They came at noon.
Two figures in white cloaks, walking through Kuoh Academy's gates like they owned the ground beneath them. Students parted without being asked - instinctive recognition of predators in a herd of prey.
I watched from the ORC window. Enhanced Analysis parsed their movements, their posture, the way they carried invisible weight on their backs.
Swords. They're carrying swords.
"Excalibur fragments," the Fragment confirmed. "Two of them. The holy energy is... pungent."
Pungent?
"Like old incense and fresh blood. Church aesthetics haven't changed in millennia."
The taller one moved with military precision - every step measured, every motion controlled. Blue hair, cold eyes, a face that had never learned to smile. The shorter one bounced beside her, chestnut hair catching sunlight, expression bright enough to hide the killer underneath.
The zealot and the cheerful one. Great combination.
"Dangerous combination. One will condemn you. The other will apologize while cutting your throat."
The meeting happened in the ORC.
Rias sat at the head of the table, crimson hair perfect, expression carefully neutral. Akeno stood behind her, smile fixed in place. Kiba positioned himself near the door - close enough to intercept, far enough to hide his trembling hands.
I took the seat beside Rias. Close enough to react. Close enough to protect.
My peerage.
The thought surfaced unbidden. I pushed it down.
The exorcists entered without invitation.
"Rias Gremory." The blue-haired one spoke first. Her voice matched her eyes - cold, distant, judgment rendered before the trial began. "I am Xenovia Quarta. This is Irina Shidou. We represent the Church in the matter of the stolen Excalibur fragments."
"Welcome to Kuoh," Rias said. Her voice held warmth that didn't reach her eyes. "I understand you're tracking the thieves."
"The thieves and the fragments." Xenovia's gaze swept the room - cataloging threats, dismissing most of us as beneath notice. Her attention lingered on Kiba. "We carry two fragments ourselves. Holy Sword of Destruction. Holy Sword of Mimic. Three more were stolen by agents of the fallen angel Kokabiel."
"Kokabiel." Rias's expression didn't change, but I felt her tension. "The warmonger."
"The traitor to peace." Irina spoke up, her cheerful tone jarring against the subject matter. "He wants to restart the Great War! Can you believe it? After everything Heaven sacrificed for the treaty - "
"Irina." Xenovia's voice cut sharp. "Focus."
"Right, right. Sorry, partner."
Kiba hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. But his hand had drifted to his sword hilt, and the trembling had spread to his jaw.
He's barely holding it together.
"Excalibur killed his family. The same swords these women carry proudly." A pause. "Watch him carefully."
The meeting continued. Information exchanged. Territory discussed.
Xenovia outlined their mission - recover the stolen fragments, eliminate the thieves, prevent the fusion ritual. Simple objectives. Complex execution.
"Kokabiel commands a force of approximately two hundred fallen angels," she said. "He's taken position in the abandoned church on the eastern border. The ritual is already in progress."
"How far along?" Rias asked.
"Sixty percent when we received our last report. That was twelve hours ago."
Sixty percent. And rising.
"If they complete the fusion, they'll have a weapon capable of killing angels." The Fragment's voice was thoughtful. "Possibly Satans. Definitely devils."
Great. Just great.
"We need local intelligence," Xenovia continued. "Patrol routes, ward configurations, potential allies or enemies. In exchange, we offer..."
She paused. Her expression suggested the next words tasted sour.
"...temporary cooperation. Against Kokabiel. Not against your kind."
"How generous," Akeno murmured. "Ara ara, one almost feels welcomed."
Xenovia's eyes flashed. "Don't test me, half-breed."
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Akeno's smile didn't waver, but lightning crackled at her fingertips.
"Perhaps," Rias said smoothly, "we could focus on the common enemy."
The Watcher struck without warning.
One moment I was listening to Xenovia describe Kokabiel's forces. The next -
HOLY LIGHT. BURNING. PAIN.
Asia screaming. Writhing. Her Twilight Healing flickering, dying.
"The healer will betray you. Faith is weakness."
The mark on my wrist SEARED.
I stumbled. Asia caught me.
"Ryder-senpai!"
"I'm fine - " I gasped, vision clearing.
But Rias had seen. The mark. The glow.
Her eyes narrowed.
[PSYCHIC INTRUSION: THE WATCHER]
[ECHO STATUS: 44%]
[Watcher acceleration: ACTIVE]
[Mark visibility: COMPROMISED]
"Nineteen days," the Watcher's voice echoed in my skull. "Tick tock, little thief."
Get out of my head.
"Your head. Your trauma. Your friends' trauma. All the same to me."
The presence faded, leaving cold sweat on my skin and Asia's worried face inches from mine.
"I'm okay," I said. "Just... a headache."
Rias didn't believe me. I could see it in her eyes - the questions forming, the pieces connecting. She'd seen the mark glow. She knew something was wrong.
But the exorcists were watching. Now wasn't the time.
"Who is that?"
Xenovia's voice cut through the moment. Her attention had shifted - fixed on Asia with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
Asia stepped back, releasing my arm. "I'm Asia Argento. I serve as Bishop in Rias-sama's peerage."
"Argento." Xenovia's expression twisted. Recognition. Disgust. "The Holy Maiden who became a devil. The witch who betrayed the Church."
"I didn't betray - "
"You consorted with fallen angels. Healed their wounds. Fell from grace." Each word landed like a blow. "And then, rather than seek redemption through death, you accepted demonic power."
Asia's face went pale. Her hands trembled.
"A witch who became a devil." Xenovia's lip curled. "Disgusting."
Something snapped.
No.
I was moving before I made the conscious decision. Stepping between Asia and Xenovia, putting my body in the line of fire.
"You don't get to talk to her like that."
"Excuse me?" Xenovia's hand drifted toward her sword. "You would defend a heretic?"
"I would defend my friend." My voice came out harder than intended. Colder. "She was thrown away by your Church. Used by fallen angels. Saved by devils." I met her eyes and held them. "If that makes her disgusting, then your God has questionable standards."
Silence.
Xenovia's sword cleared its sheath an inch. Holy energy pulsed, burning against my devil senses.
"Careful, demon. Blasphemy has consequences."
"So does threatening my family."
For a long moment, nothing moved. The room balanced on a knife's edge - one wrong word from disaster.
Then Irina laughed.
"Wow, partner! He's got spirit!" She stepped between us, hands raised in mock surrender. "Come on, let's all calm down. We're here to fight Kokabiel, remember? Not each other?"
Xenovia held my gaze for another heartbeat. Then she stepped back, sword sliding home.
"For now."
Rias took control.
"We have a common enemy," she said, voice carrying the weight of a King's authority. "Kokabiel threatens all of us - devils, humans, the treaty itself. Whatever personal grievances exist, they can wait."
"Agreed," Xenovia said stiffly.
"Then I propose a joint operation. Your expertise with holy weapons, our knowledge of the local territory. Together, we assault the church and stop the ritual."
"And after?"
"After, we go our separate ways." Rias's expression softened slightly. "With the understanding that Kuoh is devil territory. Visitors are welcome. Invaders are not."
Xenovia considered. Irina looked at her partner, eyebrows raised.
"Acceptable," Xenovia said finally. "We need volunteers for the assault team. Ideally, those with combat experience against fallen angels."
Kiba stepped forward immediately. "I volunteer."
Too fast. Too eager. The Enhanced Analysis flagged everything wrong - the edge in his voice, the hunger in his eyes, the way his hand had never left his sword.
He's not thinking about the mission. He's thinking about revenge.
"Vengeance," the Fragment observed. "I warned you."
"Kiba will serve as primary combat support," Rias said. She looked at me. "Ryder will accompany him as tactical oversight."
Babysitting duty. She knew. She'd seen the same signs I had.
"Understood," I said.
The details fell into place. Teams assigned. Routes planned. Contingencies established.
But through it all, I felt the Fragment's attention fixed on the exorcists' backs. On the swords they carried.
"Those swords," it murmured. "I want them."
No.
"You misunderstand. I don't want to take them. I want to understand them."
Same answer.
"The Excalibur fragments were forged from divine essence. The same essence that created angels. The same principle that created me." A pause. "Don't you want to know where you came from?"
I know where I came from. Seattle. Before that, doesn't matter.
"It matters more than you realize." The Fragment went quiet. "But fine. For now, focus on survival. Curiosity can wait."
The meeting adjourned. Exorcists departed to establish a forward base. Kiba disappeared without a word - probably to train, probably to stew in his own rage.
Rias caught my arm as I moved to follow.
"Your mark," she said quietly. "It was glowing."
"I know."
"The Watcher?"
"Getting creative." I touched my wrist, feeling the residual heat. "He's using visions. Trauma. Trying to destabilize me before 50%."
"And it's working?"
I hesitated. The honest answer would terrify her. The dishonest answer would betray her trust.
"It's... accelerating. The Echo. Every assault, every vision - it pushes me higher." I met her eyes. "I'm at 44%. Rising faster than before."
Something flickered across her face. Fear. Determination. Love.
"We'll find a way," she said. "Together."
"Together," I agreed.
But the mark pulsed beneath my sleeve, and the Watcher's laughter echoed in my memory.
Mira burst through the door.
Her usual composure was gone - replaced by urgency, by fear barely controlled. She skidded to a stop in front of Rias, gloves tight on her hands.
"Restoration scouts," she gasped. "In Kuoh. They sensed the holy energy. And they know the Fragment is here."
The room went cold.
"How many?" I asked.
"Three. Coming fast."
Rias's expression hardened. "We can't fight them and the Church."
"Then we choose," I said. "And we hope we survive the choice."
Cooperation with the Church. Kiba's vendetta. Excalibur fragments. The Watcher accelerating my Echo. And now Restoration scouts hunting holy energy - and finding me.
The threats converged. The timeline compressed.
Nineteen days.
The countdown continued.