The Red Dragon's Saber
by Captain Bell is a crossover between Fate/stay night and High School D×D. It starts at the end of the Fate route and around Episode 3 of DxD.
At the end of the Fate route, Artoria Pendragon, formerly known as Saber, patiently waits in Avalon for her lover, Shirou Emiya, to find her, knowing it could take centuries from her point of view. Meanwhile, in another world, an injured Issei Hyoudou watches helplessly as Rias Gremory's peerage is about to teleport him away without his new friend Asia Argento, leaving her at the mercy of Freed Sellzen, Raynare, and her Fallen Angels. In desperation, he cries out for someone, anyone, to help him save her. Much to Artoria's surprise, she hears his plea all the way in Avalon. Moved by his plea and wishing to honor Shirou's dream of being a hero, she summons herself. She arrives in the DxD world, saves Asia, and pledges herself as Issei's Servant.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Question: Issei and Asia want to live together, but Rias points out Issei's house is vulnerable to attack. Artoria proposes that Rias set up a magical barrier similar to the one around the school around the house; after all, she is responsible for Issei's safety. Rias says her name is what protects Issei, but Artoria retorts, "Then why would this place need any more protection than just your name?" Rias concedes.
- Back from the Dead: When Artoria is summoned, she realizes much to her surprise that she is in a flesh and blood body again. She still has all her strength and powers, so it is not much different from when she was summoned while still alive during the Fifth Holy Grail War, but she knows she had died at the Battle of Camlann before being sent to Avalon.
- Badass Back: The Fallen Angels try to stab Artoria in the back a few times, but she easily deflects them.
- Battle Aura: Rias attempts to intimidate Artoria by unleashing her aura, which is described as red and like acid eating away at the world at an imperceptible level, as it is the Power of Destruction. Artoria is unfazed and unleashes her own aura, which is described as blue and white and like a bomb ready to explode like a star. The bystanders find it hard to breathe. After a few seconds of sizing each other up, they stop.
- Big Damn Heroes: Artoria arrives in time to help Asia escape from Freed and Raynare with Issei and his friends.
- Catchphrase Interruptus: When Artoria is summoned, she turns to Issei and starts to give her classic, "I ask of you, are you my Master?" speech, noting it's been a while since she was able to say that. In the middle of her sentence, Issei snaps out of the shock of her arrival and incredible beauty and runs to Asia trying lead her to safety. Artoria then protects them from an attack by Freed and dryly comments that answered her question.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Rias becomes really upset when she suspects Artoria might want to take Issei away.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Artoria vs Freed. She blocks a sword strike and a bullet, then knocks him through a wall with one kick.
- Artoria vs Raynare's group. They are unable to land a single blow on her. The only reason why the fight lasts longer than a minute was because Artoria promised Rias not to kill them to prevent the risk of starting a war.
- Entertainingly Wrong:
- When Artoria arrives, both the Fallen Angels and Rias' peerage assume Heaven sent an Angel to be a representative in the conflict because of her beauty. However, after a few seconds, they realize she is not an Angel because she doesn't have any Holy power.
- When Koneko smells dragon on Artoria, her group assumes she is a dragon in human form rather than someone with Dragon Ancestry. They also assume she arrived because she is in love with Issei and wants to take him away as a mate, which couldn't be farther from the truth. When Artoria doesn't know anything about House Gremory, Akeno and Kiba assume this is because dragons tend to live isolated from society, rather than her being from another world. She eventually clarifies that she is a human with Dragon Ancestry.
- When Kiba sees Artoria has an invisible weapon, he correctly pegs it as Excalibur. Later, after Artoria has defeated the Fallen Angels, he approaches her and cannot sense Excalibur's presence, so he assumes he was mistaken. In reality, Artoria simply returned the sword to spiritual form.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Raynare cannot understand why anybody as powerful as Artoria and not connected to House Gremory would want to help Asia and "that worthless loser" Issei.
- Explaining Your Power to the Enemy:
- While fighting the Fallen Angels, Artoria asks if they can survive without their wings. They gloat and explain that their wings hold a great percentage of their power, they cannot be damaged by ordinary weapons, and they eventually grow back. This in part because of their ego and because of Artoria's Charisma skill persuading them. This explanation proves to be their undoing as Artoria has Excalibur, a weapon far from ordinary, and she chops off their wings, incapacitating them.
- In the same fight, the Fallen Angels repeatedly ask Artoria to explain her origins and abilities, but she does not say anything.
- The Force Is Strong with This One: Rias and her peerage detect that while Artoria doesn't have Holy nor Demonic power, she has a lot of magical energy in her body.
- Got Me Doing It: Artoria says she will protect Issei and Asia for no payment, then tells herself that she is acting like Shirou because he always refused payment when saving people.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The Fallen Angels become jealous when they judge that Artoria is more beautiful than them.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Artoria swings and throws the Fallen Angels into each other several times.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Though Artoria starts her fight with the Fallen Angels already strong enough to knock them around, she gradually increases her power as the fight goes on, trying to find the right amount of strength to knock them out.
- Ignore the Fanservice: Discussed when Artoria faces the Fallen Angels. She thinks they wear scanty outfits to distract their opponents and tells herself that her Knights of the Round Table are too disciplined for that to work. Or at least she hopes they are.
- I Owe You My Life: Issei comments to himself that he owes two beautiful girls. He owes Rias for reviving him back when Raynare murdered him, and he really wants to repay Artoria for saving him and Asia from Freed and Raynare.
- I Will Wait for You: Artoria was doing this in Avalon, waiting for Shirou to find her, but she decides to help Issei out both because it is the right thing to do and because Avalon is boring. Besides, it will still be centuries from her perspective before Shirou arrives.
- Keep the Reward: According to Artoria, Shirou never accepted rewards or payment for saving people. She herself asks for no payment to protect Issei and Asia.
- The Law of Diminishing Defensive Effort: Averted. While fighting the Fallen Angels, Artoria becomes tempted to try to tank one of their light spears to test her Magic Resistance skill. She decides it is not worth the risk and continues dodging and blocking them.
- Let's You and Him Fight:
- Since Rias' peerage have no idea who Artoria is, where she came from, or what her true motives are, they prepare for a fight after she defeats the Fallen Angels. When she says she simply wants to make sure Issei and Asia are safe, they stand down, but are still wary.
- Later, when Artoria learns that Rias and her group are Devils, Artoria attacks them until Issei and Asia are able to convince her that they are not evil.
- Loophole Abuse: Issei didn't summon Artoria, she summoned herself. She did this by treating his plea for help as his summoning spell, hijacked the magic circle Akeno made to teleport the peerage away and turned it into a summoning circle, and channeled the power of Valerie Tepes' Sephiroth Graal since that is this world's Holy Grail.
- Mook Horror Show: Artoria's beatdown of the Fallen Angels is partially shown from Raynare's point of view. It shows her growing frustration over getting her butt kicked and then her terror when Artoria chops off their wings.
- New Transfer Student: Asia and Artoria transfer into Kuoh Academy while pretending to be sisters.
- Noodle Incident: Koneko mentions that she had faced a dragon before, which is how she knows what they smell like. Issei comments to himself that he should ask about that story later.
- The Nose Knows: Koneko, being a Cat Girl, smells that Artoria has Dragon Ancestry, though she assumes Artoria actually is a dragon.
- Oh, Crap!:
- When Artoria summons herself, Valerie Tepes is horrified when her Sephiroth Graal starts activating, controlled by an unknown party.
- Rias' peerage is shocked when their emergency teleport fails because Artoria hijacked their magic circle.
- When Koneko identifies Artoria as a dragon, everyone present is shocked.
- In her battle with the Fallen Angels, the only time Artoria is shocked is when Dohnaseek asks how she has Excalibur, causing her to wonder how he saw through her Invisible Air.note
- Parrying Bullets: Artoria blocks Freed's bullet with her invisible sword when he tries to shoot her at point-blank range.
- Protectorate: Artoria declares Issei and Asia are under her protection.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Asia uses this technique to persuade Rias to let her stay with Issei despite being human and a member of the Church. Akeno makes fun of Rias for caving in.
- Revenge: After getting defeated after Artoria slices off her wings, Raynare swears she will have her revenge and slice off all of Artoria's limbs.
- Ship Sinking: After getting many messages asking about the topic, the author clarified that Artoria is still devoted to Shirou, so she will not join Issei's harem and will simply serve and protect him.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Because of Artoria's interference, Asia is able to escape with Issei and doesn't end up killed by Raynare and forced to be revived as a Devil by Rias.
- Because they fight Artoria instead of Rias' peerage, Raynare, Dohnaseek, Kalawarner, and Mittelt end up crippled instead of dead.
- Still Got It: Artoria is pleased to find she still has all her power and skills, fearing they may have decayed due to her years of peace in Avalon.
- Tempting Fate: When Artoria asks if the Fallen Angels can survive without their wings, they boast that they can, but their wings cannot be damaged by ordinary weapons. Excalibur is far from ordinary, and she quickly chops their wings off, crippling them.
- This Cannot Be!: Raynare and the other Fallen Angels say it is impossible that Artoria is effortlessly kicking their butts.
- Ultimate Life Form: Out of arrogance, Raynare declared that Angels and by extension Fallen Angels like herself are the ultimate beings, superior to all other races. She is proven wrong when Artoria kicks her and her comrades' butts.Narration: Raynare is ignorant of how her confusion is the result of her own bias. To her, angels are perfect beings. The members of the heavenly host are not born, but created by their Father with the full knowledge and capabilities necessary for the role they are each meant to fill. Even after they fall, angels are still everything they are ever meant to be. Many beings exist who are stronger than the weakest two-winged angels, yes, but Raynare cannot believe she has met one here.
- Undead Tax Exemption: Rias uses her influence in the school board to get Asia and Artoria enrolled in school. Artoria resembles Asia enough to pass for her sister.
- Underestimating Badassery: Raynare and her comrades completely underestimate Artoria both because of their arrogance in assuming they are perfect beings with no equal and because she doesn't use Holy nor Demonic power.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Raynare mentions to herself that she and her Fallen Angel comrades never trained due to believing they are the ultimate beings, and that only higher ranked Angels could ever be a threat to them. Thus Artoria, who is very Strong and Skilled, can easily avoid their attacks and smack them around.
- Victory by Endurance: The Fallen Angels almost manage to achieve this against Artoria because no matter how hard she kicks their asses, they can't be knocked out and they don't get tired. Fortunately, Artoria manages to disable them by cutting off their wings.
- War Is Hell: Artoria fought in many wars during her life and is utterly sick of them. She wants to make sure Issei and Asia never have to experience one.
- What Beautiful Eyes!:
- Asia is enthralled by Artoria's emerald eyes.
- Issei and his friends think Asia's own eyes are beautiful, especially when she gives Puppy-Dog Eyes.
- What the Hell Are You?: When Artoria starts kicking their asses, the Fallen Angels ask this several times. She doesn't answer.
- What Would X Do?: One of the reasons why Artoria decides to help Issei is she knows Shirou would do it if he were in this situation.
- When She Smiles: When Artoria first appears, she has her usual stoic look. When she identifies Issei and Asia, she smiles. Issei is awestruck, telling himself he didn't think she could be any lovelier, but he was wrong. Asia also likes her smile and decides to trust her because of it.
- Withholding Their Name: Artoria refuses to tell anyone her name because she is aware King Arthur exists in this world so it would be awkward, so she tells everyone to call her Saber.
- Worthy Opponent: Artoria acknowledges the Fallen Angels' resilience because no matter how hard she hits them, they won't stay down. She has to resort to cutting off their wings to neutralize them.
- Wrecked Weapon: Artoria's Excalibur, even sheathed in Invisible Air, is powerful enough to destroy the Fallen Angels' light spears with a single blow, though the Fallen Angels simply make new ones.
- You Remind Me of X: Issei's determination and recklessness in trying to save Asia despite his injuries remind Artoria of Shirou.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Artoria stays behind to fend off the Fallen Angels while Issei and his friends take Asia to safety.
