Editing BlazBlue:Phase Shift 2 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 1===

December 31st, 2107 AD.



A night that felt unpleasant; with a strange warm wind blowing.

Although the sky was mostly deprived of clouds, the view of the stars and moon had grown hazy as they were covered by thick seithr.

But the moon, shining dully, appeared oddly close. It shone its stagnant light upon the ground that was about to become ruined by battle, as if giving sympathy.

The surroundings were a plain wasteland; brown desert, no grass or water was present for miles.

If today would be the day of apocalypse for humanity, the scenery here surely would need no changes.

...Nine surveyed the battlefield, taking a deep breath, having confirmed the situation with all the units of the Mage's Guild.

The day and the year would end very soon. A whole year had passed since then. It was time for its revival. Just thinking about it would give anyone shivers.

Of course, the preparations had been sufficiently arranged. As everything that could be done had been dealt with, there was no anxiety or fear regarding that part.

What had been concerning Nine was Celica.

"Nine. The deployment of the foreign armies has been completed without problems."

Trinity jogged up to Nine. She was among the same units as Nine and her role was to support all of the armies.

Every functioning country was participating in this strategy.

The armies even included the countries that had previously refused to cooperate with The Mage's Guild.

Presently, several hundred thousand units had been positioned around various cauldrons that had a high rate of seithr discharge. The units also included volunteers who were ordinary people.

It was still unclear which cauldron the Black Beast would emerge from. But once its arrival had been confirmed, the attack and mobilization would commence immediately.

Among the armies that had been stationed at the cauldrons... was Celica. She had positioned herself in the centre of a group of cauldrons, so as to be as to be able to get to a number of them as quickly as possible. 

"...Are you worried about Celica-san?"

Trinity asked her in a whisper as she saw a deep sorrow in Nine's expression that was masked in calmness.

Finally noticing that her mind was completely filled with Celica, Nine lightly bit her lip to reprimand herself.

"...Of course I'm worried."

She could have dodged the question, but Nine chose to speak her mind. Trinity was her companion. She could immediately see through Nine's pressure no matter how many words she used to coat it.

Plus she couldn't keep making a calm face like it was nothing when it came to that matter.







"Don't joke like that! Do you even understand what you're saying!?"

The first moment Celica said that she wanted to be a decoy, Nine had let her anger burst out, as if on reflex.

Nine's shout would make her classmates from the academy tremble. But it wasn't a big deal for Celica. Instead she retorted with an even louder voice.

"I said I do. I wouldn't say something like this as a joke."

"That makes it even worse! Celica, didn't you hear me in our preparations for this battle!?"

"Of course I remember. But this is different from our talk about Seven-san and Eight-san. I won't be dying. And if I can lure the Black Beast, won't it be good for the strategy?"

The more Nine resisted, the more that the stubborn Celica stood her ground.

No matter how many times they had this argument, Celica wouldn't back down once she had decided on something. Nine knew from experience that she was like a dog with a bone.

At that time, she could have predicted yield in the end.

"Please! I want to do it no matter what! I'll run away when it gets dangerous. I'll obey your instruction. So please…!"

The sisters continued throwing demands at each other for a further 30 minutes.

But then Celica joined her hands and kneeled in front of Nine, prostrating herself like a beggar before a king. The excessively direct request left Nine at a loss for words.

She understood about it. About what kind of a sister Celica was and how earnest her heart was.

Nine gave a big sigh and scratched her head in annoyance.

"…Aaah, okay! You have a comeback for everything I said!"

"…Then… you get it!?"

"I get it, I get it! You're such a stubborn kid. You must have thought tons of excuses to persuade me."

Actually, even if the theories she lined up against Nine might seem all over the place, they needed a little more accuracy in pin pointing The Black Beast's arrival in order to intercept it.

There weren't many alternatives that would go smoothly even when the certainty wasn't in 100% percent, or even if they had to rely on the vampire girl's prophecy. In fact, there were only a few of them.

If the Black Beast could be drawn to Celica, then it would greatly smooth the proceeding of the plan.

Nine wouldn't have any complaints if Celica didn't do it.

"…But remember, your duty is just to lure out that monster. You absolutely cannot participate in the battle. Get to a safe place after that. You hear?"

"Yes! Thanks, Onee-chan!"

With the hard-fought battle of wills finally won, Celica's expression returned to its usual bright, carefree smile. Then she gripped her sister's hands.

Nine didn't have the slightest idea how she should feel when looking at that smile.







…The day of the decisive battle approached. Although the arrangements had been finished by this point, Nine was in violent remorse. She couldn't help but think that it might be better if she had dismissed Celica's opinion using whatever means necessary.

Nine crushed the deployment scheme of the foreign armies in her hand. She immediately switched her long gaze to the direction where Celica was supposed to be.

"Truth to be told, I want to send her to Ishana immediately. Having Celica to be a bait to lure the Black Beast is ludicrous… If I could, I wanted to at least be right beside and protect her now."

"You have to take command of the Armagus unit, you know. No one but you is able to do it."

The Armagus unit was organized from the candidates around the world that had been tested for their aptitude. Today would be their first live combat.

Even with their skill, the armies had insufficient combat experience. Commanding them required someone who grasped the understanding of Armagus better than anyone. In other word, Nine.

"I know about that."

Trinity was to give support and direct the supportive magic unit from headquarters. Jubei, Terumi, and Valkenhayn were participating in the units which were located near their respective cauldrons. Even with someone else's assistance, there was no other choice for Nine.

But it was because she precisely knew about it that the absurd irritation within the helpless situation struck her nerves.

The cause of annoyance didn't just come from the Black Beast. Seven and Eight's movement was still in her mind.

Nine thrust her disarranged long hair with her hand. Trinity put her hand to Nine's shoulder and gently smiled.

"Didn't you create Nirvana and have her beside Celica-san? And that gentleman is also there."

"…Ugh. Oh, well. I guess I don't have a problem with him being her guard at the very least, considering his war potential."

Combing the tangled hair in her hand, Nine took a deep breath to shake off the ill feeling in her chest. Though the burden in her chest hadn't disappeared, she had to forcibly convince herself for now.

"Anyway, let's beat up the monster before it reach Celica."

"Fufu, that's the spirit~. ...But please don't do anything reckless."

"I know. You too, Trinity. I can't do anything without you after all."

"Oh my. You're making me embarrassed."

Trinity covered her girlish mouth with the fingertips that came out from the sleeve of her robe. Nine replied with a daring smile.

But time was ticking. No matter how many words she spoke, the pressuring anxiety had yet to disappear from Nine's chest.