Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness
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The earliest memories Kiba possessed were not of a home, loving parents, or even a name spoken with affection that had been long forgotten. The earliest he could get began inside a sterile white room that smelled of chemicals and disinfectant, beneath rows of blinding lights that never seemed to dim, with the face of Valper looking down at him.
That laboratory became his entire world. Pain was not something that visited from time to time. It was simply part of everyday life. Needles pierced flesh, magic circles burned across skin, bones ached from procedures that made him curl up in agony, and every passing day introduced another experiment designed to push their fragile bodies beyond what children should ever endure. On the rare occasions the procedures did not leave them screaming, they instead left them completely drained. Mental exhaustion blended with physical fatigue until some of the children collapsed into unconsciousness for days at a time before being dragged back into another operating room. None of them truly believed they would survive long enough to become adults, too many of them disappeared for that to be true. Even so, they still had one thing the scientists could never completely take away from them — they had each other.
One memory always came back sharper than the others. Another failure, at least according to the men in lab coats muttering over their clipboards like he wasn't even there. Each step toward the dormitory dragged worse than the last. His skin was a mess of bruises, needle wounds and pale, stinging burns from the gear they'd strapped to him. Just shifting his weight sent a fresh ache through his muscles.
The corridor swayed before his eyes as groups of children were escorted past him toward their own examinations, some trying to appear brave while others quietly trembled. Nausea rose into his throat. His vision blurred beneath the harsh ceiling lights, and his knees finally gave way. Before his body could hit the cold floor, a pair of small arms caught him.
"Tosca...?"
A quiet laugh reached his ears.
"You're so exhausted you can't even recognize my voice anymore?"
He blinked several times, trying to focus on the familiar face standing before him, but the bright overhead lights only made everything blur together.
"The lights..." His voice came out rough enough that it barely sounded like his own. "They're too bright. Everything's blurry. The researcher said my eyesight should come back after a while."
Instead of answering immediately, the girl gently guided his hand upward before pressing his palm against her cheek. Easily making him feel the contour of her face, especially the smile she possessed. Even without looking, he knew she was the one who always managed to ease any dark thoughts.
"If hearing me isn't enough, then maybe this will help." So she said, but he didn't need such a thing to know who stood next to him, yet he enjoyed the sensation and figured the girl just wanted to tease him. Her doing so with several of her friends inside the facility.
"Yeah... I know it's you…"
Supporting most of his weight herself despite being just another child, she slowly guided him back toward the narrow cot assigned to him. The thin mattress barely softened the hard frame beneath it, but lying down still brought some relief to his battered body.
"Wait here."
He barely managed a nod before watching her hurry away. A minute later she returned carrying nothing more than a folded paper towel soaked in cool water. Kneeling beside the bed, she carefully laid it across his forehead before brushing a few loose strands of hair away from his eyes.
"This should make you feel a little better."
"It already does."
Closing his eyes, he tried to enjoy the brief comfort while it lasted. Unfortunately, his thoughts drifted back toward Valper almost immediately. The scientist had not shouted during today's experiment. He had not even looked angry. What lingered in Kiba's memory was something much worse: disappointment. The expression of someone examining a broken tool that no longer served its purpose. It left only one question running through his exhausted mind. If he continued to fail... would they simply throw him away? No answer came, but regardless of whatever fate awaited him, giving up had never crossed his mind. As long as he could still breathe, he would endure.
A gentle hand rested atop his head, fingers slowly stroking through his hair. "You're thinking about something bad again, aren't you?"
Ah, she managed to notice that? The exhaustion made him lower his guard around her. He quickly forced himself to answer without revealing what was truly on his mind.
"I… I was thinking about what you had to go through today... and wondering what they'll make us do next." Her expression brightened almost immediately. "I actually overheard some of the researchers talking while they walked past earlier. The next test isn't supposed to be very painful."
"It isn't?"
Doubts formed in his mind; anything related to Excalibur always guaranteed some form of pain, and for them to say that sure did sound out of character. But still, she shook her head enthusiastically despite knowing these facts just as well herself.
"They said it'll mostly measure our endurance and physical abilities. Running, climbing, things like that."
So testing if their bodies showed any changes after being introduced to holy elements. A sigh escaped him before he could stop it. "...That doesn't sound so bad."
For the first time that entire day, some of the tension left his body. The exhaustion slowly crept back over him, tempting him toward sleep, but before his eyes could fully close, the girl beside him spoke again.
"Izaiya..."
"...Yeah?"
"What do you think being at a beach feels like?"
His eyes opened again, confusion replacing his fatigue for a moment.
"A beach?"
That was honestly the last thing he expected to hear today. Neither of them had ever seen one beyond the occasional picture printed inside an old magazine or overheard conversations between researchers who spoke about vacations as casually as they discussed experiments. To him, it was nothing more than another unfamiliar word tied to a world that existed somewhere far beyond the reinforced walls surrounding them.
"I heard the cleaning crew talking earlier," Tosca explained, resting both hands on the edge of his bed. "They were complaining that they couldn't wait to go back to the beach once this project was finished in Puglia. One of them said the water was warm and the sand felt nice beneath your feet." A small smile appeared on her face as she imagined it. "It sounded... peaceful."
The boy stared up at the ceiling for several seconds before giving the only answer he could.
"I don't really get it."
"Hm?"
"It's just sand and a lot of water, isn't it?" His shoulders rose ever so slightly before falling again. Moving around became less painful, the soreness beginning to ebb away slowly but surely. "I don't see why people would travel so far just to look at that."
The girl puffed out her cheeks.
"That's because you've never seen it."
"Neither have you."
"I know." A giggle escaped her despite the obvious contradiction. "But that's exactly why I want to."
Curiosity slowly replaced the exhaustion in her eyes as she continued describing the place exactly how she had heard it.
"They said you can't even see where it ends. The water stretches all the way to the horizon until it meets the sky. Some waves keep coming in over and over again, and the breeze smells different from here." Her voice softened without losing its excitement. "Apparently there are fish everywhere... and colorful shells... and creatures living underneath the water that people never even get to see."
Even with these vibrant explanations, the blonde tried picturing it, but every image his imagination produced was assembled from fragments of gray laboratory walls and tiny puddles left behind after cleaning. An endless ocean was simply beyond his understanding. He knew the concept and its existence, but for something he never saw in person, it was hard to draw much experience from it to give a reliable answer.
"It still sounds messy."
That answer earned him another pout.
"Messy?"
"The sand." He frowned thoughtfully. "It'll get inside your shoes... inside your clothes... probably your food too. We already get scolded whenever our uniforms have a little dirt on them." His lips curved into the faintest frown. "Imagine what they'd do if we came back covered in sand."
"Jeez, you are always so negative! You should learn to smile more; it helps. I still want to see it someday," the young girl murmured, resting her chin against the fabric of the cot while looking at him. "Just once would be enough." Despite the lingering pain throughout his body, a small chuckle escaped him.
"You mean the beach or me smiling?"
"Both."
His eyes rolled, not like there was much to smile about in the first place. He did laugh and smile from time to time, but this girl kept complaining several times in the past that he should be doing more of that. Keeping a fake smile on all day sounded tiresome and idiotic. But he couldn't say that to her face, so he focused back on the initial topic at hand. "About the beach, you'd drown. You can't even swim."
"I'd learn."
His eyebrow lifted. "From who?"
She answered without the slightest hesitation.
"You."
Her finger pointed at him instantly, leaving him entirely stumped. "Um… how is that even possible? You do know that I don't know how to swim either. So how exactly am I supposed to teach you?"
The response came so naturally that it almost sounded ridiculous.
"You'll figure it out."
He blinked several times; this girl…
"...What?"
"Doctor Valper always says you're the smartest one." Her smile widened with complete sincerity. "If anyone can learn first, it's you. Then you can teach me. After that, we'll teach everyone else."
The smile on his face slowly disappeared.
For the first time in his life, he had heard someone repeat words of praise supposedly spoken by Valper. It didn't fit the man he knew. Every encounter with the scientist ended beneath those lifeless eyes that looked through children instead of at them, measuring numbers rather than lives. Warmth had never existed inside that gaze, and he never sought any approval from him to care.
He frowned. Perhaps one of the researchers had been talking about someone else. Or perhaps Valper truly had said it when he thought none of them were listening. The girl did always have a knack at hearing things that people tended to miss.
The answer hardly mattered.
What mattered was the hopeful expression looking back at him now. He couldn't bring himself to extinguish it. "Hah," a tired sigh escaped his lips as he slowly lifted an arm that still ached from the day's procedures. His hand settled gently atop her head, carefully brushing a few loose strands of blonde hair aside.
"Alright. One day… one day that will happen."
Her eyes brightened immediately.
"Really?"
"If we ever get out of here..." The corner of his mouth pulled up despite himself. "I'll figure out the swimming thing. Probably won't even drown or get eaten by a shark. Probably."
She grinned, paying no attention to his sarcastic comment. "Promise, Izaiya?"
He looked at the tiny pinky finger waiting for him. For children trapped inside a laboratory, promises were fragile things. Dreams rarely survived the next experiment. Yet looking at her hopeful face, he found himself wanting, if only for a moment, to believe in something beyond those walls — his little finger hooked around hers.
"I promise, Tosca."
The bright smile that she gave him, help ease his weary body. And, slowly, started to believe that they would all get out of this room.
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-
(Present)
Tosca.
The name lingered in his thoughts like something he had spent years trying to bury. Tosca. Kiba stared at the name Archer had brought up on the monitor, the letters slowly losing focus as the dusty laboratory around him faded beneath memories of white walls, metal restraints, and the sterile smell of chemicals. His breathing grew uneven. For a brief moment, he was no longer standing inside a forgotten research facility but back inside that nightmare. The knight swallowed hard before turning toward the red-clad Servant, his voice quieter than anyone present had ever heard it. "C-Can you… I-Is there anything else?"
His past rage had dispersed; all that Archer could see was the face of a fragile, hopeful, and frightened boy who found light at the end of the tunnel but feared it to be an illusion. "Give me a minute."
His fingers glided over the keyboard, opening one window after another as various files and documents flashed rapidly as he scrolled across the screen. Files disappeared, directories expanded, hidden partitions surfaced one after another until, without warning, the monitor went completely black. "Tch, hold on." A faint crease formed between Archer's brows.
He pressed several more keys, but the computer remained lifeless. Without wasting another second, the man crouched beside the desk and removed the panel beneath it. Dust spilled onto the floor as rusted wiring and corroded components came into view. Several cables had snapped entirely, their copper cores exposed after years of neglect.
"For being a mad genius, Valper did not seem to put much thought into maintaining his equipment. Still… these things are pretty worn out; age finally caught up with them," he observed while inspecting the damage. "Several of the internal cables burned out long ago, and the corrosion spread further than I expected."
A faint blue light spread from his fingertips as he rested a hand inside the exposed machine. Fresh cables slowly took shape from thin air, replacing the ruined ones one after another before weaving neatly through the interior as though they had always belonged there. Broken connectors reformed, damaged circuits all got replaced, and with a bit of reinforcement added to the mix, weakened components regained their brief moment of vitality. After securing the final connection and tightening a few loose fittings by hand, Archer closed the panel before pressing the power button once more. The machine responded with a low mechanical hum. Fans spun to life, followed shortly by the familiar glow of the monitor.
"That should do it."
Returning to his seat, he resumed his work as though the interruption had never happened. "Interesting..."
"...Since when were you this efficient at using computers like this, and did you just create actual computer components with your magic?" Rias leaned closer at the panel, wanting to touch it but hesitant to do so. "You are faster than Sona."
"I would like to remind you that I have been using a laptop for my work as a teacher and don't forget how Structural Analysis works," Archer replied without looking away from the screen. "Capacitors and copper wiring are actually simple things to understand; even a Servant from ancient times will understand them given enough time to familiarize themselves."
"I… I suppose so?" The redhead looked more lost than understanding after hearing his response. Not paying much attention to that, his fingers continued moving until another folder appeared, and a particular name finally grabbed his attention.
Project TOSCA.
The Servant stopped typing and slowly rotated the monitor toward Kiba. "It's the only file with this name inside; there is nothing else." The blonde knight stepped forward almost mechanically. His eyes swept across what appeared to be medical reports, photographs, scans, experiment logs, blood analyses, and handwritten observations. Every page carried the same name.
Rias immediately noticed the change in his expression. "Yuuto?"
He didn't answer immediately; only after several long seconds did the knight finally force himself to speak.
"Yes… It's her. These are all records about Tosca." His voice sounded distant, as if he himself was having trouble believing it. "There are years of medical reports... observations... compatibility testing..." His eyes continued scanning the documents before suddenly freezing. "...No..."
"What?" Rias asked, stepping beside him. "What did you find?"
"The files acknowledge that she possessed a Sacred Gear." His expression tightened. "But they never once mention what it actually was." Before anyone could respond, Kiba's gaze drifted toward the dates stamped across the reports.
"...No..."
Archer noticed where he was looking.
"You saw it too."
Kiba nodded slowly.
"These aren't old records." His throat tightened before the rest finally came out. "They're only a few months old."
Archer let out a quiet breath. "So they continued researching her until very recently, and then everything suddenly stopped to focus more on the holy swords. Most likely due to Kokabiel's own involvement and orders. That is the more optimistic guess, as for the second one…"
The implication settled heavily inside the ruined laboratory. Rias felt her stomach tighten. "If they stopped..." Her voice faltered. "...Does that mean she..."
"No!" Kiba's voice cracked as he forced those words out, and made a few of them flinch. "I refuse to believe that!" His hands trembled as they pressed against the desk. "There has to be something else. Another report... another folder... anything."
Blue eyes immediately turned toward Archer.
"Please. Th-there has to be something else."
It was apparent that the latter wouldn't be giving up anytime soon. Not that Archer could blame him, but before he could respond, a dry voice from behind cut in. "There is something beneath us."
"—!"
Both Devils spun around, startled by Assassin's appearance; Kiba instinctively summoned a sword before recognizing the familiar figure emerging from the shadows as the woman leaned slightly against the wall while lazily grabbing one of the vials littering the tables with unknown chemical components inside them. As for her 'Master', the poor woman just stood quietly behind without daring to make a sound. The Assyrian Queen just gave the two of them a dry side glance, "It's actually right beneath our very feet."
"What do you mean?" Rias asked after exhaling and letting herself relax along with her Knight.
The woman glanced toward them.
"Archer isn't the only one capable of using basic magecraft for investigation, you know?" She lightly tapped the metallic floor with her foot. "I've been examining the structure since we entered with a few spells and my own familiars. There is a hollow space directly beneath this room."
Everyone instinctively looked downward.
"It has been concealed using a somewhat similar bounded field like the one outside. A fairly competent one, though not nearly enough to completely hide its existence. It merely interferes with observation spells and attempts to distort magical detection. I believe there is also another barrier to block anyone from going down there too."
Kiba looked toward her.
"Can you break through it?"
"Me? But of course, it's something only meant to block regular people, of which I am not." A faint smile appeared. "It only requires more magical energy than I've bothered using so far."
Kiba's expression hardened.
Without another word, a familiar golden greatsword materialized inside his grasp. The enormous blade resembling Excalibur Destruction shone brightly as he raised it above his shoulder.
"I'll open it myself."
Before the sword could descend, Archer caught his wrist.
"Wait."
The blade stopped inches before striking the floor. Confusion crossed Kiba's face.
"What are you doing?"
"If someone is alive down there or there is something that can be used to find more about Tosca, that sword is the worst possible choice, for it might damage it." Archer didn't loosen his grip; having seen the aftermath of this weapon above, he had to intervene. "Its destructive output is excessive. You'll destroy whatever is beneath us long before creating an entrance."
Assassin nodded in agreement. "It could also be a trap. If the bounded field was designed to react to brute force, your attack might trigger whatever mechanism its creators prepared."
Kiba slowly lowered the sword.
"...Then what do we do?"
Neither Servant answered immediately. Instead, Archer and Assassin exchanged a glance, and neither spoke. While she was a difficult person to read, at this moment he could figure out what was going through her mind, and she was letting him take the reins. Nodding, his eyes briefly glanced at Rias. After several seconds, Assassin's smile widened ever so slightly.
"So we're thinking the same thing."
"Oh? It appears so."
The agreement between them was immediate, almost unsettlingly so to some in the room. And just like I figured, Rias got a bit suspicious and glanced between the two Servants. "...Would someone mind explaining? I feel like I'm missing something very important here."
Archer finally shifted his attention toward her. The Servant had been studying the damaged area ahead of them, but now his focus returned to the young devil standing beside him.
"Your Power of Destruction, Master."
Rias blinked, caught off guard by the answer.
"My... what?"
"The ability you inherited from your clan."
"Yes, I understood that part. But what does it have to do with—ah," her expression changed slightly as she looked down at her hands. "I actually didn't think of that."
So she caught on; he was genuinely worried that Rias started to forget the kind of powers she held and how versatile they could be. "It may be the safest option available."
Rias slowly raised her gaze again.
"I've only ever used it against enemies. Never in such a way now that I think about it."
To that, he just shrugged. "There is always a first time for everything. You should get familiar with thinking more outside the box, Master."
"My power destroys whatever it touches. That isn't exactly something I can casually control."
"That's exactly why you should." Her brows furrowed, having not fully grasped what he meant. Archer stepped closer, lowering his gaze toward the ground between them. "Rather than looking at your ability as a force meant only for destruction, you should be examining it like a tool. A sword is nothing more than a tool with sharp edges; it can be used in combat, crafting, and treating someone. It is not limited to a single concept; the same applies to your powers. I am still not that familiar with Devil magic, but if it relies on your will, desire, and imagination — don't think of it as an explosion; just picture flowing water."
She tilted her head slightly, clearly failing to see the connection.
"Water?"
"Yes. It doesn't need to be violent to be powerful. Given enough time, it can carve through stone, reshape landscapes, and create paths where none existed before."
Rias looked at the piece of concrete, then back at her own hands. This was probably the first time she considered that her power might not only be something meant to erase. "Don't force everything apart at once. Let your Power of Destruction continuously erode a single point. A controlled stream will gradually consume both the stone and the bounded field. If there are traps tied to sudden structural damage, reducing the force this way greatly lowers the chance of activating them."
Rias watched the demonstration carefully.
"...I've never used it like that before." Crimson energy slowly gathered around her hand. "I... can try. But I'm not promising it'll work."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Trying is enough."
The crimson aura brightened around her fingers. Rias let out a slow breath before lowering her hand with an annoyed sigh. "Alright. I'll give it a try." The crimson-haired devil stepped into the center of the room while everyone instinctively moved back, giving her enough space to work. Dust shifted beneath her shoes as she planted her feet and closed her eyes. A familiar crimson glow gathered beneath her palm, growing brighter until it bathed the cracked concrete in red light. The energy trembled for several seconds before suddenly surging out of control. Her eyes snapped open, and the power dispersed an instant before it detonated, leaving only faint crimson particles drifting through the air.
Archer watched without changing his expression, his arms folded across his chest. "Problem?"
A weary smile crossed her face as she flexed her fingers. "I had to cancel it. If I'd let it continue for another second, it would've exploded and taken half this room with it." Looking back at the ground, frustration crept into her voice. "It's much harder than I expected. Every time I try to reshape it, it wants to go back to what it naturally does."
"Then don't fight it," this time, Assassin was the one who replied, much to everyone's surprise. "Guide it. You're forcing your power into a shape it has never taken before. Let it flow instead of forcing it forward. Imagine water finding the easiest path through stone instead of a cannonball smashing into it."
Another attempt followed. Crimson energy gathered beneath her hand once more, this time moving more slowly. It still destabilized after only a few moments, forcing her to dismiss it again before it erupted. A third attempt lasted longer. The fourth began eating into the cracked floor before violently flaring outward, making the heiress immediately pull it back with an irritated groan. Sweat slowly formed along her forehead as failure followed failure, but every attempt lasted a little longer than the previous one. Eventually the destructive aura stopped behaving like an unstable explosion and instead began spreading downward through the stone in thin, twisting streams. Rather than blasting the ground apart, it steadily consumed the concrete and soil beneath it, carving a narrow shaft deeper into the earth.
Several meters away, Archer remained beside Assassin, both observing the process without interrupting. The woman in black folded her arms beneath her cloak before glancing sideways at him, amusement flickering across her face. "Your excuse back there was pretty terrible. I'm honestly surprised neither of them questioned it. I still haven't decided whether that's fortunate or slightly worrying."
"It wasn't entirely an excuse."
"Oh?"
"My Master's request was to become stronger. Letting her discover new applications of her abilities here is preferable to having that realization occur in the middle of a battle." His attention never left the steadily widening hole. "A controlled environment allows mistakes. A battlefield rarely does. If she gains confidence now and understands how her own power behaves, she'll hesitate less when it truly matters."
Assassin let out an amused chuckle. "You really do think like a teacher sometimes."
Time passed as the crimson energy continued drilling deeper into the earth. Every few moments, the flow became unstable, forcing Rias to quickly adjust before another explosion could occur. Her breathing gradually became heavier, strands of crimson hair sticking against her cheeks as the effort steadily drained her stamina. Akeno stepped closer, concern plain on her face. "Buchou, maybe you should rest for a few minutes."
"I'm... fine." Another breath escaped her before she concentrated again. "We're too close now."
The shaft continued extending downward until the resistance beneath her suddenly disappeared. The destructive energy flowed through one final layer of compact earth before empty space greeted it. Rias immediately dismissed her power and staggered back a step, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her sleeve before looking into the newly opened passage.
The magical barrier posed little to no threat and dispersed the next second.
"...There's actually something down there."
One after another, they carefully descended into the chamber below. The darkness was almost complete, swallowing the room until Assassin casually snapped her fingers. A small sphere of flame appeared beside her shoulder, hovering silently through the air and illuminating the underground chamber with a warm orange glow. Stone walls emerged from the darkness, followed by broken equipment, rusted restraints, shattered shelves, and thick layers of dust that suggested nobody had entered the place in years.
The knight suddenly stopped walking.
His breathing became uneven as his eyes locked onto a faint green glow further inside the chamber. Without saying a word, he began moving toward it, almost forgetting everyone else existed. The others exchanged confused looks before following close behind. The strange light came from an enormous crystalline formation embedded into the floor, its translucent surface glowing softly from within. Suspended at its center was a young girl whose appearance bore an unmistakable resemblance to him. Her face remained peaceful, her eyes closed as though merely asleep.
"T... Tosca?"
The whispered name barely left his lips before his knees gave way beneath him. Trembling fingers reached out until they rested against the smooth crystal. It felt cool beneath his hand.
"Is this... your Sacred Gear?"
His voice broke completely.
"I..." Tears rolled freely down his cheeks as years of grief, guilt, hope, and disbelief collided all at once. "She's alive... She's alive..."
"Yuuto…" Rias, despite her exhaustion, went over and knelt beside him, her expression softening considerably. The blonde knight simply remained there with one hand pressed against the crystal, unable to stop staring at the girl trapped inside.
Archer stepped closer, carefully examining both the crystalline structure and the child sealed within it. Something immediately stood out. According to everything Kiba had previously told him, the surviving children from the laboratory should all have been close in age. Even Tosca should have appeared noticeably older than the girl before him.
"Her Sacred Gear somehow halted her physical growth. Assuming this happened around the same time you escaped from the laboratory, she should be several years older by now." The Servant studied the crystal a little longer before adding, "Whatever ability she possesses appears to have placed her into suspended animation."
The blond swordsman desperately tapped against the crystal.
"Tosca! Can you hear me?" His voice echoed through the chamber. "Tosca!" Nothing happened. Not a twitch. Not the slightest movement from the girl sealed inside.
"You're wasting your effort," Assassin observed after watching for a while. "That crystal isn't opening because someone knocks on it hard enough. Judging by its structure, whoever is inside probably can't even hear you, but she is alive."
Hope immediately shifted toward the crimson-haired devil.
"Buchou... Can you destroy it?"
"...I'll try."
She stepped forward once more, raising her hand as crimson power gathered across her palm. Carefully controlling the amount, she released only enough energy to test the barrier. The destructive aura washed across the green crystal before disappearing completely.
Not even a scratch remained.
"...Nothing."
The devil lowered her hand with a frustrated exhale. "It's too durable. My Power of Destruction isn't affecting it at all, and I'm afraid if I use too much, I might hurt her. It's too risky." Looking around at everyone, she reached the only conclusion that made sense. "We'll have to transport the entire crystal back with us. Someone in the Underworld may know how to safely release her without harming whatever spell is keeping her alive."
"I agree."
There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in Kiba's answer.
…
Preparations immediately began for a transportation circle large enough to move the enormous crystal after it got transported outside the facility. While everyone focused on adjusting the spell, Archer noticed the blond knight had quietly slipped away. A short walk outside near the ruined building led him to a large rock overlooking an open clearing where the evening sun had begun sinking toward the horizon. Kiba sat there alone, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared silently at the light.
"Today's trip turned out rather differently than expected."
"...Yeah." The answer came quietly. After several moments, the young Devil finally looked up. "Do you really think she's alive inside that crystal?"
"I would trust Assassin on this, and if she were dead, the Sacred Gear would have vanished as well." Archer looked toward the setting sun before continuing. "The researchers specifically described her condition as suspended animation. Combined with the fact that she hasn't physically aged, it matches what we saw underground. Until we have evidence proving otherwise, I believe Tosca is still alive."
While he said that, Archer was not particularly worried about getting the girl out. If nothing worked to get her out of there, or if nothing was able to disable the Sacred Gear, he could always try to use Rule Breaker. But for now, it was best to leave this matter to them and see how they dealt with it. If they needed his help, they could always ask.
As for Kiba, his gaze drifted towards the cloudy sky. "Funny. I came here with the expectation of finding something that could help me get past my blockage inside and be able to use Balance Breaker. I hoped to somehow find peace after learning more about what happened to my family. But now I realize that was just an excuse. I was just desperate for answers and didn't care about achieving the next stage of my Sacred Gear, and there was no guarantee those answers would bring peace."
A dry, tired chuckle escaped his lips. "I really am a selfish person."
"That is not necessarily selfish," Archer countered, his voice steady. "You did what you had to do. While it is good to look out for others, one should always take time to also look out for themselves. But, did you get your answer?"
"It's ironic. I got my answers, and more importantly, I found that someone else was still alive." The knight stretched his hand out towards the sun. "It feels like it's right there. I could grasp it, feel its presence, and know that it exists inside me."
He lowered his hand. "Part of me was thinking that it's not like I could have just found anything else related to my family inside. Another part of me was hoping to hear their voices again somehow, but in the end, I realized I was just being delusional."
He went silent for several seconds, his fists clenching at his sides as tears began to stream down his face.
Archer simply comforted the boy by tapping his shoulder, then resting his hand on it as Kiba tried his best to hold the sobs in.
"They would have been proud of you," the Servant said softly. "Of what you have accomplished so far, and that you managed to find Tosca."
Kiba said nothing, just gave a slight nod of his head before getting up and summoning the same Excalibur Destruction-like sword again. Growing intrigued, Archer waited to see what the young man was doing. Watching him walk towards the facility, plant the sword on the ground, and face the entrance of the underground facility. A slight fluctuation of demonic energy filled the air before he took a deep breath.
"Sword Birth!"
Crash!
In an instant, swords began to sprout from the ground itself, making their way not on the land but deep within the facility, with Kiba gritting his teeth as he pushed more and more of his energy within his Sacred Gear. The sword in his grasp shook until a powerful wave of pure destructive energy coursed through the length of the blade and headed downwards. The wave destroyed everything in its path, with the ground above starting to sink and crumble until a wide area had entirely collapsed.
The entire laboratory was destroyed in an instant before him.
"Gah!" Weakened, he nearly fell onto his knees only for Archer to arrive by his side to catch him in time. Not saying a word, he just waited for him to recover. "Hah… hah… hey, Archer…"
"Yes?"
"You mentioned plenty of times that your world's Excalibur differs greatly from our own. So I just want to know… how different?"
Looking at him, Archer doubted the former wanted to hear about definite details of the blade and how powerful it was. Thus, he took a moment to carefully think about it. "Excalibur represents hope and dreams." He began, having faced that sword and even getting killed by it in certain summonings; he never hated that weapon or even admired it like a certain redhead. To him, it had become a weapon, a powerful tool like any other. "At a time where death may seem imminent, where darkness would take over, and despair may begin to settle in. That sword would act as a beacon, not just because it was powerful, but because it held the hopes, the will of humanity."
"The sword of promised victory, huh," Kiba mentioned, to which Archer nodded.
"Its title signifies an absolute assurance of triumph when used for the right cause. Helping those in need, it would not matter whether you are human or not. It is humanity's sword and shield. Held by one with good intentions in her heart, but… she did not reach the ending she hoped for herself and her people. The sword represents her isolated ideal, her heavy duty as an unblemished king, and the radiant yet lonely path she walked."
"..."
"A weapon like that cannot be broken. The mere idea of it is absurd, as thinking that the weapon could be used for evil. Which is why Mordred grew to hate these constructs. She's one of the few who saw the blade, basked in its light, and felt what it truly represented."
Kiba listened as Archer continued to describe it; there was still so much to say about the sword. But he felt he had managed to convey the most important part. At least, until he heard the boy laugh, not out of amusement but rather one that sounded both despairing and accepting.
"If that sword were to exist here rather than the one we got. Would my family still be alive?"
"I don't know." He admitted without any lies. "All I can tell is that you wouldn't have been experimented on, for the blade would not have been broken. If it continued to exist in this world, perhaps the one who wielded it could have saved you before any of this misfortune was to occur. King Arthur only wanted to use that sword to protect her people, nothing else… not even herself."
"..."
The boy walked forward, no longer needing any support.
"Hm?"
From where the ruins remained, something flickered in the smoke. As the latter settled, tiny embers of light began drifting in the sky, like fireflies. 'Souls?' Archer wondered at first before shaking his head; those… did not resemble souls, maybe more like echos if he had to hazard a guess. He watched Kiba stand there, gazing at them with forlorn eyes.
"I am sorry." He spoke, not to Archer but rather these floating motes of light as if he could hear them. "I was unable to save them back then. I ran away while they stayed behind to stop the others from catching up. I grew stronger to avenge them, but I was too late; I could not save you all as well from what Valper has committed."
The swords from earlier were dismissed, until nothing existed around him.
"I can only grant you peace by saying Valper is no more… but that won't make a difference. I have accepted my failures; I can't change the past nor can I stay buried in it."
At that moment, Archer's eyes narrowed around Kiba's hands as he noticed something shift. Demonic energy rose, but not sharply like earlier, rather becoming more condensed. He realized Rias and Assassin were also watching, with his Master standing there with her eyes wide open in pure shock.
"Tosca is alive. I have friends who I see as family. I have a life beyond this point. I… I don't want to lose it as well, and I swear that until I draw my last breath, I shall continue to protect them. I will always carry the weight of my failures."
He closed his eyes, the light around his palms growing brighter, taking shape into two distinct forms. Shorter than the great sword from earlier, similar to a Roman gladius with no guards, the flat side of the blades holding different patterns and coloring. One being pure crimson and brimming with demonic energy and the other… "Hm?" Yet the distinct feeling Archer got from them differed greatly from everything Kiba created before.
And as they finished forming, two new sets of blades pierced the wasteland within his soul as their names echoed across his mind.
"... Balance Breaker," Kiba whispered, tone lacking any joy for one having reached this milestone. As his eyes opened, he continued to gaze at the lights as they dispersed in the air. "Whoever you might be, I hope you can all now rest in peace. You are free."
The lights vanished, returning the area to what it was before. After careful observation, Archer walked towards Kiba and stood by his side, observing the weapons in his grasp.
One of the lights did not disappear.
A singular glimmer of light had remained behind, like a snowflake, floating downwards until it came to rest upon the second blade and disappeared inside. Kiba smiled at it. "...Thank you for believing in me." Unlike the first one that brimmed with demonic energy, the second blade seemed almost hazy, as if it was going to disappear at any moment, a wisp of white energy occasionally seeping to the surface. Faint enough that anyone could have missed it, but he didn't.
"Holy Energy."
Kiba nodded, "I know I cannot hope to see this Excalibur you've mentioned. I can only imagine it and paint it through your own words. Despite my hatred for the Excalibur that got destroyed, it would have been nice if this world had your version of the sword to protect us. The more I learn about it… the more I wish to adopt what it stood for, no matter how small or insignificant. I want my sword to be the light that will protect everyone I care about and hopefully bring forth a brighter future. Even from a speck, as long as I don't falter." He squeezed the white sword in his left hand before turning his attention to the demonic one in his right. "Whatever enemies that will come before us, I won't run away or let my emotions take over. Whatever the cost."
With that said, he turned around and walked away. Saying nothing as he joined the other, who watched the entire scene from a distant. "I'm ready, Buchou. Sorry for the trouble."
She shook her head. "Of course not, it was no trouble, Yuuto."
At that moment, there were plenty of things crossing the Servant's mind. Looking back at the ruins, he couldn't help but wonder just how deeply his presence changed things. Under no circumstances did he believe the lack of his presence would have doomed anyone; quite the opposite. Yet now, he was reminded that perhaps some had been affected far more deeply than he imagined.
With a small side glance, he looked once more at that white sword in Kiba's hand. As faint as it was, it was still holy by nature. Held by a Devil who showed no signs of being burned. Despite that, he couldn't help but whisper the first word that crossed his mind when looking at it, along with the knowledge he had acquired of how Sacred Gears worked in this world.
"An incomplete variant, huh."
{Break}
-Kuoh Academy-
The familiar surroundings of the Occult Research Club greeted them once more. As the teleportation circle faded beneath their feet, the massive crystal containing Tosca stood silently in the middle of the room, catching the afternoon light filtering through the windows. Everyone's attention immediately settled on the frozen girl inside.
For exactly one second.
"WAAAH! KIBA TURNED INTO A FLAT-CHESTED CUTE GIRL AND GOT FROZEN IN IC... GURK!"
Issei barely managed to finish shouting before Koneko's palm struck him in the stomach and slightly threw him in the air.
"You're being stupid."
"Wheeze Ow..." Issei groaned as curled up into a ball on the ground, glaring at the petite cat girl. "You didn't have to hit me Nnha… t-that hard…"
"I did. It's the only way you learn."
The deadpan reply left him with no room to argue. Despite everything that had happened, a small smile found its way onto Kiba's face. He stepped toward the crystal before turning back to the rest of the club.
"This is Tosca; she's my childhood friend… my family. We found her inside one of Valper's old facilities, and she's alive." His hand rested gently against the crystal's smooth surface. "When will we finally get her out of this thing... I hope everyone can get along with her. It's been years, so she may be confused or scared."
"I promise you, Kiba, this isn't a question of whether we can free her," Rias said smoothly while placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's only a matter of time. Whatever it takes, we'll find a way."
For a brief moment, the boy simply looked at her before lowering his head.
"Thank you, Buchou."
A short distance away, Archer observed the exchange while Assassin stood silently beside him, her face as unreadable as ever. "Are you satisfied with the outcome of this trip?"
She folded her arms.
"Hardly." A faint sigh escaped her. "I uncovered a lead regarding your identity, but all it really accomplished was raising even more questions."
Her gaze drifted toward Tosca's crystal prison.
"Still, it wasn't a complete waste. Watching your interaction with that boy gave me a better understanding of how Sacred Gears function, and I've learned enough about their finer details to continue searching for answers for future little projects of mine."
Archer regarded her with narrowed eyes. "I'm not sure whether you're serious or simply trying to annoy me."
The corner of her mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
"It could be both."
Without another word, her body dissolved into the surrounding shadows until nothing remained. Archer kept his eyes on the place where she had vanished. He didn't believe for even a moment that she had walked away empty-handed. Assassin definitely did not know his true name, but she undoubtedly knew more than she had revealed. Whether she intended to share those suspicions with anyone else remained to be seen.
Ultimately, it made little difference.
Even if everyone in this world learned who he truly was, there was precious little they could do with that knowledge. Unless fear took hold of them and they assumed the worst, given the state of humanity here.
The soft sound of footsteps pulled him from his thoughts. "Ara ara~ good to see you back safe and sound." Akeno approached carrying a small porcelain cup, a faint trail of steam rising into the air. Without a word, she offered it to him.
Archer accepted it with a nod.
"Thank you."
"From the looks of it. I'd say everything went rather well." Her eyes wandered toward Kiba, who was still standing beside Tosca. "I don't think I've ever seen him smile like that."
Archer followed her gaze and saw Kiba laughing as Issei kept looking at the girl, marveling at her beauty but immediately making an ugly face when he stared at the Knight. Whether that joy was truly real or not was hard to say, but he knew there was less weight on his shoulders now. "It tends to happen when someone discovers that a member of their family, someone they believed was long dead, is still alive."
Akeno smiled softly before turning back toward him. "Thank you for helping Yuuto."
"It's nothing that deserves thanks." He took a small sip of the tea before continuing. "I merely fulfilled my duty."
She gave him an unimpressed look. "Would it really hurt you to accept a compliment once in a while? You've done far more for this club than you give yourself credit for." Her smile became warmer. "I hope this finally gives Kiba the peace he's been searching for."
After a brief pause, her expression grew more thoughtful.
"And honestly... the timing couldn't have been better."
Archer lowered the cup slightly.
"How so?"
"Our school trip to Kyoto is coming up. Did you forget?"
"Ah," after everything that happened, his conversation with Assassin and Kiba achieving an incomplete Balance Breaker — this matter had completely escaped his mind. "I remember now, but before that, I still need to make sure he gets familiarized with what he has gained. Eh, hold on, what do you mean by school trip?"
At the very last moment, his brain managed to catch that part, and several questions were raised at once. From what he remembered, this was supposed to be their main group going to meet the Youkai faction as representatives of the Devil Faction.
Akeno's eyes widened. "Oh, right. I should inform Buchou. Just now, there has been a bit of a change of plan. It was only supposed to be us, but some believed that we should not make this visit look that serious and obvious to the rest of the supernatural world."
"Who?" He doubted it was Sona; she would have vouched to keep the students as far away as possible from possible conflicts. Sirzechs would have left the decision-making to the two heiresses; both Grayfia and Ajuka were not ones to be concerned with such small things.
"Serafall." Said the Fallen with an exasperated expression. "She arrived not even an hour ago and basically ordered Sona to go with this approach instead. We tried to negotiate with her, but she would not listen and left before your group returned."
Serafall? Why would… "Oh."
"Did you get something?" She asked upon seeing her change of face.
"I might have an idea, but if that is what Serafall was going for, then it's a very risky approach. She's basically having us voluntarily give the Youkai Faction leverage." He had to massage his forehead. Worst of all, he could almost understand why Serafall went with this approach. Seeing the young Queen staring at him, waiting for answers, he continued. "She wants to make sure that there are no misunderstandings or any possible doubts within the Youkais that we are going to cause trouble. People must be tense now with the existence of Servants, and we have two on top of that… or even three if we count Assassin. Going into a foreign territory would make anyone nervous given the recent happenings with Berserker and Saber. These students will act as a guarantee that we will not be attacking them."
"That sounds… a bit morbid. Serafall mentioned it was because she wanted everyone to have fun. And it being a tradition."
"Hah. Figures," he muttered, shaking his head. "Don't let the whole sister-obsessed magical-girl act fool you. That woman survived the worst of our civil wars, she knows exactly what she's doing."
This was tricky, aside from the many preparations he had to make for his students. It went without saying that he would also be tasked to make sure nothing would happen to them, unless Rias and Sona made some preparations for that. Knowing little to nothing about the Youkai Faction aside from their somewhat neutral stance, he could not rely on that information alone to fully trust them.
Feeling a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, the white-haired Servant turned to see Akeno giving him a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't worry; I heard a lot about Yasaka from many reliable people. She does not sound like a cruel leader who will try anything irrational."
"Let's hope you are right."
This Yasaka was not the only one he had to worry about, as even now they knew little to nothing about the Servant. Depending on the Heroic Spirit summoned, things that honestly go either way.
{Break}
-Kyoto-
Within the inner parts of Kyoto, surrounded by beautiful landscape, lush greenery, and tranquil rivers. An old temple retained the elegance of traditional Japanese architecture, its sweeping tiled roofs and finely carved wooden beams standing as proudly as they had for generations.
Time and recent battles had still left their marks.
At this very moment, fresh timber was being replaced with several blackened support pillars, new planks contrasted against older weathered wood, and sections of the veranda bore long scars where violent impacts had splintered the floorboards.
Groups of youkai moved about the grounds carrying lumber, chiseling replacement beams into place, or hauling roof tiles across the courtyard. Others paused from their work to exchange casual conversation or laugh over some joke, the steady rhythm of hammers and saws mixing with cheerful chatter until the entire place felt busy rather than burdened by what had happened only days earlier.
The peaceful atmosphere lasted until a dark shape descended from the sky. Powerful black wings beat against the wind as a black bird dropped from above at tremendous speed, feathers scattering around him moments before his body shifted back into a humanoid form. Boots touched the stone pathway with barely a sound, yet the urgency written across his face immediately drew attention. Several workers stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Lord Tengu."
"Don't mind me, just focus on your duties." He returned the gesture with only the briefest nod before asking, "Is Lady Yasaka available?"
One of the nearby kappa straightened up from polishing a section of the railing and pointed toward the main temple. "She headed toward the palace only a few minutes ago. Um, she mentioned that she's feeling tired and to ask any officials to wait till nighttime if possible."
"Thank you. Unfortunately, this is an important matter that I was tasked by her to update her on at any time immediately. I will excuse myself for my insolence, but duty calls."
Without wasting another heartbeat, the messenger rushed up the long flight of stone steps. The distance suddenly felt much longer than usual. "Hah… hah… hah… I'm getting too old for this." Every second seemed wasted, and before reaching the top he abandoned running altogether, spreading his wings once more and flying the remaining distance.
The few guards posted there allowed him entrance without a word needing to be shared. 'At this point, are they even necessary? The young child still finds a way to slip away past them. Tch, they are probably lazing around when no one is watching; I will investigate this myself later.'
The second entrance appeared in front of him almost immediately. Landing lightly, he brushed the dust from his sleeves, adjusted the collar of his robes, steadied his breathing, and only then crossed the threshold at a brisk pace.
The inside looked the same as it always had. Afternoon light came through the paper windows and caught the polished floors, the painted screens still bright with the old legends he had grown up hearing. Somewhere nearby, incense was burning. New pillars broke up the familiar dark wood here and there — he had watched workers hauling them in only that morning. He did not let himself look at them for long.
"Lady Yasaka, I am sorry for my intrusion, but I have urgent news that needs to be shared." The old Youkai spoke respectfully, his voice booming across the room. But only silence answered him rather than the voice he had grown used to serving under.
Maybe she didn't hear him… they did say she was tired, but he had no choice. He drew a deeper breath, preparing to raise his voice loud enough for it to echo through the temple. "Lady Yasaka, I am sorry for my intrusion, but I have urgent news that needs to be shar—"
"—You're being too loud."
"—!?"
Every muscle in his body locked at that very moment, as if his entire body had gotten frozen in a tundra.
The voice was unmistakably feminine, relaxed enough to sound almost playful, yet hearing it made every feather on his wings stand upright. A chill crawled across his back as sweat gathered along his forehead. Only then did the horrifying realization strike him. In his rush to reach the palace, he had never bothered asking whether that person was still present. For she usually spent her time outside and rarely got herself involved with these matters.
"Are you planning to stand there like a statue forever?" the woman continued, amusement lingering beneath her words. "If that's really your hobby, I can arrange for it to become permanent."
The joke landed with all the force of a death sentence. Without hesitation, the Tengu dropped to both knees so quickly his forehead struck the polished floor.
"P-Please forgive my insolence! I never intended to disturb you!"
"I already told you to stop making so much noise."
His mouth snapped shut immediately; at this point he was just begging to be torn apart. On an instinctual level, every fiber of his being just feared this person.
"Yasaka needs her rest; you all have to deal with so much — I truly pity her. Now raise your head. I can't exactly have a conversation with someone who's trying to merge with the floor."
Obeying as carefully as if his life depended on it, he slowly looked toward the raised platform where Lady Yasaka normally received guests. Another figure occupied the seat instead, though an elegant hanging drape concealed everything above her waist. Only the lower half of her body remained visible, along with some locks of pink hair. A short blue kimono hid little of her sensual legs, a similar style to Yasaka's. Curled comfortably across her lap lay a small blonde fox girl whose multiple tails swayed faintly even in sleep, completely unaware of everything happening around her as her head was being stroked gently.

"She is no different from her mother. Spending the entire day running around and exhausting herself," the woman remarked, gently patting the child's hair behind the curtain. "Kunou finally fell asleep. I'd rather nobody wake her up over something silly."
"I-I sincerely apologize..."
"Fufufu~!"
A soft laugh escaped from behind the drape. One that would make anyone get lost in the sensation, but he made sure to keep his mind clear.
"Oh, relax already. I was teasing you." The cheerful tone returned so naturally it almost made him question whether the earlier threat had ever been serious. "Honestly, you're making me feel like some terrifying monster. So then, what brought you all the way here in such a panic?"
Carefully reaching into his sleeve, the messenger produced a sealed scroll before placing it respectfully on the polished floor.
"The devils have sent their reply. They've confirmed the date for their visit to Kyoto."
"...That's it?"
The lighthearted disappointment in her voice caught him completely off guard.
"You flew over here looking like the world's about to end just because of a schedule? They're coming here for diplomacy, not to wipe us all out." A brief pause followed before she added with a hushed chuckle, "Well... probably not me, anyway."
A large light brown fox tail slipped gracefully out from behind the drape, curling around with surprising dexterity before pulling it across the floor. Moments later, a delicate hand appeared, unrolling the document. Only the rustling of parchment disturbed the silence while she read through its contents.
"Ara... that's quite the gathering." There was no alarm in her voice, only mild curiosity. "So many Servants ending up in Kyoto at once could become troublesome if everyone decides to solve their disagreements the exciting way." The scroll rolled itself shut between elegant fingers before disappearing behind the curtain once more. "Still, Yasaka has always had good instincts. I'll trust her judgment on this one. Fufufu~!"
A playful laugh followed, softer this time.
"Now I'm getting curious. I wonder which Servants answered the summons... and whether I'll end up seeing any familiar faces."
------------------
The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.