The sky was cloaked in stars as Arthur, Jeanne, Siegfried, and Connla arrived on Tory Island under the cover of night.
The distant call of seabirds had long faded, replaced by a haunting silence that clung to the coastal breeze.
The large fishing boat they used rocked gently behind them as they stepped onto the old wooden dock, the waves lapping against the shore with the soft rhythm of a sleeping beast.
The group silently advanced through the dimly lit pathways of the town.
The buildings, once quaint and full of life, now stood empty, their windows were dark, doors either left ajar or sealed tight, and not a single soul stirred in the streets.
"This place is quiet... too quiet…"
Siegfried muttered, glancing around with narrowed eyes as his hand hovered near the hilt of his Demon Sword, his instincts sharp.
Jeanne looked around cautiously and asked.
"Where are the people?"
Arthur's crimson eyes scanned the dark alleys and crooked rooftops before he replied in a low voice.
"They either fled… or got caught up in this mess."
As they rounded a corner, Connla stumbled slightly, still getting used to walking in his new outfit.
He was dressed in a charcoal gray jacket with a plain black shirt underneath, matching pants, clean boots, and sleek black shades covering his eyes.
He looked vastly different from the ragged boy they had found just days earlier.
Arthur gave him a sidelong glance.
"How's the new look?"
Connla adjusted the shades, a bit sheepish.
"I like it. It's nice."
Jeanne arched an eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Are the shades really necessary, though?"
Siegfried chuckled.
"Come on, Jeanne. Let the guy enjoy his cool phase. Looks slick."
Connla gave a small smile, clearly pleased.
But Arthur suddenly halted mid-step, raising a hand.
"Shh… someone's coming."
They quickly ducked into the shadows beside a building, crouching low behind crumbling walls and overgrown hedges.
A few seconds later, they saw them.
A massive procession of cloaked exorcists, well over a hundred, marched silently through the street.
In the middle of their formation were dozens of townspeople, bound, gagged, and being dragged or forced forward.
Some of the victims whimpered, others wept in silence, and most of them looked sick, frightened, or already half-broken.
Connla's expression that of worry.
"Where are they taking them?"
Jeanne's eyes followed the direction of the march and frowned.
"Looks like they're heading north towards the cliffs. Maybe to the ruins near Balor's Fort. If they're prepping for a ritual, that's the most likely spot."
Arthur nodded and gestured for the group to follow them at a safe distance.
As they moved quickly but carefully behind the buildings, Arthur's gaze flicked to the rear of the enemy and his eyes narrowed.
Five cloaked figures were walking behind the main group, maintaining a separate distance from the others.
Arthur smirked as something clicked in his head.
"…Perfect."
He whispered under his breath.
Some time later, the enemy procession reached the remains of Balor's Fort, a jagged stone ruin sitting on the edge of a rocky cliff, where the ocean roared far below.
The stronghold had long since been abandoned, its walls half-collapsed and weathered by salt and time.
But tonight, it had become the stage for something monstrous.
A massive, glowing black magic circle covered the ground at the center of the fort.
Dozens of cloaked exorcists took positions around it, forming symmetrical patterns.
The townsfolk were dragged to the outer edge of the circle and forced to kneel, still bound and gagged, their muffled cries filling the air.
From within the crowd, five figures split off with each one silently taking a specific post.
The cloaked figure near what appears to be the leader? Arthur himself.
The figure beside the townspeople and the homeless? Connla and a Double of Arthur standing ready with Excalibur Rapidly in hand.
The two stationed within the ring of stray exorcists, patiently blending in with the crowd? Jeanne and Siegfried.
The mastermind stepped forward, climbing atop a raised stone platform. He wore a mask of our white and his robes were adorned with dark runes.
His voice echoed across the fort, charged with fanaticism.
"Tonight, it is the night that the old order dies. Tonight, we cast off the chains of falsehood and lies! The veil will be torn apart and TRUTH shall descend upon this world!"
The man declared, arms spread wide, and a chorus of mad cheers followed.
"All hail the new order!"
The cultists cried in perfect unison, their voices rising into the air like a swarm.
The leader continued, eyes glowing faintly behind his mask.
"The lies forged by the Heavens themselves end here and now. We have found the key. The key to awakening and unleashing the one who will pierce the heavens and strike down the deception that keeps mankind blind in the dark!"
Another frenzied wave of chants filled the air.
A new figure appeared, hooded and silent, walking into the center of the magic circle.
They knelt at the heart of the ritual, completely still, as if accepting their fate.
Connla, near the hostages, kept glancing between the victims and the dozens of chanting cultists surrounding them.
Beside him, Arthur's clone tightened his grip on Excalibur Rapidly, preparing to move at a moment's notice.
Siegfried and Jeanne were already shifting subtly, removing the locks on their weapons under their cloaks, eyes narrowed and full of focus.
As the hands on the small town's watchtower ticked closer to midnight, the cult leader stepped off the platform and raised a simple silver dagger.
The chanting rose to a fever pitch, the magic circle flared blood-red, and the bound victims began to squirm and cry in panic, reacting to the surging energy and foul aura in the air.
The cult leader raised the dagger high and declared.
"With this sacrifice, you shall be reborn anew! Rise as your very gaze will pierce the veil that conceals the Truth!"
Just as the blade was about to descend.
[BOOST!]
A crimson light exploded through the air as Arthur, his Boosted Gears active and glowing intensely, burst forward from the crowd like a bullet.
The leader's eyes widened in shock a fraction of a second too late.
Arthur slammed into him mid-air with a bone-rattling punch, sending the masked exorcist flying backward across the stone platform and crashing into a pillar with a crack of splintered stone.
At the same moment.
"NOW!"
Jeanne shouted, her twin rapiers slicing through her cloak as she began cutting down exorcists left and right, moving with swift, elegant precision.
Siegfried followed suit, drawing his Demon Swords with a grin.
"Showtime."
Chaos erupted.
Dozens of stray exorcists turned in confusion as the two infiltrators tore through their ranks, but quickly retaliated.
"Intruders!"
"Kill the heretics!"
"Die!"
Connla and Arthur's clone sprinted into the rows of captives.
"Come on! Let's go!"
Shadows coiled around his hands as he used his Night Refection to snap the ropes from around the victims with minimal effort.
"Don't panic! We're getting you out!"
Arthur's clone shouted, slashing through the ropes with swift, calculated swings of Excalibur Rapidly while shielding the panicking victims from oncoming cultists.
As the night split with screams, roars, and bursts of magic, Arthur stood in the center of it all, Boosted Gear on his arms, as he faced down the cult's inner circle.
"Sorry to interrupt, but this party is busted."
He smirked, cracking his knuckles.
Amidst the rubble, a sudden burst of power tore through the battleground as the leader stepped from the shadows.
His ceremonial black robes bloodied, his face no longer hidden beneath the mask, revealing a pale, sunken skin, silver eyes gleaming with madness, and a mouth twisted in fury.
The man raised his hand, and the blood-soaked dagger from earlier now pulsed with a dull glow.
He pointed it directly at Arthur.
"You… Son of Satan!"
He spat, his voice trembling with venom.
"The reason for our torment… You dare interfere with the truth?! The world shall burn away its lies tonight! Heaven's chains will break! You despised-!"
"Oi mate. Shut the fuck up."
Arthur cut him off flatly with a scoff, his sudden Australian accent suddenly turning thick with mockery.
"You better square up, ya wrinkly old cunt, becuse tis about to get bloody!"
Jeanne blinked in confusion, Siegfried and Connla coughed into their hands to suppress a laugh, and even Arthur's Double did a double-take from the far side.
The cult leader's face turned a violent shade of red.
"KILL HIM! Defend me with your lives!"
He bellowed.
At his command, dozens more stray exorcists surged forward through the wreckage, emerging from behind broken columns and cliffside stairways.
They were armed with light blades, guns, and even explosives, their eyes burned with indoctrinated fervor as they descended on Arthur.
But Arthur didn't budge. He slowly lifted his gauntleted arms as his Boosted Gear pulsed.
[BOOST!]
"DIE, MONSTER!"
The first wave of strays came in fast, blades swinging, guns blazing.
Arthur stepped forward and launched a single punch.
*CRACK—CRACK—CRACK—*
Three heads shattered like eggshells, blood and brains sprayed across the ground.
The attackers collapsed, lifeles,s before they hit the ground.
Another group leapt toward him, trying to dogpile him.
[BOOST!]
Arthur spun, his elbow catching one in the chest and folding them in half.
He brought his boot down on another's head with brutal precision.
But they kept coming as ten became twenty and twenty became more.
(Arthur, that man is getting away with the other person.)
Ddraig gave him a heads up.
From the corner of his eye, Arthur spotted the cult leader grabbing the kneeling sacrifice and dragging them away through a hidden arch in the wall.
"Tch… You think you're slick…"
Arthur hissed, ducking a sword swipe and driving his fist into another's ribs.
As more strays charged at him, Arthur's patience snapped.
His Boosted Gear pulsed, and he growled.
"Get the fuck outta my face…"
[BOOST!]
He let loose a sudden roar as a surge of red aura erupted from his body in all directions.
The force blasted away the closest wave of strays, sending them flying through the air like ragdolls.
"Fuck off, extras!"
Arthur snarled, stepping forward through the haze.
"Connla! Clone-me! Get those victims to the boats! Jeanne! Sieg! Go nuts!"
Arthur shouted without looking back, already locking eyes on the leader escaping into the crumbling fortress wall.
"On it!"
Jeanne called back, slashing another exorcist across the chest, her eyes flaring with righteous fury.
"You didn't have to tell me twice!"
Siegfried shouted as he launched into the fray with a roar, his demon swords dancing in wide arcs.
Connla nodded quickly, grabbing two frightened townsfolk by his shadow and guiding them toward the cliff path and Arthur's clone, equally focused, took point and slashed down a stray with Excalibur before urging others forward.
"This way! Move fast, keep low!"
The sea of victims, though scared, started to move.
Meanwhile, Arthur broke into a sprint, charging after the fleeing cult leader.
"You better come back here, you wrinkly-ass bitch!"
He yelled, his voice echoing across the cliffs as the leader ran off, dragging the sacrifice behind him.
DxD
Hello readers!
Making chapters is hard, so please add this to your library and give me your power stones.
Thank you everyone and see you later!