Editing BlazBlue:Calamity Trigger Part 2 Chapter 3

==BBCT2 Chapter 3: False hero — The Man Called Hero==

===Part 1===
'''December 30, 2199 - 23:45''' 

The night deepened quietly under the clear silver moon.

The wind that crossed the heights was strong, making a sound like death cutting through the air. The clouds, thin and stretched out, occasionally blocked the moonlight and were easily swept away, disappearing into the sky.

The commercial district of the upper layer of Kagutsuchi was already mostly closed, with few people around, enveloped in a secretive atmosphere. The stores that operated at night were only lined up on the main street, and if you took the back streets, you could head to the city center without attracting unnecessary attention.

There were few lights and no unnecessary facilities. This was a city that was managed for order. Those who sought entertainment would go down a few levels to a place with less surveillance.

Otherwise, they would obediently return to their blessed homes and enjoy the warmth of a  warm room.

The people who lived around here, whether shallow or deep, all had some kind of connection with the NOL. With the Novus Orbis Librarium's Kagutsuchi branch nearby, and many related facilities lined up around it, there were few who would choose to go out at night.

Yes. The Novus Orbis Librarium's Kagutsuchi branch was visible nearby.

"Every time I see it, it's always... a hollow figure."

In the nighttime of the upper city, a white shadow stopped and chewed.

It had a form that was like a human, but not a human. The toned body was the silhouette of a man, and he was tall. He wore a strange outfit based on white and black, not revealing a single piece of human skin. Not his fingertips, toes, not even his head.

The man in white and black had no expression. The face, which looked like it was covered with a white mask, had no eyes, nose, or mouth, and a long tuft of white hair-like things grew from his head.

On his back, he carried a sword that was abnormally long. It was one of only two in the world, a Nox Nyctores: Interfectum Malus: Ookami.

It was a weapon created during the Dark War, which began about a hundred years ago, to fight against the Black Beast.

The fact that he carried it on his back indicated that he was a hero, the owner of Ookami.

His name was Hakumen. He was one of the Six Heroes said to have taken the lead in challenging the Black Beast that rampaged to destroy humanity during the "Dark War," a war where the world once saw despair.

He was said to have gone missing immediately after the war, and since then, no one knew his whereabouts... and now, about ninety years later, the hero in white attire was in the land of Kagutsuchi.

Large, claw-like feet walked, hidden in the shadows of the dark back streets. The destination was the rumored Kagutsuchi branch of the NOL, which shone in the moonlight.

The sophisticated cityscape that led to it was nostalgic for Hakumen.

No, the word nostalgic was not enough. It was a distant memory. An old, old memory. Parts of it were blurred and painful, or torn and lost, and they would never be repaired. But someday, it was a fragment of memory that the soul certainly saw, heard, touched, and tasted.

He once walked this land in a different form than now, chasing the same man as now. And at the end of that...

"That's... a phenomena weapon."

Suddenly, Hakumen stopped walking.

Ahead, beyond the darkness of the night, there was a known presence. A phenomena weapon - like the Ookami on his back, it seemed that one of the weapons created during the Dark War was there.

But it was strange. The weapon that Hakumen knew was long sealed, and shouldn't exist as a Nox Nyctores. Moreover, the presence that felt like it was clinging to this thread somehow felt different from the one that was in the same battlefield in the past.

It was an uncomfortable feeling, as if he had stepped into a muddy place. This unclear feeling, even if he tried to ignore it, was persistent and clung to him. Either way, it was the destination. Hakumen lowered his waist while facing the direction of the presence, and jumped high.

Jumping to the roof of the building beside him, he kicked off his feet as they were and went forward. Overlooking the moon, he jumped over the roofs one after another.

The moon was swelling into an almost perfect circle. Tomorrow would be a full moon.

The full moon did not bring good memories.

Jumping over the last roof, he found the owner of the presence below. If Hakumen had an expression, he would have frowned in suspicion.

A child was walking on a back street that deliberately deviated from the main street, a dark path with only the light leaking from the windows of the buildings. Although he was wearing fine clothes, the path he was walking and the time of day were completely unsuitable.

Walking alongside the child, as if accompanying him, was the owner of the déjà vu and discomfort that Hakumen felt.

Catching the night wind, Hakumen jumped down. He landed right in front of the child and the strange figure standing beside him.

"Whoa!" The child raised a voice of surprise appropriate for his age at the white intruder who had fallen from the sky. But at the same time, the way he jumped back was by no means childish.

As Hakumen recognized from a distance, he was a boy in fine clothes. A purple outfit with a cloak of the same color and a top hat. Behind the round glasses, there were eyes that seemed to be of good birth nestled in the eye sockets, but the emotions there were strangely uneasy.

Was it because of the figure beside him? Hakumen straightened his posture from the landing position and turned his face to the tall figure who had stepped out in front of the boy, instead of the boy.

It was a mechanical doll.

Although it was modeled after a woman in a purple dress, it was clear at a glance that it wasn't human. The inorganic and metallic texture, the face that looked like a mere creation, the arms that were too long and looked like sturdy gauntlets, and the sharp claws lined up instead of fingers.

"Nox Nyctores... Deus Machina: Nirvana." In a muffled voice under the mask, Hakumen spoke the doll's name.

At that moment, murderous intent gushed out from the boy like a spray. His wide-open blue eyes harbored a dangerous light, and he stared at Hakumen as if challenging him without fear. The hand he held out, as if protecting the mechanical doll standing one step behind him, could be seen as if he were bracing himself.

"I don't know who you are, but I don't know anyone by that name. I'm Carl Clover, and this is my sister, Ada. There's no one named Nirvana here." The boy, who identified himself as Carl in an innocent but hostile voice, told Hakumen. But immediately, as if called by someone, he turned around sharply. What he looked up at through his large glasses was the mechanical doll he called his sister.

"Huh? What's wrong, sister?" Carl behaved as if he could hear the voice of the doll behind him.

Hakumen's ears could not hear the voice of the mechanical doll Nirvana. Even if there were other people in this place, they would probably not be able to hear it.

The voice of his sister whispering to him was only heard by Carl. Whether it was really Nirvana's voice or not was another matter.

"This person..." 

While turning his ear to his sister, Carl looked at Hakumen with caution. They were not the eyes of a child. His eyes, which were both ruthless and aggressive, as well as intelligent, observed Hakumen closely. Soon, the boy found an answer and frowned with his handsome eyebrows as if doubting his own eyes.

"That body... and the odachi on your back... could it be the Interfectum Malus: Ookami? Then you're... Hakumen of the Six Heroes?" Carl's tone, which suggested that he had some knowledge of Ookami and the Six Heroes, made him feel like he had a level of education beyond his years.

Why such a boy was with this doll was unclear to Hakumen.

"Child, that doll is a Nox Nyctores. Touching it demands a corresponding burden from the user. Even if it's Nirvana, it will be too much poison for a young mind." Hakumen spoke calmly without returning any of the hostility or murderous intent that were directed at him.

A Nox Nyctores is not just a weapon. In the past, each weapon had its own "individuality," and in order to wield its power, it interfered with the user's mind to draw out even more power, making it a semi-living weapon.

The Ookami that Hakumen possessed, and the Nirvana over there, had sealed their "individuality," so there wasn't as much burden as during the war. Even so, possessing a Nox Nyctores meant that the mind was being eroded and interfered with every day.

Unless one had a stronger mental strength than necessary, or something that could replace it, it was difficult not only to handle, but to even maintain a sane mind.

"Then, what are you trying to say?" Carl glared at Hakumen with an upward glance and an unsettling voice. The well-mannered face he had been trying to maintain was now abandoned, and he was measuring the distance between himself and Hakumen with an uneasy calmness.

"What I do is none of your business. What's wrong with siblings being together in the first place?" Carl's tone was slightly different from a child's tantrum or selfishness. It was more insightful and calm.

"You understand, and yet you say you will follow it?" Hakumen muttered to himself. 

He could see that the boy named Carl understood that the doll he called his sister, Nirvana, was a Nox Nyctores. That being together was bizarre to others. That being together put a strain on his mind. However, it was doubtful how truly he felt the sense of crisis that he might be ruined as a result.

"You have a rude way of speaking for someone who's supposed to be one of the Six Heroes." Carl grimaced unhappily.

Without being moved by his desperate glare, Hakumen asked again. "Where did you get it?"

That which should have been sealed long ago.

"I have no obligation to answer. Please move out of the way. If you are going to interfere with us, even if you are Hakumen, one of the Six Heroes... I will not forgive you."

As if to show that there was no falsehood in those words, Carl clenched his hand wrapped in a white glove tightly. Seemingly induced by Carl's will, Nirvana slid forward several steps, and then, as he had been done to her earlier, she stood to protect her little master behind her back.

"Sister?" That seemed to be different from what Carl had intended, and the boy looked up at his sister in bewilderment. The inorganic sister stood motionless in front of Carl, lightly opening both arms as if to block the way. The face with lowered metallic eyelids had no eyes, but a quiet gaze stared at Hakumen.

Carl knew that if he jumped out, Hakumen would draw the odachi on his back without hesitation and fight back.

Nirvana probably understood that. Or perhaps it was a memory.

From behind Nirvana, who was trying to protect her master by shielding him, Carl, unable to grasp the situation, raised his voice in agitation.

"What's wrong, sister!? Can you hear me!? ...Y-you, what did you do to my sister!?" His expression, which had been so calm until then, changed drastically. His eyes narrowed and he showed intense anger. But Nirvana firmly held Carl back, preventing him from moving even a step forward. 

As if measuring the distance, Nirvana took a step back. Following her, Hakumen grabbed his odachi.

At that moment, Nirvana, with a sudden movement that ignored breathing, grabbed Carl as if snatching him up, and jumped up to the roof. Immediately, she avoided the moonlight and chose the darkness, running from the roof to the alley, and then dashing towards the main street and disappearing.

Soon the presence moved away, and eventually blended into the lights of the city.

"Did they get away?" Hakumen took his hand off the odachi.

If they went to a crowded place, it would be difficult to chase them. If they were found by the NOL soldiers, who would be suitable for maintaining security, there would be various troubles.

Besides... it seemed that another person had come whom he'd have to deal with.

When the presence of the Nox Nyctores disappeared and the quiet night air descended again, this time the fragrance of flowers mixed in and danced there.

Hakumen turned around. A small whirlwind danced in front of him, and as if a flower bud blossomed and opened, the scent of roses overflowed in that place. At the same time, a girl appeared, crossing the space.

With golden hair and red eyes, wearing a gorgeous black dress, and appearing with a parasol with a cat's face and a red, round familiar, it was the summoned ghost in the form of a girl, Rachel Alucard.

Leaning the umbrella she held in both hands on her small shoulder and looking at Hakumen diagonally, Rachel let out a chuckle and a provocative smile.

"It's been a while, Mr. Hero."

"Harlequin."

To Rachel, who called out to him teasingly, Hakumen replied in a low voice, faintly showing his disgust.

But Rachel directed a smile like a sneer at Hakumen's quiet, threatening spirit, and turned her umbrella around.

"You seem to have plenty of time on your hands. To be meddling with a passing phenomena weapon..."

"It's none of your business."

"Do you remember the old you, the one who was trapped by the Nox Nyctores?"

The old you. At those mischievous words, Hakumen turned towards Rachel.

Perhaps his reaction was amusing, Rachel put a white fingertip to her lips and let out a laugh like the rustling of clothes.

"Oh, how terrible. Is it true?"

"A Nox Nyctores is not something that should be left in human history... That is the only reason."

All of the Nox Nyctores should have been destroyed immediately after the end of the Dark War. It was hard to believe that they still remain in this world. 

But even that was probably nothing more than a foolish sentiment for this cunning vampire.

Even now, perhaps thinking that Hakumen's excuse was a poor one, she did not stop her mocking gaze.

"It's not just the phenomena weapon. This city is also nostalgic, isn't it? I wonder how long ago it was for you. The memory of you, as Jin Kisaragi, wandering Kagutsuchi with a different sword than you have now, and fighting your brother deep underground..."

"Harlequin." Hakumen stopped Rachel, who spoke like a rolling bell, in a heavy tone. He had no intention of listening any further. "I have discarded that name. My name is Hakumen.  From the time you led me to this forest and made it mine, I have only been myself. No one else."

Not now. Not in this place. Hakumen was certainly a young man with a different name. But that is exactly what "not the current dimension" means.

"You, on the other hand, are quite eloquent this time. You, a mere bystander who knows everything but does not lift a finger, are able to line up words so skillfully." Hakumen retorted, mixing in a sound that could be taken as a snort or a sneer.

Rachel, while hooking her short hair behind her small ear, smiled with a composed face. It was a mature, bewitching smile that made one forget for a moment that she was a girl in appearance.

"That's right. As you say, I am a 'bystander.' In other words, I am an 'audience' of this story. The audience can throw jeers from the outside, but they cannot change the content of the stage, can they? Even if I am shown the same stage many times."

"Nonsense."

But Hakumen also understands that this is the truth.

The vampire is a bystander who can only watch the scene. A spectator who has no choice but to watch the way fate continues to roll.

But Hakumen does not even think for a moment that he will be content with that infinitely powerless position. If there are skillful hands, he will not stop pulling them, and if there are feet to step on, he will not stop struggling. He is determined to fight as long as this body can move.

Hakumen put his hand on his mask and bowed deeply. After a moment of silence, he released his hand and turned his back to Rachel.

"You can stay there and enjoy the show as long as you like. I will cut off the world in my own way."

"You can't do it, Mr. Hero."

"Even if I can't, my sword is in my hand."

The logic was enough.

Even as Hakumen walked away, shaking the silver tufts hanging from his head, Rachel did not stop him. As if she thought that even stopping him was too much of a jeer for a spectator.

The night wind was cold, and the swirling sound high in the sky seemed to be a sign of something. 

But without feeling any emotion at the sound, Hakumen walked along the dark back streets.

The destination was the magnificent Novus Orbis Librarium Kagutsuchi branch. Underneath that... he intended to wait for him.

===Part 2===
'''December 30, 2199 - 23:45''' 

The cold wind of midnight carried the clouds and hid the moon.

But from here, the closest place to the sky in all of Kagutsuchi, most of the way the clouds flow was an event at his feet.

Novus Orbis Librarium Kagutsuchi branch. The rooftop was usually unused and empty, with nothing on it.

The fact that there was not even a single handrail despite being at the highest height was because it was not originally a place where one should set foot.

But there, tonight, was the figure of a man.

"Well, then. I guess this is about it." Hazama of the Intelligence Department muttered in a nonchalant, drawn-out tone.

Hazama, who had been crouching on the empty circular stage-like rooftop, stood up while lightly brushing his hands.

As expected, the wind was strong just because of the altitude. Hazama took out a palm-sized communication device from his suit's inner pocket, easily operated something with his knobby fingers, and firmly held his hat so that it would not be blown away by the wind.

The communication device, which was put to his ear, repeated a boring ringing tone.

He was kept waiting for a few seconds. Soon the ringing tone stopped, and a clicking sound rang in his ear, followed by a voice responding.

"It's me." It was a low and lustrous male voice. However, there was no  trace of emotion in that voice, and it made a completely bland sound on flat ground. Hazama's smile deepened at the sound of the voice, and put his hat on even more carefully.

"Ah, it's Hazama. Thank you for your hard work. I'm sorry to bother you at this late hour."

"Are the preparations complete?" Whether he heard Hazama's voice or not, the person on the other end of the phone asked emotionlessly, as if he did not care at all about the words spoken to him.

"Good grief." Hazama could not help but shake his head. He was always like this. "Seriously, you're as impatient as ever. You could at least return a proper greeting! It's a basic rule for a working adult, you know?"

"Is it done?" He apparently had no intention of listening. It was a truly typical response from the other party in the communication. Hazama shrugged his shoulders. The sharply ringing wind cut through the clouds behind him and disappeared somewhere.

"Yes, it's done. Everything is ready. Well... I don't know if this will be useful, though." Saying that, Hazama looked up at the sky. A cold moon was shining beyond the clouds that were flowing at an incredible speed. Perhaps it would be a full moon tomorrow?

At the composed round face that he looked down from that height, Hazama gave a derisive sigh.

"After this, we'll be observing the situation here... what will you do? If you have anything else you want me to do, please tell me now. Tomorrow, I have to monitor a certain lieutenant, you know."

The person on the other end of the communication suddenly gave him errands sometimes, which was troublesome.

As if to make sure, Hazama confirmed, and the other party replied after a few seconds, seemingly without interest.

"Nothing in particular for now... let me know if there's anything."

"Understood. Then, I'll take my leave. Colonel Relius Clover." The communication was cut off with a small sound.

Sliding the silent communicator back into his suit's inner pocket, Hazama turned his back on the empty space of the rooftop and started walking.

As he walked, the heels of his hard leather shoes clicking on the rooftop floor, a voice spoke to his consciousness.

"Well, well, tomorrow is the real show, Hazama."

The voice was sticky, unpleasant, sarcastic, and seemed to be making fun of him. 

That way of speaking would sometimes grate on people's nerves and irritate them. But for Hazama, who heard that voice closer than anyone else, his foul mouth and attitude weren't something to be concerned about.

While walking with a nonchalant and frivolous gait, Hazama lowered the corners of his eyebrows greatly with a wry smile.

"Oh dear, it was quite a task, really. But when I think about how many times there have been patterns where I've worked hard on this and that, and then everything is ruined at the very end... it's just depressing to even imagine it."

"That's right, that's right? I'm having a hard time, you know?" The owner of the voice spoke with an exaggeratedly bored tone. Hazama listened to it and smiled wryly.

But there was only Hazama on the rooftop. There wasn't even a sign of someone else.

Even so, while strangely conversing with someone, Hazama returned to the inside of the branch. 

There was still nothing on the rooftop where Hazama said he had "prepared" something. However, the moon illuminated the lonely scene in a somewhat ominous way.




'''December 31, 2199 - 13:05'''

After walking through a disgusting sewer for a long time and crawling out of a narrow exit, the sky was already dyed in the color of night.

The proper air that he inhaled after several hours was the kind of clean air that was typical of the upper city, which in turn made him feel sick.

The people who live above would probably faint immediately if they inhaled the air of the lower level. He couldn't help but think that sarcastically.

Fortunately, it was late and there were almost no people around, and if he chose a dark road, he could walk around without anyone watching him.

Avoiding shopping streets and residential areas, Ragna went as far as possible to escape to the city's outskirts. What he sought is a place where he could rest his body.

The journey of several hours through the bad roads from Orient Town to the Kaka tribe's village, and from there through the sewer to the upper layer, had taken its toll on his body. Tonight, he would rest his body for the time being, and aim for the NOL branch tomorrow night.

Having decided so, he wandered around the corner of the upper layer where no one was around. It was already past midnight when he finally found a warehouse that seemed to be unused and rolled into it.

There was something like a natural park nearby, and the warehouse he found seemed to be a forgotten relic of some building that used to be here. The lock was only a simple one, and he forced it open and entered.

The inside was dusty enough to make him cough lightly as soon as he opened it, but after ventilating it for a while and mixing it with the clean air that the upper layer provided, the dusty warehouse was more comfortable for Ragna.

The warehouse wasn't very large, but it wasn't extremely small either. It was enough space for a man of Ragna's size to lean his back against the wall, stretch his legs, and sleep overnight. It also helped that there were few things in it, as it was not used.

He often slept outdoors. Tonight's sleeping place, with a roof, walls, and floor, and most important, privacy, was quite good.

Avoiding people's eyes, he closed the door. Faint moonlight seeps in through a small gap, drawing a pale blue line in the warehouse.

Crossing it, Ragna sat down. He took off the sword that he had been lowering and placed it beside him, then leaned his head against the cold, simple wall and used it as a pillow.

"Hah...I don't know..." As soon as he settled down, a deep sigh escaped and his shoulders dropped. Looking back, he had hardly walked on a proper road all day today.

''(No wonder I'm tired...)'' Ragna thought vaguely while looking at the streak of moonlight that passed through the floor and his knees.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, he would be walking on roads that were too proper. He would go through the upper city and break into the NOL's branch.

The time was always at night. During the day, many people enter and exit the branch.

He had no feelings of hesitation or consideration towards the NOL, but he didn't want to involve innocent people who happened to be there. He didn't want to make a fuss and attract people's attention.

On the contrary, it was honestly refreshing to see the NOL's people being wary at night, and yet being caught off guard and flustered. He hoped that they would never have a peaceful night.

"NOL, huh..."

No matter how much fatigue weighed on him, that name alone stirred Ragna's heart. A scorching heat spread from the depths of his body, stirring Ragna's fighting spirit.

It was the same even now. The light in his eyes, which should have been relaxed to rest his body, was completely lit with the fire of hostility, and his large teeth, which were clenched as if trying to suppress the impulsive outburst, bit down on his senses.

For Ragna, the NOL was the target of all the hatred that arose. It was hostility, murderous intent, and all the harm he could think of.

The root of this was seven years ago. The day when the church of the sister who raised them was attacked and burned down... it had been firmly burned into Ragna's heart and memory, and would never be erased.

===Part 3===
When he opened his eyes, the area had been raining for some time.

The soil under his face was wet and smelled suffocating. But more than that, the smell of burnt wood was lingering around, and he almost coughed from the non-existent smoke in the area.

The fire was out. The rain must have put it out.

In Ragna's hazy vision, the unrecognizable, unsightly form of the church, which had been roaring and burning just a while ago, remained.

"Too late... rain..." Powerless lips trembled in a voice that could not be heard.

The white wall where he used to throw mud balls and get scolded was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the pointed roof, nor the simple cross that stood on top of it, nor the small skylight that allowed the morning sun to enter.

Only a few charred, pillar-like sticks were standing here and there, looking forlornly at the sky.

The rain must have been falling for a long time. Ragna's body, rolling on the ground, was completely soaked, his clothes were heavy with absorbed rainwater, as if his whole body was being pressed down by something.

He couldn't move his arms or legs. His body was cold and his senses were distant, and he wasn't sure if he was alive or dead.

Ragna's right arm was missing. He was blown away without knowing why by a shadowy man who attacked the border. There was a deep stab wound on his back. It was a wound inflicted by Ragna's younger brother, who was standing next to the shadowy man, with a sword.

Those were the only two major wounds, but how much blood had been lost while he was unconscious? How much of his life had Ragna lost while the church burned down and the rain extinguished the fire?

It was not all due to the rain that his body would not move or that he had no sensation. Even if it had not rained, Ragna's body would not have moved, and sensation would not have been left.

Like the embers smoldering at the edge of the charcoal being extinguished by the rain, Ragna's life was about to be extinguished.

He felt that it was over.

The church was burned down. The sister was dead. His younger brother and sister were taken away... and eventually Ragna's life would be lost.

''(Sister, Jin, Saya!)''

The call remained in his heart. There was not even the strength left to engrave it on his lips.

He was going to die. Without knowing anything, without being able to do anything. While being stained with blood and dirt between the rain and mud, he would die as he was taken away.

Prompted by the sensation that seemed to be crawling up from his fingertips, his eyelids slowly closed... at that moment. Suddenly, the rain moved away.

"How unsightly." A voice was heard. It was a woman's voice. He didn't recognize it. But that voice gave Ragna a little strength.

''(Who is it?)''

That question made Ragna lift his eyelids. He couldn't move his neck or chin, but his eyeballs moved. Rolling his eyeballs in their sockets, Ragna searched for the owner of the voice.

She was there.

Right next to Ragna's turning head.

Wearing thick-soled shoes and a black dress with fluttering hem, a girl was standing with a large bat umbrella. She was about the same age as his younger sister. She looked a little over ten years old. The ribbon that stood upright, tying up her long golden hair, looked like rabbit ears.

The rain was gone because Ragna's head was under the shadow of her umbrella.

"Shall I watch you die like this? It's lonely to die alone, isn't it?" Whether she was serious or joking, the girl with the umbrella spoke to Ragna in a calm tone.

Ragna could only respond to that question with a faint breath. However, he did not avert his eyes.

He couldn't bear to be in grief, cry out, or despair in front of this child. He didn't want to die while being pitied.

How long had they been doing this, exchanging glances and staring at each other? The girl's eyes were a deep red color that suited the silhouette of the rabbit-eared ribbon. The crimson eyes eventually asked.

"Or do you want an arm to stand up?"

"Uh... wha...?" His throat reflexively trembled, squeezing out a voice.

The girl nodded.

"You've lost it, haven't you? Here... you can get anything you want if you wish." The girl's voice was both teasing and cold. 

Not understanding what she was saying, Ragna just glared at the girl. If he could get anything he wanted, what would he want? Such a thing crossed his mind in a corner of his dull thoughts.

''(...I want power.)''

He thrust his fingertips, which had not moved even a bit, into the wet soil.

''(I want power... power that no one can beat.)''

He wanted the power to rush to the sister's aid and protect her.

He wanted the power to bring back his deranged brother's consciousness.

He wanted the power to keep anyone from touching his unconscious sister.

He wanted the power to keep anyone, anything, from being taken from him.

If he only had that, he could have protected them. He should have been able to protect them.

Ragna's hand clenched the soil tightly. His nails were about to peel off and he felt a dull pain. The pain revived his senses.

His lost right arm was hot. His stabbed back was hot. The breath and blood he exhaled were hot.

Regret and powerlessness were hot inside him.

Suddenly, he heard a sound like a beast's growl in his ear. The moment he realized it was his own breath, Ragna's body suddenly disappeared.

"What?" 

In that instant, he didn't understand what had happened. But when he saw the girl's shoes, which should have been in front of him, suddenly rising, he somehow understood.

The ground under Ragna collapsed and broke, swallowing him.

There was nothing he could do about the sudden fall, and Ragna fell into the abyss.

While feeling instinctive fear at the fall as if being sucked in, Ragna heard the girl's voice whispering the moment he fell.

"Besides, whether you wish it or not, fate will not change." The girl's voice was the last thing Ragna heard, and he lost consciousness in the fall.

Consciousness returned not long after the fall. But whether that consciousness was the real world or a dream, Ragna couldn't tell.

The first thing he recognized was darkness. It was pitch black all around, and only the hard ground was something he could trust. Trying to get up, he rubbed his hand on the ground. From the sensation, it seemed to be soil or rock.

''(Damn it...)''

He couldn't get up because he had no strength. He was already missing one arm to support his body on the ground. There was no way he could lift his body, which was heavy and unable to move.

Even so, he couldn't just lie there, and Ragna clung to the ground with his remaining arm and dragged his body forward. He didn't know what was in that direction. He didn't know if he should've moved forward. But he couldn't just lie there without doing anything.

That girl had said, "If you wish, you can get it."

''(Anything is fine... any form is fine.)''

That was what he wanted.

Forward, forward. In the darkness where he didn't even know if there was an end, he crawled forward.

Ragna soon reached a wall. It seemed that his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, and he could see that there was a dirt wall there.

Something strange was protruding from that wall. Was it a statue? Or... a corpse? It was a black mass that had completely dyed everything while taking the shape of a human body. 

The body was in the shape of a man. It looked as if he was kneeling on the ground, drooping his arms limply beside his body. But that black body had no head. From the middle of the neck up, it looked as if a sharp blade had been used to cut it off in a single stroke.

It was a grotesque object. But for some reason, Ragna couldn't take his eyes off it. 

Again, he heard something like a beast's growl. This time it was not the breath he exhaled. It echoed deep in his ears, as if a hallucination.

"...Power."

This is the one who will give it to me.

Thinking this, Ragna stretched out his remaining hand while crawling on the ground. The moment his fingertips touched it, the black headless object suddenly collapsed, turning into black sand or mist. As it was, it swallowed Ragna without giving him a chance to breathe.

Ragna's body and consciousness were instantly snatched away by the black particles. And once again, he lost his memory.

When he felt stillness and opened his eyes next, Ragna's body had a right arm. However, it was not an arm with a human-like color that he originally had. It was black... a pitch-black arm, like the darkness that had gushed out at that time had been woven and solidified.

And Ragna's right eye, looking down at that arm, had changed to a sinister red.

Seeing the black arm, the rabbit-like girl taught Ragna.

"That's good. That is the Azure Grimoire. It should lend you power that surpasses anything. But be careful. That is not your arm. It is not the real you. So never think that the Azure Grimoire is your own power."

After obtaining a new arm, Ragna's life was no longer as peaceful as it had been when he was in the church.

In place of the sister, a beastkin took over as Ragna's guardian. He was only as tall as Ragna's waist, and his two-tone black and white fur gave him the appearance of a bipedal cat. His large eyes were red, and the tail extending to his back was forked at the tip.

His name was Jubei. When Ragna heard that name for the first time, he doubted his ears.

Jubei was the name of one of the Six Heroes who fought against the Black Beast in the Dark War. He had heard many stories and anecdotes about his exploits from the sister. He had heard them much more richly than old tales and lullabies.

When he learned he was the real Jubei, one of the Six Heroes, he felt surprised and admired him. He felt a little proud when he heard that the Six Heroes were old friends with the sister.

But in reality, the life that began under Jubei... was so harsh that any envy was blown away somewhere.

"Guhoah!"

Blown away by an impact that was like being gouged out along with a dull sound, Ragna crashed into a tree trunk that should have been several meters behind him and stopped. When he fell face down on the ground with a thud, green leaves that had fallen from the impact rained down on him as if pitying him.

Several years had passed since Ragna had been attacked at the church, fell underground, survived, and began living with Jubei. It was several years of harsh training under Jubei.

He learned the art of fighting, the skills and knowledge to survive in the forests and mountains, the history of the world, and the current world situation. And about how to use the black right arm - the "Azure Grimoire."

Among them, fighting techniques were particularly strict and thorough... and sometimes he was gleefully beaten day and night.

Even now, he was in the middle of such sword training. He was given a sword and told to show him a single strike, but he was brilliantly challenged by Jubei's two small branches, and as a result, he was defeated by a powerful kick.

"Oh, damn it! You're hopping around!" Brushing off the leaves, Ragna jumped up and slammed the ground with his fist, revealing his irritation. Beside him, a practice sword given to him by Jubei was rolling around.

It was unadorned and very ordinary, but it was real, not blunt. If the tip grazed, it could even brush off the tip of a cat's hair, and it should be easy to cut down a small branch.

"Are you hurt, Ragna?"

A small figure came through the bushes, which were warped by Ragna's body. It was Jubei, a large bipedal cat and Ragna's master. He glanced at his disciple's face without any disturbance in his posture.

His expression looked cheerful for no reason, and Ragna sat down and looked up at his teacher sullenly.

"You should have warned me a little before you did that. You just blew me away."

"What are you talking about? I've been quite lenient. If I were serious, it wouldn't be training for you." Jubei laughed and shrugged his shoulders, as if Ragna had just told a joke. Ragna couldn't continue, so he groaned and kept silent.

As expected of one of the Six Heroes, Jubei was very strong. Over the past few years, Ragna had been training desperately to catch up with him, but just when he thought he had gotten closer, Jubei was somehow farther away, and he didn't feel like he was catching up at all. He no longer thought that he might be able to become as strong as this little cat man.

Recently, he had been struggling to narrow the gap between himself and his master, which he finally realized was too big. But no matter how many times he was reminded and made aware of his own abilities, there was always impatience and eagerness inside Ragna. It was an emotion that was always stuck inside Ragna, and it always tormented him. If he were to give it a name in simple words, it would be "hatred."

Training after training, discipline after discipline. Through all of it, Ragna had never forgotten about that night when everything was taken from him.

"...Hey, master." Trying to stand up, he stopped once, and leaned his back against the tree trunk while sitting with one knee raised. Jubei calmly watched the situation, wagging his tail leisurely.

"What is it, Ragna?"

"When will I be able to go and crush the NOL?" The tone of the question was disguised with a casual, everyday one, but deep down, there was an anger that threatened to burn up at any moment.

Without realizing it, Ragna's hand was clenched with such force that it seemed to be cutting into his palm.

After being taken away from the church, Jin seemed to have been taken in by a family called the Kisaragi family and was living as an adopted child.

The Kisaragi family was said to be a noble class called the "Duodecim" belonging to an organization called the Novus Orbis Librarium. He didn't remember the details, but in any case, he was being educated to become a soldier as the child of a prestigious family.

On the other hand, Saya's whereabouts after being taken away by the NOL were unknown. All that was known is that she seemed to be hidden in the center of the organization... or so it seems.

All of this information was what he had heard from Jubei.

In between training with Ragna, Jubei would occasionally slip out, no one knew when he had the time, and run around here and there for investigations.

According to Ragna's only source of information, the name of the shadowy man who attacked their church was Terumi. He was one of the Six Heroes like Jubei, and currently belonged to the NOL under a different name and status.

As a result of taking in the story about that church incident, Ragna had come to the following conclusion. It was the Novus Orbis Librarium that took the church, the sister, Jin, Saya, and everything from Ragna...

Terumi and Jin both had the existence of the NOL behind them. If the NOL retrieved Saya, then it was also the NOL that made such a cruel decision in search of Saya.

It was difficult to hold many grudges. Each one was dispersed and became fragmented within themselves. That was why Ragna bundled the hatred within him under the name of the NOL. With just that one, he could move with hatred as much as he wanted.

"It's still too early. Do you wanna die for nothing?" Jubei sighed and answered bitterly. 

Ragna knew his master would say that. They had repeated this exchange many times. But even so, he couldn't help but ask. He wanted to shatter that target of hatred as soon as possible, not even a second sooner.

"I know I can't beat you yet, Master, but I've gotten a lot stronger, haven't I!? Those NOL guys aren't gonna stand a chance against me, even if they come at me all at once!"

Unable to swallow his anger, Ragna punched the tree trunk he had been leaning against, and stood up with that momentum. When Ragna stood up, he looked down at Jubei. The red cat eyes that looked up at him from below showed deep understanding, but also sternly watched his disciple.

"If you can't defeat me, you won't be able to crush the NOL."

"But-"

"'You won't know until you try'?" 

Suddenly, a third voice cut into the conversation between Ragna and Jubei.

At the same time, a rose-scented breeze blew around. What appeared was a graceful girl with long golden hair tied with an upright ribbon. It was the vampire Rachel Alucard, the girl who appeared before Ragna in the pouring rain at the ruins of a burned-down church.

The sight of the girl in a gorgeous black dress standing against the backdrop of the forest, where the seithr was thick and the air was gloomy, was truly mismatched and strange.

But she didn't care about such a thing, and when she closed the bat umbrella she was holding, she made a gesture as if she was sitting in the air. In response to that movement, the familiar, which was the bat umbrella, changed its shape and became a relaxed sofa, receiving the noble princess.

Leaning on the black sofa that appeared in the forest, Rachel chuckled and laughed at Ragna teasingly.

"There are many things in this world that you can know without even trying. It might be something too complex for your limited mind to understand." 

What she said was probably correct, but Ragna's irritation quickly grew at her utterly condescending tone.

"How do you know if you haven't even tried it!"

"Because you're weak." Rachel immediately responded with the sharpness of a knife.

Beside her, a red rubber ball-like familiar, Gii, jumped up and busily flapped its wings while laughing mischievously.

"Weak, weak!"

"Huh!?" 

"Eek!" As Ragna stepped forward with a frightening expression, Gii easily dodged and hid behind the sofa where Rachel was sitting.

Letting out a disappointed sigh at the pathetic familiar's scream, Rachel rested her cane on the sofa. She lightly placed a finger on her white cheek and gave another disappointed sigh to the other person standing in front of her.

"All you can do is vent your anger on such a small creature. With that fragile spirit and body of yours… you'll be easily devoured." As if telling a ghost story to scare a child, Rachel narrowed her red eyes and whispered. She wasn't good at inducing fear. Ragna frowned while taking half a step back, intimidated by the eerie aura that Rachel exuded more than the content of her words.

"Devoured?"

"By your right arm." 

Told so bewitchingly, Ragna reflexively turned his gaze to his right arm. From the middle of his upper arm, his arm was dyed jet black, not the color of a human arm. On top of that, a belt-shaped seal was wrapped around it in a spiral pattern.

Rachel and Jubei called that arm the Azure Grimoire.

A grimoire was a key necessary to use Ars Magus, and although it was called a book, it didn't necessarily take the form of a book. Ragna's arm, while taking the form of a human arm, was said to be a grimoire, not an arm.

It was too difficult a story for Ragna, who didn't understand the concept of Ars Magus in the first place, but the precautions that Rachel and Jubei repeatedly said were ingrained in his head, beyond understanding.

Never think of the Azure Grimoire as your own power.

It is merely a grimoire, not your own arm.

Ragna, honestly, did not understand what that meant. But from the overly sincere appearance of his two guardians, he understood that it was something that should never be viewed optimistically.

Jubei spoke to his disciple, who was staring down at his black arm, in a gentle yet strong tone.

"You have to become stronger, much stronger. So that you can walk on your own with your own power. So that you can carve out a path without relying on that right arm."

"When will that be?"

It wouldn't be a matter of today or tomorrow. Next year, the year after next. No, it was still far away. He was deeply aware of his own weakness.

Jubei laughed cheerfully at Ragna, who had become sullen. It was a pleasant laugh that didn't contain any sarcasm, and it had the power to instantly blow away the darkness that clouded Ragna's heart.

"That depends on your efforts. Now. The break is over. Next, I'll attack you, so try to dodge everything!" Saying that, Jubei snatched the sword from Ragna's hand. The tip of the sword flashed and scattered a few strands of Ragna's hair. In an instant, Ragna's blood ran cold.

"Hey, you're kidding, right!? Are you trying to kill me!?"

"Don't worry, I'll stop before you die. Now, let's go!"

"Whoa, wait, wait, please wait, Master!"

The sound of the wind mercilessly cutting through the air ran left and right. If he stopped, he wouldn't get away with it. Ragna desperately dodged the sword that was swung down vertically and turned around, fleeing from the spot like a rabbit.




In a forgotten warehouse on the outskirts of the upper layers of Kagutsuchi, the 13th Hierarchical City, Ragna stretched out his right arm, as if offering it to the moonlight that seeped in through the gaps, and gazed at it.

"The Azure Grimoire..."

It had the form of a human arm itself, and he could make it move in any way he wished with his own will, yet it was a black mass that wasn't his own arm. 

It felt like it had been a long time since he spoke that name.

It was said to be the strongest grimoire.

Ragna had been helped by the power of this grimoire several times, and he certainly thought it was worthy of being called the strongest.

The destructive power it could unleash was so merciless that Ragna couldn't bring himself to use it unless he was cornered to a great extent.

When he used it, something surged up. Perhaps it could be called a destructive impulse. Something that seemed like himself but not himself overflowed from within him and seemed to swallow him up.

"You'll be devoured."

He recalled those words that Rachel spoke sometime ago.

This arm was said to be both a grimoire and a mass of seithr. That seithr constantly drained life force from the surroundings and sent it to Ragna.

Thanks to this, Ragna had acquired the convenient ability to quickly recover from injuries, but as a result, he had been given the troublesome trait of unconsciously absorbing the life force of others when he stayed in the same place with someone for a long time.

He wondered what would happen to him if the grimoire's owner was "eaten" by that life-force-absorbing seithr.

What came to his mind was Arakune, the monster he saw in the sewer a few hours ago. Litchi, the doctor who also approached the Boundary, had said it was the transformed body of a researcher who had gotten too close to the Boundary.

''(Will I... become like that someday...?)''

Ragna threw the black arm on his lap and looked at it through the gaps in his closing eyelids.

''(Well... it doesn't really matter.)''

If he could crush the NOL and settle everything with his brother, his sister, and the man named Terumi. Then, it didn't matter if he became a demon or a monster. Once everything was settled, that's when Ragna would lose everything.

''(I'm sleepy...)''

He had to sleep and regain his strength. Tomorrow would be busy.

It was very quiet here. He could clearly hear his own breathing, which was gradually deepening.

''(Come to think of it... I feel like this happened before...)'' Ragna thought vaguely as he drifted to sleep. 

''(Have I been to Kagutsuchi before...?)''

He didn't think so. But strangely, he could smoothly map out the route from the upper levels to the branch in his mind.

It was a strange feeling. He must be half-dreaming. Thinking that, Ragna closed his eyelids.

As his vision closed, Ragna exhaled deeply. And before even a minute had passed, he began to breathe regularly, his chest rising and falling in sleep.


===Part 4===

...I had a dream.

It was a dream from when I was little. A dream when I had a cold.

Even though I was covered with a fluffy blanket and futon, my body was trembling slightly. It was hard to breathe, and when I took a deep breath, my chest wheezed and I coughed. I felt chills, but my body was hot and my head was dizzy.

It was such a nice day. I wanted to play outside. I thought about that while looking at the window by the bed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I replied.

Then the door was gently opened as if to check the situation, and a boy came in. 

He was a boy with golden hair and green eyes. But because I was feverish, his vision was blurred and I couldn't see his face clearly.

The boy walked carefully to the bedside and pulled up a chair to sit next to me.

"Are you okay?" The boy peered at me and spoke with concern. It was a gentle voice. That voice brought a sense of relief to my chest, and my labored breathing eased a little.

Taking the towel that was placed on my forehead, the boy put his palm on it instead and measured the heat. After a while, he grimaced as if in trouble.

"Your fever is quite high. Are you alright?" At his question, I weakly nodded from the bed. Actually, I wasn't in that much pain anymore. Just having him by my side made me so happy.

But if I answered that I was alright, I felt like he would say "then" and leave the room. So, I was a little selfish.

I wanted him to stay with me longer.

The boy dipped the towel in the wooden bucket at the bedside, wrung it out again with cold water, and placed it back on my forehead. Then, he gently stroked my head.

"Don't worry, you'll get better soon. I'll be here, so rest assured and get some sleep. Okay?"

"Yeah... brother." 

Gently spoken to, I nodded this time with a big nod.

If he's going to be here, I'm relieved. With that thought, I closed my eyelids as if invited by the warmth of his hand stroking my hair.

In a peacefulness like taking a nap after a warm bath, I wished this time would last forever, and then I fell into a gentle sleep.




'''December 31, 2199 - 13:53''' 

The afternoon of the last day of the year was pleasantly sunny.

Noel, who had somehow managed to return to the upper layer late at night, left the NOL facility where she had been lent a bed and went up two more levels, continuing her search mission for Major Jin Kisaragi, which she had been doing yesterday.

She had searched the likely places in the lower level one by one. But despite many eyewitness accounts, she couldn't reach Jin. However, she should have been following his route quite faithfully. She thought it wouldn't be surprising if there was another near miss like the one in the Roningai soon.

"Haa..." 

Invited by the peaceful sunlight, a small yawn unintentionally escaped. While being in the middle of a mission, she hurriedly hid it with both hands while looking down.

Last night, she finally secured a bed late at night and laid down her tired body, but she woke up much earlier than scheduled. Perhaps because of this, she was half-asleep and felt heavy and unfocused since this morning.

''(Haa... That was a strange dream…)''

Noel wiped the tears that had appeared at the corners of her eyes and straightened her back again, muttering a thought she'd had countless times today.

The cause of her strange early awakening was this morning's dream. She'd had a strange dream. Usually, she hardly remembered the contents of her dreams, but today, she remembered it clearly.

It was a dream from when she was little.

Perhaps it was when she was not even ten years old. While coughing on the bed by the window, a boy came into the room and gently stroked her head. She was so happy that the boy came to her, and that he'd stroked my head... She was filled with happiness and fell asleep again.

It was a happy dream. The moment she woke up, she was shocked that it was a dream.

But... it was strange. Noel recalled the dream and tilted her head again and again.

It was a dream as if tracing the memories of her childhood. But Noel had no memories of that time at all. She didn't remember anything about the time before she was rescued from the explosion site five years ago.

Looking back, the room that appeared in that dream was one that Noel didn't know. The green scenery of the fields and forests that could be seen from the window, the bed, and even the pajamas she was wearing.

But why was it such a nostalgic dream?

''(Maybe... it's a memory from my past?)''

If it was a memory from before she was rescued, then…

''(How should I feel?)''

The more nostalgic she felt, the more a haze filled her chest. Should she feel happy? Or should she try to forget it? Would thinking about a past she didn't know be an injustice to the people who gave her a happy present?

''(I...)''

At that moment, she couldn't help but think. Who was she? Where was she born?

"Brother..." Noel muttered to herself while walking along a route that was as far away from the NOL's facilities as possible without taking an extreme detour.

In the dream, she was sick in bed with a cold, and called the boy who stroked her head "brother." Golden hair like sunlight... yes, she was sure he had gentle green eyes.

But there were no other children in the Vermillion family. She didn't know anyone she could call her brother and look up to.

Then who was that boy? Was he... a "brother" she lived with before the five years she doesn't remember?

''(It's still a strange dream.)''

And she felt strange. She had always vaguely longed for a brother.

"Wait, but..." 

As if touching an invisible thread, something brushed Noel's mind. Wasn't there another brother?

"Another... one?" Noel tilted her head at the words whispered by her own unconscious.

Another one... yes, there was another one. He had the same golden hair and green eyes as the boy who appeared in the dream...

"That's it!" Noel's thoughts as she searched for her daydream were suddenly interrupted by the person crossing the street in front of her.

Golden hair, green eyes... and a blue and white uniform, and a blue sword.

"Major... Major Kisaragi!"

Jin Kisaragi, Commander of the Novus Orbis Librarium's 4th Thaumaturgist Squadron.

Noel ran towards the unexpected encounter.

"Wait, Major Kisaragi!" She chased after Jin's retreating figure, not on the main street where many soldiers were walking, but on a quiet street two blocks back.

At Noel's voice, Jin stopped. His back was straight and his posture was impeccable, just like the one she often saw in the corridors of the NOL headquarters. However, his expression when he turned around was clearly different from the cold look he had in the pristine interior of the headquarters.

"You..." Jin turned towards Noel with a heavy step, dragging his heel.

The look in Jin's eyes when he caught sight of Noel was as if he had found something terribly ugly. The green was smeared with disgust, and he looked at her from head to toe as if he didn't want to acknowledge her existence at all.

His sharp gaze glared with such hostility that it seemed as if he wanted to immediately cut Noel's throat.

"Ah, um..."

Noel knew Jin as a cold superior. He rarely answered when she spoke to him. His eyes were always cold, and he sometimes glared at her. But she had never been looked at like this before. It was a look filled with intense hatred that denied her very existence.

"Major Kisaragi... I was ordered to return you from headquarters. Your actions are a serious violation of discipline. Please return to headquarters immediately..." 

"Why... why are you here?" Jin interrupted Noel's plea with a low, hoarse voice, suppressing his rage. He took a step towards Noel, his heels clicking loudly.

"I was ordered to bring you back. Please, Major. If you ignore the return order, you may be considered a traitor. If that happens..."

Surely Tsubaki would be more saddened than anyone else.

She tried to continue, but she couldn't put the rest into words.

Jin, who had started walking, ran. Straight towards Noel.

"Eh?" 

"Why are you here!?" Jin's white jaw trembled at the shout, and he drew his sword as he stepped forward. The gleaming white blade drew an arc in the air and caught Noel in the stomach.

Noel moved as if pushed back by the murderous intent. She threw off the poncho she was wearing and used it as a shield against Jin's slash. At the same time, she took out two guns from the holster attached to the poncho. 

She jumped high and quickly retreated.

When Noel's feet scraped against the ground behind her and she came to a stop, she saw the discarded poncho being cut in two and falling to the ground.

There was no hesitation in the slash. If her reaction had been delayed, it would've been Noel who had fallen to the ground there.

"M-Major K-Kisaragi..." Her lips didn't move well due to shock and fear. Jin swung his sword again at Noel, who couldn't understand what was happening or grasp the situation.

The slash that swept through the air created a blade of ice and launched it at Noel.

In an instant, Noel turned the gun in her hand towards the blade of ice. The ones in her hands were much larger than the self-defense guns usually issued to soldiers, and the barrels were especially thick and long.

They were Noel's personal weapons. A pair of handguns that, for some reason, suddenly appeared in front of Noel shortly after she was taken in by the Vermilion family.

Arcus Diabolus: Bolverk. Noel took it without knowing, but this, like Jin's Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa, was one of the Nox Nyctores created during the Dark War.

Noel quickly fired the gun she was aiming. What Noel's gun fired was not a gunshot, but Ars Magus. The aim was not mistaken, and it shot through and shattered the ice blade that Jin had fired.

"Please stop, Major Kisaragi! If you resist, your crimes will only increase!"

If she let her guard down, it would be dangerous. Noel desperately put strength into her voice while keeping her gun at the ready without letting her guard down.

Perhaps seeing it as hostility, Jin's reaction towards Noel became even more violent.

"I won't give it to you."

"Eh?"

"I won't give it to you..." Jin said in a quiet, heavy, eerily cold voice that crawled from the depths of his stomach. He lowered the unwavering tip of his sword and ran, sliding it along the ground.

If he got too close, it would be dangerous. Noel fired an Ars Magus bullet at Jin's feet as he ran.

Perhaps anticipating this, Jin jumped at the same time. What stretched out to Noel was not the sword, but his leg. Noel used her gun's barrel as a shield to block the deceptively heavy kick that swept through the air.

"Damn!"

From above Noel, who was enduring, Jin swung his sword without even landing. Blocking it with her two guns, Noel quickly retreated and opened the distance. She took a stance, and Jin looked at her. Noel couldn't tell if those eyes were really those of the Jin Kisaragi she knew.

His clouded eyes, as if possessed by something, made her wonder if he was truly seeing her. His hollow gaze seemed to be fixed on something else that wasn't there.

"Don't show that face in front of me, you obstacle!!"

Noel's body bristled at the snarling voice. The spirit itself was like a blade. That blade pierced Noel before the real thing, binding her feet to the spot. She shrank back in fear.

"Your face, your voice, your shadow, never again! Never again!!"

"Kisa..."

Jin, in a state of frenzy, wildly swung his sword. The distance Noel had created was only slight. Distorting his connected face, tossing his light golden hair, Jin stepped in roughly and slashed Noel from below.

...At that very moment.

Something small burst and bounced between Noel and Jin, and from there an enormous amount of black smoke spread with such force that it threatened to engulf the entire area.

"Wh-wha… ''cough, cough,'' wha- what is this?"

Noel's vision was lost in an instant. The smoke stung her eyes and throat, making it painful to keep her eyes open or even breathe properly. It seemed to be the same for Jin, as she could hear his choking voice nearby.

"This way, now!"

"Eh? Yes!" Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and Noel was forcibly pulled out of the smoke, running as she was led.




Even after getting away from the smoke and her throat registering the clean air, Noel's vision didn't clear immediately. Her eyes stung as if sand had been blown into them, and as she ran, Noel had to repeatedly wipe her teary eyes with her arm.

After turning many corners, the person who had been pulling her arm finally stopped. The arm that had been grabbed was immediately released.

"It seems we're not being pursued... for now." Noel recognized the voice that spoke in a light, panting tone. Wiping her still-aching eyes once more, Noel forced them open and looked at her rescuer.

He was right in front of her. It seemed they were in a park with a promenade, and he was sitting on a bench, weakly fanning his face with a black hat. She recognized the black suit and green hair.

"Ha… Hazama-san!"

"Yes? Haa… please, have mercy. Unlike you or Major Kisaragi, I'm not a specialist in combat." Hazama said in a weak, pathetic voice, putting his hat on his head and pulling it down low.

Noel bowed deeply to her unexpected savior.

"Hazama-san, you saved me. Um, thank you very much. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"No, no, I can't very well ignore the plight of my mission partner, can I?" Hazama said, waving his hand loosely and smiling lightly. She had initially found that smile suspicious, but at the moment, it made her feel a little relieved.

Adjusting his hat slightly with his fingertip, Hazama straightened his suit and stood up from the bench.

"Anyway… Major Kisaragi seems to be in quite a troublesome state, doesn't he?" Hazama said in a troubled tone, but a somewhat meaningful smile floated on his face. "I don't know what happened, but he doesn't seem to be in his right mind. If you poke him carelessly, you might cause unnecessary damage."

"Yes." Noel nodded shallowly, still at attention.

Without a doubt, Jin at that time intended to kill Noel. If the battle had continued as it was, Noel would have died and the surrounding area would've suffered tremendous damage.

Hazama lightly tugged on his suit sleeve and opened his mouth, checking the watch on his wrist.

"For now, shall we wait for night?"

"Night?"

"Currently, Ragna the Bloodedge seems to be lurking in the upper levels. He'll probably come to attack the branch tonight. Major Kisaragi will probably come to the branch, aiming for him."

Jin's objective was Ragna the Bloodedge. It was clear from his past criminal record that Ragna the Bloodedge's destination was the branch, so Jin would naturally head there eventually.

Hazama raised his index finger and continued.

"Why don't we just bring in the guards from Kagutsuchi and capture them there? We can't let the scale grow any larger, and with Ragna the Bloodedge involved, I'd like to settle things quickly."

"Yes... that's right. I understand."

At the very least, Noel was all for the idea of contacting Jin at the branch.

Earlier, they were lucky that there were no passersby, but the next time they fought in the city, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be people around. Even if he was an opponent she should face as a soldier, it was painful and suffocating just to imagine the residents and children she had to protect getting hurt...

Even now, there are many people in this city living peaceful lives, unaware of the NOL's internal troubles.

There might even be a house where a younger sister has caught a cold, and her older brother is taking care of her.

''(I'm thinking about that dream again...)''

The warm smile of a warm "brother" that she looked up at in a warm bed. She still vaguely remembered the feeling of his hand stroking her hair.

If someone forcibly took that away... she would surely be sad.

"Hello? Lieutenant Vermilion?"

"Y-yes!" Noel jumped up and replied.

Hazama hid his eyes under his hat and smiled wryly.

"What are you going to do until tonight? I have some errands to run, so I'm thinking of looking into Major Kisaragi's situation while taking care of my own business."

She seemed to be daydreaming again. Noel tightened her expression and straightened her back.

"I will continue to search for the Major until tonight. I don't think I can persuade him... but I can't do nothing."

Just clashing with force wasn't the only solution. If they were to meet again, she was thinking of trying to persuade him, saying that Tsubaki was worried. 

Noel's words probably wouldn't reach him, but it might be different with Tsubaki. They were from the same high school, and Jin was kind to Tsubaki back then.

"In that case, I'll tell them at the Kagutsuchi branch to contact you if Major Kisaragi appears. You have a communicator, right?" As if demonstrating, Hazama took out a small communicator from his suit pocket and held it up. It was something given to NOL soldiers during missions.

"Ah, yes." 

Fortunately, the communicator was in her hand, not on the poncho that was cut by Jin. When she took it out and handed it over, Hazama gave a strangely theatrical nod.

"Please return to the branch if you're contacted. Well, see you later." Hazama slipped the communicator back into his pocket, put his hand on his hat, and bowed. Noel responded with a salute.

With long, shadow-like legs, Hazama headed towards the branch. Noel didn't follow him. Instead, relying on her senses, she decided to return along the path she had just escaped from. She had to retrieve the gun holster that was probably dropped along with the remnants of her poncho.

"I'm sure… it'll be alright."

She would carry out her mission and return to headquarters. As she told herself this, firmly grasping her beloved gun, her lifeline, she shook off the vaguely ominous premonition and ran away from the spot.


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