DxD: Ascension - Redux

Chapter 33: Kyoto

One week ago, at the Satans' Palace (BGM: Destiny: Rise of Iron - At Peace)

Zach walked across the bridge leading from the heart of the Underworld's capital city to the Satans' Palace. The guards he passed saluted him as he walked past. He came finally to the front doors and placed a hand on each one. As if responding to his touch, the doors swung open and he stepped inside.

BGM: Destiny 2: Forsaken - Of Starlight and Dark (loop @ 2:26)

Sirzechs was waiting for him. "Zach. Glad you could make it."
"Glad to be here." Zach bowed. "What've you got to show me?"
"A couple of swords. Usually, one of them is kept in Heaven, but they allowed me to bring it here so I could show it to you. Come with me." Sirzechs and Zach went down a few floors using an elevator, then continued through winding hallways until they came across a door with a sword icon on it. "We're here." Sirzechs pushed the door open and entered, Zach right behind.
The room was empty, save for two swords floating in midair. The sword on the left was a single-edged sword made from some form of light blue crystal & blue metal, with runic inscriptions on the base of the blade. There was a blue gem embedded in the wing-shaped crossguard and one in the pommel. Its sheath, lying on the ground, was made of the same metal/crystal combination. The sword was surrounded by a dome of dark red energy. The sword on the right was a double-edged sword with a skull and a seemingly living eyeball in the crossguard. It appeared to be made of a combination of metal and flesh. It was surrounded by a dome of white and gold light.
Zach stared at the swords. "What are they?"
"This," Sirzechs gestured to the left-hand sword, "is Excalibur. The almost fully formed, near-perfect Excalibur in all its glory. And the other sword is what you'd probably call Excalibur's evil twin. We refer to it as the Corrupted Excalibur."
Zach reached out to touch the sword but hesitated. "Corrupted?"
"Yes. It has all the same powers as the true Excalibur, but this sword's magic is focused around demonic power rather than holy, making it extremely effective against angels."
"Incredible. I never thought the Church would dare to reforge Excalibur after what happened with Kokabiel and Valper Galilei."
"Nor did I, but after the assault on our summit, the Seraphs and Satans came to the agreement that we needed Excalibur to be as close to being fully forged as we could get."
"That reminds me, Irina said back then that the Church could account for six Excalibur pieces," Zach recalled. "So there's one more missing?"
"Yes. According to Lady Gabriel, the one we need is Excalibur Ruler." A projection of the sword appeared above Sirzechs's hand: a steel blade with a red fuller, a golden crossguard, and a leather-wrapped hilt.
"What does it do?"
"It forces the target under the user's control, and if they remain under control long enough, the target can be subject to the user's will even without the sword's intervention. I consider it the most dangerous."
"I've seen the sword before. Arthur had it."
"Arthur?"
"Arthur Pendragon. Vali's friend with the blond braid. He had Excalibur Ruler with him when we first met. He used it to control Fenrir and take it away. He had it with him again when the Old Satan Faction attacked not too long ago. It has to be the same sword."
"I can't believe it... it slipped straight through our fingers. Twice. If we had only known, we'd be looking at the true, complete Excalibur right now."
"So why is it here?"
"Excalibur radiates such a powerful holy aura that, seeing as it's not sentient and can't control itself without a wielder, we need to keep it here in the Underworld to contain it. It's usually in Cocytus, but we brought it here for you to see. The Corrupted Excalibur spends most of its time in Heaven, closely guarded in the Seraphs' headquarters for a similar but opposite reason." Sirzechs waved his hand and the swords disappeared. "We have them ready just in case we need their power, though I'd much rather we didn't. Excalibur makes me uncomfortable for obvious reasons and the Corrupted one is, to put it simply, terrifying. I'd much prefer we destroy it, but it could come in handy."
"I think we could combine the two, you know. Reforge them into one ultimate weapon," Zach suggested. "The biggest problem would be finding someone compatible enough to wield it."
"A Daemon would likely be able to."
"A Daemon?"
"Yes. There have only been six human Daemons since humanity came into being. The first Daemon was a devil. Simply put, they're acausal beings, and therefore have unthinkable levels of potential power. Like yourself, in a sense. Being from another universe-"
"It means that I'm not totally confined by the laws of this one. However, I'm still at least somewhat bound to those laws, as seen in the fact that I'm much weaker here than back home."
"Exactly. I take it you've heard that entire explanation before?" Sirzechs guessed.
"Yeah. Isn't that why you and the other leaders decided to personally train me? So I could try and get back to that level of power?"
"Yes. Though we haven't had much success yet. But I think it's time you return home. Goodbye, Zach. I'll see you next time."
"See you." Zach waved and disappeared through a magic circle. He returned to Earth, finding himself in his bedroom. He stared at his blank wall and clapped twice. Magical projections depicting various people and things filled the wall, connected to each other like a spider's web by purple lightning.