"Assassin and his Master attacked the Church?!" Rias all but yelled as calmly as she possibly could, nearly rising from her chair while she stared at Sona incredulously. "You must be joking!"
"I'm not." Her friend answered her with a smooth tone, though it was clear by her expression that even she had a hard time accepting this information. "My Familiar confirmed it. More importantly, Namikaze-kun and Saber were present and fought with Freed as well. It seems that Freed was chasing after a nun that had recently arrived here in town. Why, I don't know. But he was willing to fight in neutral territory as far as Masters and Servants are concerned."
Rias stared, blue eyes still wide before she slumped, palming her forehead. "He truly is insane." she muttered. "I know that he was excommunicated because of his personality and actions, but… he must be mad. Attacking Neutral Territory and home base to the overseer of the War? Forget the Vatican. The Clock Tower would be hunting him down to the ends of the earth!"
"Indeed. Obviously, we underestimated how chaotic he would be."
"And he was chasing after a nun?" Sona nodded. "Who is she? An aid for Hortensia?"
Sona shook her head as she produced a manila folder, handing it to Rias. "I had to ask a few favors, courtesy of onee-sama… but this is what we have." Rias accepted the folder and opened it. Inside were documents and papers, each containing information regarding the blonde holy woman in question. Her photograph had her in her typical clothes, blonde hair spilling out beneath her hood and beautiful, innocent emerald eyes staring back, complete with a smile that showed only gentleness and kindness. Nothing more and nothing less. "Asia Argento. She's 17-years-old and was a former member of the Vatican Church. She's in possession of a Sacred Gear known as Twilight Healing. A powerful artifact, capable of healing all manner of wounds. Barring missing organs, of course."
"It says here she was excommunicated." Rias frowned. "For healing a Devil that was found in their territory. Do we know who it was?"
"No, but onee-sama believes it could have been the heir to the House of Astaroth."
Rias blinked. "Diodora Astaroth?" she questioned, earning a nod. "I overheard him mentioning at Millicas' Birthday Party that he was going to be taking a trip to Italy. Why would he be in Church territory?"
"I don't know. You'd have to ask him. Regardless, when this fact was discovered, the Bishops decided that a Sacred Gear that could heal Devils as well was nothing short of heresy and she was branded a witch. Following that, she was excommunicated. However, there was the possibility that the Bishops were corrupted. Currently, there's an investigation going on. And it is spearheaded by an Executor from the Black Sect."
The last bit sparked intrigue in the Gremory Heiress. An Executor of the Black Sect? That means things must be serious. If the investigation proves to up yield substantial evidence… then Rias felt no pity for those Bishops, despite her obvious background.
They would be lucky if there were even any remains left.
"Who's the Executor?" she couldn't help but ask with some curiosity. Whoever the Executor in question might be, the Bishops might be lucky.
Sona's face said otherwise, as if she knew they were already damned.
"The Executor… is Kiriya Kotomine."
That was it. Those Bishops were already damned. Kotomine Kiriya, also known as the Nightmare of the Black Sect. He is their strongest Executor, specializing in black keys and close combat. He has never failed a mission since his induction.
He was also extremely precise and thorough in his work.
Lancer snorted. "I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards."
"Oh?" Rias quirked an eyebrow. "Even though they are a fellow believer of God, Lancer?"
"Simply because I believe in God does not mean I have devoted myself to him. Were I summoned by a human Master and in my home country, perhaps." he admitted. "However, my Master is a Devil. Whereas my more saner self would perhaps reject the legend cast upon us by the eyes of humans, I have accepted it. Of course, I have not embraced it, either."
"Of course not." Rias smiled. "After all, you had me promise to never use your Noble Phantasm. Not even as a last resort."
"But of course." His eyes narrowed as he stared at the ground. "I do not ever… ever… wish to revert to that accursed state molded by the minds of foolish, ignorant humans. It is because of them my legend was tarnished."
"And I understand. As a Gremory, I will uphold my promise to you."
"And I thank you for that, my bride."
Rias' eyebrow twitched. "... You know how I hate being called that."
"Perhaps that's the reason why he does it, Rias." Sona suggested, smiling in amusement at the relationship between the two.
To her understanding behind Lancer's summons, there were two variants. One was a Vlad Tepes who was called into the world and embraced his legend as a vampire. A bloodthirsty demon who impaled all who dared to stand against him. Another was the Vlad Tepes who was called into the world in Wallachia, where he was remembered fondly as a warrior and a hero. One who rejected the legend of Dracula, which people had begun to associate with him over the years. His current state was a mix of the two. He was Vlad Tepes, but a variant who accepted his legend, molded by human hands as a vampire, but he rejected it for the same reason his more heroic counterpart did. It was unsightly and filthy.
And it was the only reason why he accepted Rias as his Master, despite being a Devil. Monsters accept other monsters, after all. Not only that, both had a deep wish to be remembered only as themselves, not by what others perceived them.
"In the meantime, do we know where Freed and Assassin have gone?"
At this time, Caster, who had remained silent, regretfully shook his head. "Sadly, we do not. However, yours and Lady Gremory's peerages' Familiars are currently surveying the city in search of him. If anything happens, we will know."