such an egocentric warmonger was because it gave her the chance to butcher and kill whoever she liked, assuming his war even starts. Either way, she needed to pass the time, and this was the perfect way to do so.

The closer she got, the more her bloodlust intensified. She could already feel it: the sensation of blood spilling over the ground as she gutted her prey, the feeling of the skin being removed from the body, the soothing sounds of the agonizing screams of terror, the look of hopelessness in their eyes as their life ends.

A small figure exited the tent. It was a little girl, no older than five. Lailah could no longer contain herself, ready to just rush forward and-

*CRASH!*

Something hit her in the side, knocking Lailah and whatever hit her over as they tumbled down a hillside, far away from the unsuspecting camp. They tumbled further onto they came to a stop on flat ground. Lailah quickly smoked whatever hit her off, which smacked against a nearby cliffside.

Getting up with her spider-legs, the woman saw who it was that attacked her. "Griselda!" She greeted in mild surprise. "Small world."

"Too small, Lailah!"

"You're still holding a grudge?" Lailah teased. "The Second European War has been over for years now."

"That still doesn't excuse what you did! Or have done!" Griselda stated, readying her bow. She remembered what she found in that cave: bodies of humans and other beings, all in various states of preservation. "I happened to find your souvenirs."

"You mean my trophies?" Lailah replied. "I collect unique and odd specimens. Be it humans, yokai, monsters, or something else. I came close to collecting the head of a witch a few nights ago, along with her devil friends, but they got away. Maybe I can add an exorcist's head to compensate?"

"Not gonna happen!"

Griselda notched an arrow and fired. Lailah smirked as she simply dodged to the side, but that smirk disappeared when she saw Griselda was right on her. She tackled Lailah to the ground and was about to stab her with an arrow, but Lailah was able to push Griselda off with her spider-legs.

Griselda growled as she fired several arrows at Lailah, but the spider-woman avoided all them and leapt in-between a pair of trees, her spider-legs keeping her in the air. But that didn't last.

Lailah gasped in shock when an arrow flew around her, draping her in some kind of wire. Looking down, she saw that the wire led directly to Griselda, who preceded to pull the spider-woman out of the tree. Lailah crashed hard on the ground, leaving her disorientated. Once she was on the ground, Griselda ran toward her hated enemy, her bow straightening into a staff.

With her bow as a bo staff, Griselda swung it, blocking and pushing back Lailah's spider-legs. After a few strikes, Lailah managed to block and hold onto the staff, but Griselda silly jumped up and delivered a hard kick, sending her back. She then jumped into the air, slamming hard down onto Lailah, pinning her. Taking the chance, Griselda grabbed and arrow, ready to stab Lailah right between the eyes.

However, right when she was about to finish Lailah off, they both heard the sound of rocks sliding as they looked back. There Xenovia and Irina were sliding down the hillside. Griselda gasped at the sight of them being here. Why were they here!? Why now?!

Lailah used this direction to lash one of her spider-legs at Griselda, knocking her back before getting up and shooting more webbing, pinning Griselda to the wall.

"Griselda!" Xenovia yelled, she and Irina about to run and help. Lailah turned to see the girls and gave a joyous yet sadistic hiss. Griselda used this brief distraction as she managed to free her arm, grab an arrow from her quiver, and threw it at Lailah.

Lailah caught it with ease, looking rather smug. She failed to notice the arrowhead open up and beep before it exploded, blasting the spider woman away.

Xenovia and Irina ran pass the downed Lailah to help Griselda. "I thought I told you to go after Freed and Valper!" She exclaimed.

"We couldn't just leave you!" Irina shot back.

"Yeah, especially if you were going to fight something like that!" Xenovia exclaimed as she and Irina tried to pry the webbing off Griselda.

"Just get out of here, I can handle it! If you stay you'll just become liabilities!" Griselda said.

"I don't believe you!" Xenovia stated. "I can see it in your eyes, Griselda. You're afraid," Griselda's look softened as Xenovia continued. "I've known you for years and you're never afraid. I don't know what that… monster did to make you so scared, but we're not gonna sit back and watch you fight this thing alone! That's not what friends do!"

At that particular comment, Griselda's worst horrible memory came back to her.

How long had she been here, being tortured by her sadistic and cruel captor? Hours? Days? It was all a blur. She had endured so much, yet Griselda didn't say a single word, other than the occasional curse or voice of defiance.

Lailah actually seemed impressed by her prisoner's tenacity. "You know, for a human, your reliance is quite impressive. I even told you the truth about God and me, and you still hold on." Griselda offered no response. "In fact, I'm guessing that no matter what I do to you, you'll never crack. Am I right?"

Griselda glared at her captor.

"That's what I thought." Lailah actually smiled at that before snapping her fingers. A pair of what Griselda assumed to be stray exorcists entered the room, dragging in a badly beaten man.

Griselda's look of defiance quickly gave way to shock. She recognized who it was. "Chr…Christos?"

Christos groaned as the stray exorcists dragged him next to Griselda and strung him up by his arms with Lailah's webs.

"What have you done to him?!" Griselda demanded.

"Not much, yet…" Lailah warned. "Just tell me what I want to know, or… well, you're a smart girl. I think you can imagine what happens to Christos next."

"I don't know where the Excaliburs are," Griselda stated. Lailah frowned in response as she stepped closer to Christos. "I swear by the names of God, Jesus, and Mary that it's the truth!"

"We'll see~!" Lailah sang mockingly as she stopped in front of Christos, one of her spider-legs reeling back.

"No! Please!" Griselda begged. But it fell on deaf ears.

Lailah gave a sadistic hiss before butchering Christos, right in front of Griselda's eyes.

"CHRISTOS!"

Griselda's expression was one of absolute fear, not just from that horrible memory she'd never be able to forget, but the strong possibility of it repeating here and now.

"You're right Xenovia! I am afraid! Of losing you!"

That caught the two girls by surprise, Xenovia especially as she looked at her guardian in shock.

"You sure have trouble hanging onto those close to you, don't you?" Lailah taunted as she got back up. "We both know what happened to Christos, but I can't imagine how many more partners or friends you lost both during the war and the years since then, either at the hands of fallen angels and devils or because they became strays. At some point you really have to ask yourself Griselda; is it them? Or is it me?"

"Xenovia, Irina! You need to get out of here!" Griselda told them, "Just go! RUN!"

Lailah fired more webbing at Griselda, trapping her even more onto the wall. So, with great reluctance, Irina took hold of Xenovia's hand and ran as fast as she could.

"Irina! Let me go!" Xenovia protested as she was dragged away.

Lailah chuckled as she walked ever-so-close to Griselda. "And that's why I prefer to work alone," she jammed one of her spider-legs into the wall close to Griselda's face as she slowly danced around her. "It's so sad when bad things happen to those closest to you," she trailed her finger under Griselda's chin as she crawled around her, hanging upside down as she continued to taunt her. "But don't worry, I fully intend to end your life. And I promise I will make it hurt. But…" Griselda's eyes widen in fear at the drawn-out 'but' as Griselda turned to look at the girls, "…That won't compare to the pain you'll feel knowing I'm adding your little 'Xenovia' and her friend to my collection."

Xenovia looked back at Griselda as she and Irina ran up the hillside. She desperately wanted to stay and help her, but Irina wouldn't let her as she continued to drag Xenovia away from Griselda and Lailah. All she could do right now was glare at the monster before running into the woods.

Lailah chuckled darkly to herself as she jumped off the wall and followed the girls.

Griselda could only watch and scream in terror, powerless as Lailah began her hunt.

The moon shined brightly over Endoru Forest Park, giving the forest an eerie feel as Irina continued to lead Xenovia away from Lailah and Griselda. "Let me go already!" Xenovia continued to protest. "How can you just leave Griselda behind like that?!"

"I'm not!" Irina snapped, stopping and turning to look directly at Xenovia. "You saw that thing. This isn't some stray devil! We need an actual plan to take her down."

Xenovia was taken aback by her partner's response. But now that she had a moment to cool down, she saw that Irina was right. They won't be able to beat someone like Lailah without any sort of plan.

"That's the spirit girls! Play hard to get." They heard Lailah tease.

Xenovia glared at the direction Lailah was, wanting nothing more to wipe that smug look off her face. "What do you have in mind?"

Lailah continued to stalk and follow after the two. While she did lose sight of the young exorcists, their trail was relatively easy to follow so she had a good idea where to find her.

"You can't hide from me forever!" Lailah called out to her 'prey'.

"Wasn't planning on it!"

Suddenly, Irina jumped out from being a tree, Excalibur Mimic in hand as she charged at Lailah. The spider-woman merely chuckled in amusement as she easily avoided the oncoming attack. What she failed to realize, though, was that Irina was the distraction as Xenovia came from the other side, swinging her Excalibur Destruction downward with all her might.

Lailah noticed this, but it was already too late. All she could do was attempt to avoid the blade. Once the blade hit the ground, it created enough destructive force to send Lailah skidding hard along the ground.

Irina then attempted to finish Lailah off, but the spider-woman was able to jump back before the girl could reach her. "Well now…" Lailah gave an amused smile. "This hunt might be more interesting than I thought." Lailah jumped upward, disappearing into the trees.

As Xenovia and Irina looked around, they couldn't find Lailah as she continued to speak. "Xenovia, right? I can see why Griselda likes you, you remind me so much of how she used to be. Such confidence, such determination in your eyes. Seeing how you two seem so close, did she ever tell you about me?"

"You're a monster who's killed innocent people, that's all we need to know!" Xenovia replied, the Excalibur Destruction at the ready.

Irina backed into Xenovia and asked, "Do you know her Xenovia?"

"I've… only heard a few things about her," Xenovia admitted.

"So Griselda did talk about me?" They heard Lailah giggle. "Did she ever tell you about Christos?" Lailah asked, still hiding in the trees. "During the Second European War, Griselda was brought to me for interrogation. But unlike most others I had the pleasure of dismembering, she kept her mouth shut, no matter what I did to her. You really can't help but admire that kind of resolve. But then I realized her true weakness, the same weakness most other humans have: they care about their friends."

Xenovia and Irina stopped moving for a second as Lailah continued to speak.

"Griselda's teacher, Christos, was brought to me." She continued. "That's when her resolve began to break. She even begged me to stop, but I didn't as I tore poor Christos apart, piece by slow, agonizing piece."

Xenovia's grip on her Excalibur tightened, gnashing her teeth. Irina gasped in shock, having a hard time believing that such a being could be so cruel.

Lailah, seeing this from her position above them, smirked. Firing her webbing from her hands, Lailah quickly caught Irina before trapping the chestnut-hair girl against a tree. "Irina!"

Hissing, Lailah lunged at Xenovia. The girl tried to use her Excalibur to block the spider-woman's attacks, but the spider-woman's extra limbs made that difficult, forcing Xenovia back.

"Xenovia!" Irina cried out as Lailah pushed her partner back. She needed to get free and help. Irina took several deep breaths. "Relax. Relax…" slowly, she began to wriggle out of the webbing.

Xenovia skid across the forest floor, parts of her uniform torn as she stood back up, gladly hatefully at Lailah. "You're making this too easy, Xenovia," Lailah told the young exorcist. "And I do not enjoy being bored."

Xenovia mealy readied her Excalibur in response.

Lailah hummed in thought, wonder just how to make this hunt funner when an idea crossed her mind. "What was your friend's name? 'Irina'? You two seem to really care for each other," Lailah noted. Xenovia's eyes widened slightly, which was all the answers Lailah needed. "You care for her, don't you? Good news then. I won't kill you. Instead, I'll keep you alive long enough for you to watch… As I slowly slice her to pieces." She lulled.

Xenovia's eyes widened as her pupils seared with anger. With an enraged yell, Xenovia swung her Excalibur down, shattering the ground beneath Lailah, knocking the spider-woman off her baleen.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her, you bitch!" Xenovia roared, wieldy swinging her Excalibur at Lailah. "I won't let you harm her, Griselda, or anyone else! DO YOU HEAR?!"

Unfortunately, Xenovia had been so focused on Lailah, she failed to notice her spider-like legs as they quickly shot from her and blocked her swing.

*Thwip!*

Xenovia's eyes widened in shock as Lailah preceded to webbed the Excalibur and tear it out of her grip. Xenovia backed away and then noticed that her hands had been webbed as well.

The Excalibur Destruction had been webbed to a nearby tree. Xenovia's eyes widened as she tried to free her hands to no avail. "Another thing you and Griselda seem to have in common," Lailah gave a triumphant smirk. "You let your emotions get the better of you," she shot more webbing, pinning Xenovia's feet to the ground.

Xenovia's eyes were filled with fear as Lailah leaned over her. "Now then, how should we begin?" Lailah purred, placing a hand under Xenovia's chin. "Should we start with agonizing? Or excruciating?"

"How about neither!"

Lailah turned just in time to see Irina deliver a hard kick to her side, knocking the spider-woman away from her partner. Then, using her Excalibur Mimic, Irina cut the webbing binding Xenovia. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Xenovia nodded, rubbing her wrists. "I sometimes envy your Quirk, Irina."

The chestnut-haired girl smiled, lifting her leg up until her foot was next to her head. "Yeah, well, having a Quirk that makes you more flexible than the average person does have its uses."

"It's a rare feat to catch me off guard like that," Lailah commented as she got up.

Irina quickly cut the webbing binding of the Excalibur Destruction, freeing it as Xenovia quickly took hold of the blade. "Xenovia," Irina whispered. "Remember when we fought that giant Tatzelwurm in Germany?"

Xenovia nodded, knowing what she had in mind. Irina ran toward the spider-woman.

"Please, like that trick will work again," Lailah tried to shoot Irina with webbing, but the girl rolled out of the way before swinging her Excalibur, the blade elongated and curving around Lailah. Before long the Excalibur Mimic had wrapped itself around Lailah.

"Not so fun now, huh?" Irina mocked, earning a glare from the spider-woman. "Xenovia, now!"

Lailah gasped as she looked to Xenovia. The blue-haired exorcist stood still, concentrating on her blade as it glowed brightly with a holy aura.

With a yell, Xenovia swung the glowing Excalibur Destruction at Lailah, Irina jumping away to avoid the hit, carving a path of destruction several feet long. Once the light had died down and the dust settled, Xenovia and Irina looked to where Lailah was. A large gash was in the ground, and several trees had been knocked over, but there was no sign of her.

"Did we get her?" Xenovia asked, Irina's Excalibur returning to its katana form.

"Not quite."

Irina and Xenovia looked upward… and gapped in shock.

There, up in the air was Lailah. But she wasn't being suspended by webbing or her spider legs. She was being kept in the air by four, gray wings. Above her head was, unmistakably, a halo.

"You're… an angel?!"

Back with Griselda, she struggled as much as she could to escape the webbing, but no matter how hard she struggled, it wouldn't budge. She had to get out of here quick! Xenovia and Irina were capable fighters, but they had no idea what Lailah was capable of. Or what she really was, for that matter. It was only a matter of time before that butcher cornered them and… just like Christos… Griselda screamed in emotional agony as another memory resurfaced.

Griselda's face had given way to despair, the body of Christos reduced to nothing more than literal pieces. And Lailah smiled the entire time.

Griselda didn't react as, slowly, Lailah inched one of her clawed-legs close to her face. The intent was clear. There was no way to avoid this. There was nothing she could do.

However, just as she seemed to accept her imminent demise, the door was blown off its hinges. Lailah growled in frustration before making her escape as Ewald Cristaldi, followed by Vasco Strada, barged in, making short work of the stray exorcists.

"Griselda!" Ewald ran to the girl's side. "Griselda, hey! Are you okay?"

She didn't respond.

"Ewald."

Ewald turned to Vasco… and nearly gagged at what remained of Christos.

The Cardinal Priest moved to Griselda's side and tore off the webbing binding her. "Let's go."

He gently carried Griselda out of the facility, all the while she began to mutter, "I couldn't save him… I couldn't save him…"

Griselda stopped struggling, the full weight of her situation finally settling in. Tears began to build up in her eyes before spilling over, forming long streaks down her face. "Xenovia… Irina… I'm so sorry…" she wept. She regretted not getting more exorcists to come. Regretted letting Irina and Xenovia come to Japan to begin with. Regretted… everything.

As she continued to sob, a black feather floated down in front of her.

"You're… an angel?!" Irina gasped.

Lailah's wings quickly retreated and her halo disappeared as she landed in the treetops before vanishing from sight. Xenovia and Irina were still processing what they saw to respond right away until Lailah spoke.

"What's the matter? No utterance of God or of the Messiah? I'm hurt," Lailah mockingly said, her voice sounding as if it were coming from everywhere around them.

Xenovia quickly shook off her stupor and readied her Excalibur, followed by Irina. "I don't understand… How can someone like you be-?"

"An angel?" Lailah finished Xenovia's question. "Simple: God made me like this."

"Wha… What do you mean?" Irina demanded.

"During the Great War, God gave me the duty to interrogate captured enemies," Lailah explained. "It was my duty to get any intel from prisoners by any means necessary. Simply put, I was His chief torturer. Whenever prisoners had valuable information, they were brought to me, and I made sure to squeeze every last drop of intel out of them."

"But… But that's…" Irina stuttered.

"You're lying," Xenovia hissed. "The devils and fallen angels would have something like you, but never God!"

"Oh, are you that naive?" Lailah chuckled. "Do you honestly think the Great War between the Three Factions was as black and white Sunday school said it was? Do either of you even know why the war started in the first place?"

Xenovia and Irina weren't able to answer.

"It's because God attacked first, believing that the devils would attempt to usurp him," Lailah answered. "While the original Four Satans probably wanted Him dead, I'm sure none of them were interested in starting a war. And the fallen angels only fought to ensure their own survival, since they were abandoned by God after making love with humans. Honestly, I sometimes wondered why humans still even worship God, especially after everything that was done in His name."

"What do you mean?" Irina questioned.

"Does the 'Holy Sword Project' ring any bells?" Lailah asked them. "When it was deemed a failure they just killed the children off."

"No. That was Valper Galilei's doing!" Xenovia yelled.

"But it was approved and funded by the Church's higher-ups," Lailah pointed out. "And that project was far from the only terrible tragedy in history done in the name of God." They heard Lailah scoffed. "The so-called People's Crusade, the persecution of the Gypsies when their mystic talents competed with the necessity for literate priests, the oftentimes violent conversion of the Americas, just to name a few."

Irina covered her ears, shaking her head in denial. "Stop. Stop it!"

"Irina! Don't let her get to you!" Xenovia told her.

"And let's not forget how the Church and Christianity isn't even the original religion that worshiped God," Lailah continued. "Judaism came first, followed by Christianity and then Islam. And yet the Church is the one will all the power. Well, had all the power. I can only imagine how devastating it was when Quirks began appearing. A huge loss in faith like that could've collapsed the Church altogether. It's a miracle that religion in general is still around. Not that I'm complaining, since I love my Quirk."

That caught the girls' attention. "If… If you're really an angel, then why do you have Quirk?" Xenovia asked.

"Why should I bother answering? Especially since you both won't have long to live."

*Thwip!*

Xenovia gasped and screamed when webbing suddenly hit her from behind and pulled her away, binding her to a nearby tree.

"Xenovia!"

Before she could aid her friend, more webbing suddenly struck the Excalibur Mimic and pulled it away, sending it far from its wielder. More webbing then pulled Irina up into the treetops, where Lailah was waiting. Before she could even scream, Lailah, using her spider-legs, wrapped webbing around Irina.

Once Lailah was done, Irina was cocooned by the webbing. "Try to get out of that," Lailah said to her. Irina's only response was a muffled scream as she struggled to get free.

Lailah laughed at Irina's attempt before she turned her attention to Xenovia. "Now then, where were we?" Lailah climbed down, dropped Irina, and marched her way to Xenovia, who tried desperately to free herself from the web, but the sadistic angel was already on top of her. Lailah smiled evilly as she felt her fingers along Xenovia's face. She was going to enjoy every single second of this.

Xenovia was about to scream in terror when several small spears of light suddenly floated down around Lailah, stopping the spider-angel as she stared at them curiously. Xenovia, recognizing the spheres, shut her eyes as tightly as she could.

*FLOSH!*

The spheres suddenly exploded, the resulting light being so bright it completely illuminated the part of the forest they were in for a brief moment. Lailah screamed in agony as she covered her eyes, the light having blinded her.

With a yell, Griselda took this chance as delivered a swift palm-strike right to Lailah's face, necking her back. Still blind from earlier, Lailah attempted to attack, but Griselda delivered several strong punches which sent the spider angel back several feet. With Lailah disposed of, for now, Griselda rushed over to her ward and Irina. "Xenovia! Irina! Are you okay?!" She pried the webbing off to free them.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." Xenovia said in-between breaths, all the fear from before gone now. Once freed, Xenovia aided Griselda in freeing Irina, which took a bit more time as they freed her from the cocoon.

Irina briefly gagged for air once they freed her, but otherwise, she was fine.

Griselda quickly embraced the two young exorcists, who returned it. "…Thank you." The two girls said.

Their embrace quickly ended as the loud sound of drilling came from behind. They both quickly turned to see Lailah's spider-like legs pointed-downward as her body spun rapidly like a drill. She was quickly burrowing underground to escape. Griselda reached for her quiver to try and shoot her, only to remember she ran out of arrows. Even if she had some, it was already too late. Lailah was already gone.

"Lailah!" Griselda growled, cursing her hated enemy. The green-haired exorcist gave a deep and regretful sigh. "So much for closure."

"She won't get away for long." Xenovia said.

"Yeah," Irina nodded. "We'll get that monster eventually."

Griselda smiled at the two girls before a downcast look appeared on her face. "I… I'm sorry you two had to face my demons today," she said honestly.

"…It was terrifying, worrying about you," Xenovia smiled.

"How'd you get free?" Irina asked.

"Raynare freed me," Griselda answered.

Irina and Xenovia's eyes widened in surprise at hearing this. "Raynare?! That fallen angel?" Irina gasped.

Griselda nodded.

Griselda looked up when she heard something land in front of her. There she saw Raynare, a spear of light in hand. Without saying a word, Raynare cut through the webbing binding Griselda to the cliff wall and took off. Griselda watched her go in surprise before she ran after Lailah.

"She just cut me free and took off without a word," Griselda recounted.

"Why in the world would she do that?" Irina asked.

"I don't know," Griselda admitted. "Whatever her reason, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we get out of here. Because of me we lost both Valper and Freed. There's no telling where they could be. Do you both still have your Excaliburs?"

"Xenovia does, but Lailah tossed mine somewhere over there," Irina pointed to where Lailah threw the Excalibur Mimic.

"Let's get it and get out of here," Xenovia stood up and started walking, followed by Griselda and Irina.

It didn't take long for them to where it looked like the Excalibur Mimic landed, but there was no sign of it. "It should've landed somewhere here," Irina muttered.

"You mean this?" A familiar, demented voice asked.

Looking up, the three female exorcists saw Freed standing on a small hill, wielding the Excalibur Mimic.

"Freed!" Griselda hissed.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!"

Irina's eyes widened when she saw that Freed had her Excalibur. "Give that back!"

"Sorry, but finders keepers!" Freed laughed, pulling out and using a flashbang again.

The three exorcists shielded their eyes from the intense light. Once the light faded, Freed was gone.

"Damnit!" Griselda hissed. Now the enemy has four Excaliburs, all because of her recklessness. "Do you still have your other sword, Irina?"

Irina nodded. "Yes. I guess I should thank Osanne-sensei for reminding me to take it."

Griselda smiled and nodded. "Come on, let get some rest. We have a long day ahead." She said, the sun beginning to rise behind them.

Sorry to anyone who wanted to see Izuku fight Akutagawa. Remember that reclaiming the Excaliburs comes first, and since they knew where Freed was they had to go help their friends. But man, Akutagawa came VERY close to crippling Izuku last chapter. If it wasn't for Ravel and her Phenex Tears, Izuku would be missing a wing for a little bit.

Even if Ravel didn't use a Phenex Tear to reattach the wing, it would've grown back as Ddraig said. Of course, then he had to explain what happened to his wing to begin with. But that's only if Izuku's dragon-half takes damaged. Any damage his human/devil-half takes is much more permanent.

Yes, Lailah IS an angel. And yes, she is exploiting a loophole in the system to avoid falling. Now the exact conditions of becoming a fallen angel in the DxD series are a little vague, the only real hint being "having impure thoughts results in an angel falling". In Volume 12 of the light novels, there were some traitorous angels who avoided falling because they exploited a loophole in the system. Of course, they did fall once they left heaven, but that still means it IS possible to do something bad and stay an angel.

And yes, most of the chapter is the plot from the Transformers: Prime episode, Predatory. Deal with it.

Onto Quirks: Irina's Quirk is basically like David Shield's Bendy Figures, only with her whole body. Griselda's Quirk lets her create balls of light and, if she concentrates, they can explode like a flashbang as we saw.

As for Lailah, her Quirk is called Spider. It basically means she can do anything a spider can, which includes digging underground like some species of spiders. As for how she got it, you get three guesses and the first two don't count.

But now Freed has four Excaliburs, meaning things just got a little harder. Next time we'll see a certain ax crazy sociopath and his two flunkies. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy. Go Beyond, PLUS ULTRA!